Free Thought Project – by Jack Burns
Orange County, FL — There’s probably no better example, to highlight the systemic problem our system of justice currently faces, than the following story. An elderly man, William Howard (75), who had never been in trouble with the law before, had a run-in with police after his wife said he “began to act strange.”
Howard was arrested and taken to jail for attacking his wife with a knife. But it’s what happened next which illustrates just how violent the system truly is.
The convergence of mental health issues, crime, and the criminal justice system worked against Howard’s favor following his arrest. Why he wasn’t taken to a mental health facility following the attack is a question which remains to be answered — especially considering the fact that this man with no arrest history did something so outlandish. Nevertheless, Howard found himself an inmate in Florida’s Orange County Jail on November 16, 2016.
Because of his diminished mental state, jail personnel were having a hard time getting Howard to cooperate with their orders. Appearing confused, according to reports, Howard would not come out of his jail cell.
The corrections officers on the scene worked patiently, it seems, to coax Howard into compliance. They jingled keys and spoke to the man, advising him to come to the sound of the clanging noise. “I’m over here,” a jailer can be heard saying as he shook the keys.” “Come over here,” he implored.
Howard didn’t budge, and so the controversial decision to use force was made. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the wisest of decisions. While Howard appears to be a tall man of formidable stature, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know the man, being elderly, is also quite frail.
A crew of more than a few jailers entered his cell and grappled with him. But it’s what happened after they controlled him which is reportedly leading Howard’s family to consult an attorney.
After controlling the elderly man, the same use of force procedures were used on him as are used on inmates much younger. He was taken to the ground — but not gently. He was slammed to the ground on his face, an action which the coroner stated led to his death.
According to the autopsy, two vertebrae in his neck were broken, and his spinal cord was crushed. Yet even though the actions of the officers ultimately led to his death, the Orange County district attorney concluded no laws were broken and no jail employee would be criminally charged.
The resolution to Howard’s unfortunate death will likely be determined in civil court, as a result. But to date, no lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Howard’s family.
Attempting to dissect the problems with Howard’s death is difficult, especially since the officers involved have already been cleared of any wrongdoing. Given the nature of Howard’s behavior, in attacking his wife with a knife, it may be that he was suffering from some sort of medical issue. Indeed, it is what all signs point to, especially considering his wife’s description of him acting strangely.
Strokes, manic episodes, schizophrenia and other illnesses can lead someone to carry out an attack on the ones they love the most, even a concussion can create such behaviors.
It’s unclear if Howard’s actions were the result of such a medical condition, nor is it clear that his mental state was evaluated prior to locking him up in jail. What is certain is that submission methods when dealing with an elderly inmate must be reevaluated.
If there’s a risk a man’s bones can be broken, his spinal chord crushed, and death can be a result, some other method of containment must be employed. More must be done to ensure jailers do not end up being executioners.
While I don’t think they meant to kill him in this case, it’s clear that the pigs were negligent and deserve to be brought up on manslaughter charges.
what the hell do you mean, “i don’t think they meant to kill him in this case” the gentleman was 75 years old , Hello, wake up moron, have you seen these orange county military thugs , there fu*king animals just looking for a defenseless victims to violate , to hell with bringing them up on charges , shoot the mother f**kers , and do it first, sure as shit they will shoot you.
Amen
Well then, asshole, it looks like I need to clarify what I said for you.
Anyone who has been reading the comments on this site over the past few years knows how much I detest the police in this country. No one is happier than I am when one of them gets waxed. You can check out my older posts if you want to see for yourself. I don’t know how many times I’ve repeated the slogan, “freedom grows where cops get planted.” So don’t assume that I’m defending the pigs just because I don’t believe that they’re trying to kill someone with EVERY scuffle they get into.
