San Antonio Man Badly Beaten By Police in Case of "Mistaken Identity"

[SeanTX]

I guess if they are chasing another Hispanic man and you are in the general area and Hispanic you are fair game for a smackdown. No effort to identify you as the suspect required. Like how they will shoot hostages running away from a hostage situation. And the police chief says it was clearly a case of mistaken identity, but he sees "nothing out of order" with the guy getting beaten.

I found this on the Cato Institutes National Police Misconduct Report at http://www.policemisconduct.net/ -- everyday everywhere things like this happen, but few of these stories ever go "viral."

http://www.kens5.com/story/news/inve...onio/13014559/

Man beaten, three SAPD officers investigated for possible excessive force after case of 'mistaken identity'


Dillon Collier, KENS 5 5:38 p.m. CDT July 24, 2014

SAN ANTONIO -- Three San Antonio Police officers are being investigated for possibly using excessive force, after a May 20 incident in west San Antonio left a man with injuries to his face, skull and neck.

Roger Carlos was in the 10600 block of Westover Hills Boulevard taking photos of a building that will soon be home to his wife's medical practice, when he was approached by three officers around 2:30 p.m.

The officers were identified as an undercover drug task force officer and two SAPD SWAT members.

According to an SAPD incident report released to the I-Team, the officers had been pursuing a suspect nearby who was wanted on a felony warrant.

Josue Gonzalez, 27, fled from police away from Loop 410 along the Highway 151 access road before he exited at Westover Hills and ditched his car in the parking lot of a restaurant. The restaurant is a few hundred feet from where Carlos was standing.

"All three of them started beating me on the head," said Carlos, who still showed visible signs of the beating when he spoke with KENS 5 weeks after the incident.

"It was unbelievable. I couldn't believe it was happening to me."

Carlos said he was struck about 50 times, even though he complied with the officers' instructions and did not fight back.

Clearly it was a case of mistaken identity.

Shortly after being handcuffed and explaining to officers that he owned the property, a fourth officer approached and said the suspect was in custody nearby.

snip

Carlos meanwhile, was hospitalized after the beating. He was treated for a large gash above his eye and a broken tooth.

Swelling of his head was so severe, doctors performed a CT scan of Carlos' head as well.

"I could understand taking somebody down hard. I can understand the need for that and securing them, but that's not what happened. I got on the ground, I was no threat to anybody, I was fully compliant," said Carlos, who has no criminal history.

"Clearly it was a case of mistaken identity," SAPD Chief William McManus said.

"From the report that I've read, from the photo that I saw and from your description, I've not seen anything at this point that would indicate to me that anything out of order happened."


snip

[mad cow]

I found this on the Cato Institutes National Police Misconduct Report at http://www.policemisconduct.net/ -- everyday everywhere things like this happen, but few of these stories ever go "viral."

Thanks for the link,bookmarked.

Shortly after being handcuffed and explaining to officers that he owned the property, a fourth officer approached and said the suspect was in custody nearby.

Yeah,judging from his pic,he got the mortal crap beat out of him too.
No surprise there.

[SeanTX]

Yeah,judging from his pic,he got the mortal crap beat out of him too.
No surprise there.

And he may have been like the other guy, not even resisting. A lot of Boobus types think that it's great for the police to give a "tune-up" to people they arrest -- this case is an example of why that needs to not be allowed to happen.

[Dr.3D]

If everybody is supposed to be innocent till proven guilty, how is the police beating up innocent people considered normal?

[presence]

I've not seen anything at this point that would indicate to me that anything out of order happened.

Given the opportunity I'd piss on your face $#@!.


Mistaken identity or not... why is beating a compliant suspect not considered, in and of itself, "out of the ordinary"?





The police act with impunity, injustice, bloodlust, and criminal gang violence.

Whether engaging in misconduct,
covering up misconduct,
engaging in mock trials of misconduct,
or silently denying witnessed misconduct under the color or law:

THERE ARE NO GOOD COPS. $#@! THEM.

[thoughtomator]

If everybody is supposed to be innocent till proven guilty, how is the police beating up innocent people considered normal?

Because we live in a full-blown totalitarian police state? Time to come to grips with the reality here. You should be surprised not when the tattooed steroid freaks in uniform beat the living crap out of someone, but when they treat a citizen with respect.

