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This will continue because of cowardice, unfortunately. Integrity is one of the only things that separates moral and ethical action. In the moment, groupthink/mob mentality/group mentality led to conformity which is exactly what happened, and is an extreme form of pressure. Regardless of the action/inaction in the moment, integrity was challenged and defeated. One of the only ways this will change is something that will probably not happen due to conformism within the system. You lived how hard it was... your integrity was challenged, and ultimately inaction was the choice that was made resulting in net zero integrity.

As everything in hindsight reveals the truth, the inaction feeds conformity. If it's never challenged, then it evolves into a "norm."

It happened to me decades ago. My PARENTS didn't care.

"Well what did you say to make them so angry?"

I was still a teenager, and cops with guns and nightsticks had to beat me up while I was being processed and wearing handcuffs, all because I was "running my mouth".

ACAB

Forgive yourself. You quit. You told the story, possibly innumerable times. Thank you for that.

You do not deserve to be on that list. You are a good person despite your former profession. The fact that you were able to realize how fucked up things were, to leave, to literally put your safety on the line to try to fix it, make you better than most men on this earth.

Thank you. ACAB (but not the ones that quit from the injustice 😉)

Edit- anyone know a guy who can get this guy on the news to talk about this case and how it's endemic to the system?

So many Americans believe that the inmates deserve this treatment because they are inmates. There is no compassion for the incarcerated.

Well you know--they gotta investigate first. They have to get their stories straight, make sure everybody knows the script, determine a decent scapegoat to heap all the blame onto... then on game day they have to work together to ensure the fewest deal with any repercussions and then distance themselves from those people. Most of them will be fine, heck they might not even manage to make anyone accountable with proper fuckery. We'll see! (years from now, long after the damage is done)

I am a former correctional officer of the texas department of justice and this exact same situation happened and I too stood by and listened as it happened. I helped escort the man from his cell to medical. I stood by listening to the other guard talk about how much of his ass he would be kicking. I stood there as they took him into a cameraless backroom and listened as they beat that man handcuffed. I stood to stop it, thoughts of pulling my pepper spray and going in there and just letting loose. A sergeant told me to sit back down and I did. I was not physically overpowered. I sat back down, and I listened. The only difference in this is that my victim didn't die. I reported it afterwards. I reported it to the warden, to the state, to the media. Warden tried to reassign me back under the command of the person I accused in the most dangerous part of the prison. The state sent an investigator but nobody talked but me, not even my victim. I sent everything I had to local media and prison rights groups and heard NOTHING back. No one cared. It happened all the time, it was sanctioned, it happens in every prison in this country. The only difference is that this man died and the countless others did not.

I look at those 14 names and I cannot help but feel I deserve to be on it. I was never punished for my cowardice. I quit, I say ACAB, I tell my story but I was not and never will be punished for my inaction because no one cares about an inmate being beaten by a guard unless he fucking dies.

I firmly believe that those who wear a badge to uphold the law must be held to the highest letter of the law.

e.g. if "petty theft" carries a sentence of "up to 7 days in jail and/or up to a $1000 fine", then an officer charged with "petty theft" should always serve 7 days AND pay a $1000 fine. There should be no deliberation about leniency for those who wear a badge.

Wherein this turns heads and makes people say "well hey, that's not right..." we identify corners of the written law that should be amended. Not for them; because of them.

So yeah, if death is on the books for murder, have at. All 14. We'll talk about if it was fair when they're gone.

I think treating sentencing as 'black and white' for officers is maybe the only way to deal with the problem of corrupt cops. Not even sure it'd work.

Idk man I wasn't physically beat but the Finnish police denied me my prescription medication while holding me for days while I was psychotic. They even turned off the water in the isolation cell they placed me in. Until I reminded them it's actually a crime against humanity to not have water available to prisoners.

I drew more than 300 words in my own blood on the walls. I maybe have had several seizures, or none at all. I'm prone to them, but I couldn't tell as I'm not there when they happen.

So no... not "only in America". But because people think "only in America", no-one believes me in what happened. I have photos of the cell. They tried charging me with vandalising the cell — with my own blood — but when I asked for the tape from the cell, they suddenly got "very uncomfortable, I've never heard them that anxious" freely translated from what my lawyer told me. The charge vanished and they said they've lost the tape.

No-one ever got so much as a reminder of trying to behave better. No-one, excluding my therapist (who's not Finnish), actually believes me. Not even my own family. And I have the scars and photos and documents to prove what I'm saying.

I was literally tortured for three days. In Finland. By the authorities.

In a cell without even a mattress, very cool, light on constantly, never dark even during the night. No-one talked to me. I couldn't get anyone to say a single thing. When I demanded to know my rights one said "we've already told them to you" as they were dragging me into the isolation cell.

"Only in America" indeed.

It's incomprehensible and not reflective of our values, despite how it keeps happening across the nation. The only true response is thoughts and prayers.

It sounds just like the United States conservative's standard response to mass shootings: we haven't tried anything and we're all out of ideas!

I am a former correctional officer of the texas department of justice and this exact same situation happened and I too stood by and listened as it happened. I helped escort the man from his cell to medical. I stood by listening to the other guard talk about how much of his ass he would be kicking. I stood there as they took him into a cameraless backroom and listened as they beat that man handcuffed. I stood to stop it, thoughts of pulling my pepper spray and going in there and just letting loose. A sergeant told me to sit back down and I did. I was not physically overpowered. I sat back down, and I listened. The only difference in this is that my victim didn't die. I reported it afterwards. I reported it to the warden, to the state, to the media. Warden tried to reassign me back under the command of the person I accused in the most dangerous part of the prison. The state sent an investigator but nobody talked but me, not even my victim. I sent everything I had to local media and prison rights groups and heard NOTHING back. No one cared. It happened all the time, it was sanctioned, it happens in every prison in this country. The only difference is that this man died and the countless others did not.

I look at those 14 names and I cannot help but feel I deserve to be on it. I was never punished for my cowardice. I quit, I say ACAB, I tell my story but I was not and never will be punished for my inaction because no one cares about an inmate being beaten by a guard unless he fucking dies.

There's no monetary reason to oversee prisons and LEOs that work there. The goverment is paying a business, or funding a workplace, and any violations will just cost the goverment more money. Creating consequences for police will just cost the goverment more money. There's every reason to ignore this behavior and no reason to create controls and enforce regulations. There was a huge news story about juvenile prisons in TX where child prisoners were being raped a lot, and often. The general reaction to this news in TX was ''they are prisoners, they did the crime'' adults raping children is OK, as long as it's punishment and torture for felons who are also children. Just typing this out makes it all feel like some post apocalyptic fever dream...

and state-sponsored terrorism at that!

Terrorism is against the establishment, not with it.