Free Thought Project – by Matt Agorist
Florence, AL — Allen Hanvey, 51 — who has never been in trouble with police before — was scheduled to have neck surgery on November 20, 2018. The night before surgery, he had one final errand to run before he would get some rest and he and his wife would leave in the morning for Birmingham. He would never make that surgery, however, because he experienced a medical emergency and abusive cops showed up to “help” him. He was having a stroke but police thought he was drunk.
Hanvey says the last thing he remembers that night was waking up surrounded cops. Tammy and Allen Hanvey — along with a team of Vanderbilt neurologists — say Allen suffered a stroke, causing him to slide off the road that night. The neurologists say he likely experienced a seizure as well.
Instead of getting the medical help he needed, however, newly released body camera footage shows police mocked at him, beat him, and treated him like an animal. Then they lied on the police report and claimed Hanvey tried to hurt them. The video shows that Hanvey was mostly unconscious the entire time.
“Tammy asked me what happened, and I said I have not one clue, but they hurt me, and they hurt me bad,” said Hanvey.
In police reports filed the night in question first responders alleged Hanvey was “possibly intoxicated” and “uncooperative and belligerent,” charging him with assaulting a police officer.
“For five months, Allen walked around with this incredible guilt thinking he had assaulted four officers and it was all a lie,” said Tammy Hanvey.
Not until Tammy and Allen finally received the body camera footage did they realize police attacked the innocent man having a stroke and lied about Hanvey attacking them.
WAFF 48 said they tried contacting police to get the body camera footage for a report on the matter but they were denied. The city attorney never responded to their request, nor did the Florence Police department. Instead, they shared the footage received by the Hanveys.
As the video shows, when police arrive on scene, Hanvey is slumped over in the driver’s seat of his vehicle and has no clue what is going on as cops shine flashlights in his face.
Multiple time, Hanvey tells police and the paramedics who are also on the scene, that he cannot physically move — which is a major symptom of a stroke. He tells police that he is paralyzed and begins slipping in and out of consciousness.
Instead of realizing that Hanvey was in medical distress and having a stroke, the cops started mocking him.
“I am telling you; you don’t want to do this. You don’t want to do this,” said one officer in the video.
As one officer begins approaching Hanvey, his body camera conveniently falls off without reason. However, it is still recording and you can see the officer begin yanking the very sick man from the vehicle.
At this point, for good measure, another cop comes over and begins smashing the man’s head — who is in the midst of a life-threatening stroke — into the car door over and over.
As his abuse and humiliation is taking place, Hanvey is unable to speak — another major symptom of a stroke — and says nothing. Even the trained paramedics “stood by and watched,” Tammy explained.
During the middle of his abuse, Hanvey comes to and realizes police are abusing him. That’s when the officer turns off his body camera and Hanvey is brought to jail. He couldn’t remember what happened next, however, his injuries tell us exactly what happened.
“His clothes were torn; he was muddy because they threw him in a ditch. His face was all banged up. His glasses were shattered,” Tammy said, describing what she saw when she picked him up from the jail.
“When you call 911 and expects someone to come in your dire moment. And this is what happens? No this is wrong,” she said.
According to WAFF, two of the four officers from that night are no longer on the police force. The Hanvey family filed complaints with the police department, citizens advisory board, and the attorney general’s office. None of those agencies felt the need to investigate any further.
Despite the body camera video, the fact that it was determined Hanvey was having a stroke, and the fact that police were caught in a lie, the county is still pursuing charges against this man. He is due in court this week and faces possible jail time if convicted — for being beaten while having a stroke.
Sadly, cops mistaking medical emergencies for crimes happens all too often.
Right. They get trained by IDF Palestinian-killers with Federal (taxpayer) funding and armed carriers, etc., but don’t get any EMS training? Don’t take First Responder courses? Don’t get training in First Aid? (Because they do around here, as well as Fire Fighters.) Par for the course I guess…..