[mad cow]

Mistaken identity or not... why is beating a compliant suspect not considered, in and of itself, "out of the ordinary"?

Protocol simply requires them to utter the magic words "Stop Resisting" a couple of times to be in compliance of SOP.

[Mani]

Roger Carlos did this to himself...

For being Hispanic, how do you expect cops to tell them apart? They are all criminals. Without a badge, everyone is a criminal: white, black, hispanic, asian, all mundane thugs deserve a beating every now and then. WTF is the problem? Cops got their man, and there was a bit of collateral damage, it's a warzone, so it happens. He probably deserved that beating anyway. $#@!ing mundanes complain too much. Officers need to be safe you know, they have a dangerous job and need to make it back home to their children. The rest of you $#@!s have no idea what an officer goes through day in and out, so stop your bitchin.

[2young2vote]

Beat first, ask questions later -just like the war drums.

[fr33]

Man I don't know how anyone could get over something like this. Every one of the cops deserve to spend years in prison at least; handicapped for life at best.

[TheTexan]

He probably did something to deserve it. Cops dont just beat people for no reason

[TheTexan]

Roger Carlos did this to himself...

For being Hispanic, how do you expect cops to tell them apart? They are all criminals. Without a badge, everyone is a criminal: white, black, hispanic, asian, all mundane thugs deserve a beating every now and then. WTF is the problem? Cops got their man, and there was a bit of collateral damage, it's a warzone, so it happens. He probably deserved that beating anyway. $#@!ing mundanes complain too much. Officers need to be safe you know, they have a dangerous job and need to make it back home to their children. The rest of you $#@!s have no idea what an officer goes through day in and out, so stop your bitchin.

100pct agree. With so much danger and stress with the job, these Officers have to make split second choices in the face of life or death decisions. Second guessing, or any hesitation, and cops get themselves killed. Fortunately thats what their training is for.

Tough $#@!ing job, im just glad noone was seriously hurt.

[phill4paul]

even though he complied with the officers' instructions and did not fight back.

When that day comes, and I do not comply or submit, they will have done it to themselves.

[RC3]

Spoken like a person who doesn't know how to think for themselves or is too lazy to think.

[Anti Federalist]

I could understand taking somebody down hard. I can understand the need for that and securing them...

Then what the $#@! are you whining about, mundane?

Move along, and be thankful the brave officers didn't kill you.

[JK/SEA]

He probably did something to deserve it. Cops dont just beat people for no reason

add to that the fact it was a mistake...no harm, no foul...

pretty sure Carlos did something in his past that warranted a beating...the Universe is back to normal now...

[Mani]

This story is on Officer.com

I like this cop's response:

Fair enough.. but why are you so quick to believe the "I-team" news story. Haven't you ever been on a call and then seen the new story the next day, and you're saying "That's not even close to what happened. Where are they getting this information?"

Could the SAPD have F-ed up? Sure. Maybe they had tunnel vision as they were in fresh pursuit of the suspect and they made a horrible mistake. But also maybe the innocent guy decided to argue and resist rather than comply with commands.

I don't think any LEO would say that cops never screw up. Sometimes good cops screw up majorly and often lose their jobs. But if there's one thing I've learned on stories like this, it's that the media usually doesn't have a clue what happened and just fills in the gaps with speculation.







So the innocent guy maybe decided to argue and resist rather than comply???????????? So the cop is pretty much admitting if you don't COMPLY even if you committed no crime....if you argue or resist...You deserve a mother $#@!ing beat down to put you in a hospital???



Holy $#@!...Right from the $#@!ing horse's mouth. COMPLY WITH COMMANDS OR BE BEATEN. DO NOT ARGUE OR RESIST.

[acptulsa]

If everybody is supposed to be innocent till proven guilty, how is the police beating up innocent people considered normal?

Innocent?

If you stay under the speed limit you're guilty of impeding traffic. If you follow the health code, you're guilty of wasting too much food. If your vehicle meets the safety and emissions laws, you're guilty of driving something too heavy and inefficient and, therefore, spewing too much carbon. If your grass is brown you're uglifying the city; if it's green you're out to ensure everyone winds up dying of thirst before the summer is over. If you don't comply you're resisting arrest, and if you do comply, you moved, and that means you're resisting arrest.

