7 Shocking Examples of Cops Getting Away With Brutal Attacks

It's no surprise that cops are far less likely to face consequences for brutal behavior than civilians are. But a closer look at several recent incidents brings home just how unlikely police are to pay for their crimes. Some cops are shooting unarmed people, sexually assaulting women, stomping, choking, yelling racial slurs and giving false testimony. Sometimes it appears that courts have begun cracking down on police violence -- the last few months of 2010 saw some unprecedented jury verdicts for cases against police officers. But verdicts and sentencing have still been mild compared with civilians on trial for the same crimes.

Here are several recent examples of police facing light consequences, or no consequences, for unjustifiably violent behavior.

1)  A New Orleans police officer shot the unarmed Henry Glover in the chaos following Hurricane Katrina. When Glover’s brother and friend tried to get medical assistance for him at a temporary police base, the police there refused to treat him, and instead beat the two men. When Glover died, one of the cops grabbed a bunch of flares and set his body on fire in the car he’d been brought to the base in, as at least one other officer looked on.

On December 9, 2010 a jury gave a lenient verdict to David Warren, the cop who had shot Glover. They convicted him on a manslaughter charge, not murder, even though they had found him guilty of the shooting and had the option of a more serious verdict.

Two other officers were found guilty of charges related to covering up the incident, including perjury and writing a false police report. One of the two was convicted for burning Glover’s body. The jury let off several other cops who had refused Glover medical attention. Warren remains in prison, while the other two officers are free on bail. The three await sentencing in March.

It took extensive reporting and federal intervention for the case to get to court. The U.S. Department of Justice indicted the NOLA officers after a collaboration of reporters from ProPublica, Frontline and the Times-Picayune had uncovered the suspicious story a few years earlier.

Of the 12 officers who knew of the incident, not a single one spoke out against the massive collusion and cover-up. A reporter who worked on the case for over two years argued that the intimidating behavior by the police is reminiscent of an authoritarian regime.

 2) A South Carolina woman says that in September, police officer Tyrone Roberts knocked on her door on the pretext of questioning her about a car accident she had been in earlier that day. Once in her home, she reports that Roberts sexually assaulted her. She describes trying to get help from Robert’s co-workers, but instead of aiding her, she says the lieutenants belittled her, saying she didn’t “look like” a rape victim. The officers allegedly denied her right to an advocate and threatened to imprison her for five years if she didn’t recant the rape allegations.

The State Law Enforcement Division has finally begun investigating the case.

3)  Last spring Seattle detective Shandy Cobane was caught on videotape yelling racist slurs and stomping on the head of a Latino man. A week after that incident (before the video was widely available), Cobane is alleged to have turned around in the seat of his patrol car and begun choking a man who was handcuffed and in custody in the back.

Cobane continued to work until he was suspended after a public outcry following the widespread release of the video. But in September he was cleared of hate crime charges. On December 14, the city attorney decided not to charge Cobane in the stomping incident. Cobane has been “reassigned” as the department continues an internal investigation.