Who on Earth is a good enough tightrope walker to be innocent?

[Philhelm]

Man I don't know how anyone could get over something like this.

I wouldn't be able to get over something like that, at least not in the long term. The thoughts would fester until I finally inflict justice on the $#@!s.

[RC3]

http://www.kens5.com/story/news/inve...date/21457943/

I guess if they are chasing another Hispanic man and you are in the general area and Hispanic you are fair game for a smackdown. No effort to identify you as the suspect required. Like how they will shoot hostages running away from a hostage situation. And the police chief says it was clearly a case of mistaken identity, but he sees "nothing out of order" with the guy getting beaten.

I found this on the Cato Institutes National Police Misconduct Report at http://www.policemisconduct.net/ -- everyday everywhere things like this happen, but few of these stories ever go "viral."

http://www.kens5.com/story/news/inve...onio/13014559/

[SeanTX]

Real harsh discipline there -- they had to burn up a little vacation time. A small price to pay for the fun of dealing out a smackdown -- I'll bet most cops would gladly make that trade.

" All three officers used accrued leave time instead of serving their suspensions"

[fisharmor]

This story is on Officer.com

I like this cop's response:

Fair enough.. but why are you so quick to believe the "I-team" news story. Haven't you ever been on a call and then seen the new story the next day, and you're saying "That's not even close to what happened. Where are they getting this information?"

Could the SAPD have F-ed up? Sure. Maybe they had tunnel vision as they were in fresh pursuit of the suspect and they made a horrible mistake. But also maybe the innocent guy decided to argue and resist rather than comply with commands.

I don't think any LEO would say that cops never screw up. Sometimes good cops screw up majorly and often lose their jobs. But if there's one thing I've learned on stories like this, it's that the media usually doesn't have a clue what happened and just fills in the gaps with speculation.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/often?s=t
adverb
1.
many times; frequently:
He visits his parents as often as he can.
2.
in many cases.


To the copsuckers:

[SeanTX]

Victim now paralyzed for life. It's okay, the officers were severely punished for this -- each lost 5 days of vacation time.

http://www.kens5.com/story/news/inve...gery/76120736/

Man beaten by SAPD officers paralyzed after complications from surgery
Dillon Collier, KENS 5 5:33 p.m. CST November 20, 2015


SAN ANTONIO -- A man beaten by three San Antonio Police officers last year is paralyzed from the chest down after complications during surgery to repair his injured spine, his family confirmed to the KENS 5 I-Team.

Roger Carlos, 43, was paralyzed during surgery November 3 at a San Antonio area hospital.

Doctors have performed multiple surgeries on Carlos's neck and upper spine to relieve pain and pressure from herniated discs, following his May 2014 beating at the hands of two SAPD SWAT officers and a drug task force officer.

Carlos's wife, Ronnie, told the I-Team Friday that a piece of bone broke off and compressed against his spinal cord during the Nov. 3 procedure.

"Its hard to see it, its hard to believe that something like this occurred over a mistaken identity. That is the hardest thing that has happened to us," Ronnie Carlos said.
snip


Carlos has started to lose movement in his wrists and doctors are concerned it could lead to him having trouble breathing, according to a support page for the family.

"People need to stand up and say something about it. Just because a police officer has a right to do something like that based on a law that protects them, it's not right, it's not right," Ronnie said.


snip

Carlos said during an interview last year he was struck about 50 times, even though he complied with the officers' instructions and did not fight back.

snip

A police discipline board recommended 15-day suspensions for all three officers. Chief William McManus, who did not respond to a request for interview Friday, later shortened each of the suspensions to five days.

Two of the officers, identified in suspension paperwork as Carlos Chavez and Virgilo Gonzalez, remain on the SWAT team, the city's human resources department confirmed Friday.

snip
The third officer has never publicly been identified, due to the confidential nature of his position. All three officers used accrued leave time instead of serving their suspensions.

Friends of the Carlos family have set up a Go Fund Me account to help cover some of Roger's medical expenses.

[RJB]

pretty sure Carlos did something in his past that warranted a beating...the Universe is back to normal now...

I read that he smoked pot once back in high school.

[DamianTV]

Blame the Victim.