My brief comment about “manslaughter charges” referred ONLY to this particular incident. Based on the article’s description of what happened, I still don’t think the pigs meant to kill the guy. I think they meant to hurt him, and that alone deserves punishment. A killing due to negligence is manslaughter as I understand it. If we had a functioning justice system, then those would be appropriate charges, and they’re serious enough to bring major prison time.
If you want my view on the bigger picture, I’m fully aware that police in the US are monsters who deserve death for plenty of other reasons: routine violation of the Bill of Rights, enforcing unjust laws that imprison decent people for victimless acts, covering up for their fellow pigs who commit crimes against citizens, and so forth. I just didn’t see the need to bring all that up when commenting on this particular case.
DAM PIGS ARE PURE FILTH. THEY DONT EXIST FOR THE “BETTERMENT” OF SOCIETY, BUT TO ITS DETRIMENT……………….
These goddamed h1b1 Article programmed algorithm AI bots.
The article should read:
“Officer’s Die After Elderly Man Body Slams Them Breaking Their Necks.”
And the moral of the story is:
Don’t fk with elderly people.
Especially if they kind of look like Dwayne Johnson..
The Rock .
LAST MONTH IN THE HOSPITAL IN TUPELO MISSISSISSIPPI, I HAD TO TO THREATEN THE DOCTORS AND NURSES WITH DEATH. I TOLD THEM THAT IF THEY DIDNT RELEASE ME, THAT I WOULD START KILLING SONS OF BITCHES……………
THEY BROUGHT ME RELEASE FORMS TO SIGN. IF I EVER SEE ANY OF THEM AGAIN, I WILL MAKE SURE TO INFLICT DEADLY HEAD WOUNDS WITH MY 9 MM…………………
Fkng A man.
What the fk are they gonna do to ya ?
You’re already in a dam hospital. .
Maybe wheel the bodies in your room down to emergency and icu…?
If they’re that lucky..?
After you shoot them in the balls.
I think they made the right decision.
THGIS PRICK CAME INTO MY ROOM AND SAID THAT I HAD “A BAD ATTITUDE”. I TOLD HIM TO RELEAse me, or i would kill his f##ckin family……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………I MEANT IT………………………………..
I LIKE YOUR ATTITUDE KOYOTE, F THOSE PRICKS.
A young man two doors down breaks into homes with his friends, while chatting with my next door neighbor I made a similar statement, “steal from my and I will kill your whole family”, he heard it, so did his mom, now he makes sure to wave when he sees me lol.
THOSE ASSHOLES IN TUPELO WERE HOLDING ME AGAINST MY WILL guin·ea pig……………………………
“playin guinea pig”………….
IM NEARLY POSITIVE THAT THE SIEZURES WERE CAUSED BY STRONTIUM LADEN CHEMTRAILS…………….ALONG WITH BARIUM……………………………………………….And aluminum…………………………………..
If you spend big time outside, those surgical masks are a good idea. It’s roll the dice time anymore just breathing normally.
Glad to hear your out of the FEMA facility and back at home. Been there done that, and they had the balls to charge me $160,000 for a thirteen day stay.
Needless to say…………NOT!
THAT SHIT WASNT FUNNY. IT IS LIKE YOUR DREAMING, YET VERY MUCH AWAKE………… I WAS MUMBLING LIKE A MORON. EVERYTHING LOOKED FAMILIAR, YET DEEP INSIDE MY MIND, I KNOW I WAS FAMILIARIZING BULLSHIT………………………………………………………EVERYONE I CAME IN CONTACT WITH, I KNEW AS A CHILD OR WENT TO SCHOOL WITH…………. WHEN I CAME TO MY SENSES, I WAS SEVERELY PISSED OFF, AND SOME ASSHOLE WAS TRYING TO BERATE ME FOR MY BAD PERSONALITY………………….I WILL NEVER LEAVE HOME UNARMED AGAIN, UNDER ANY DAMNED CIRCUMSTANCE……………………………………
AMBULANCE OR NOT……………………….
Must of been really hard to control and take down a 75 year old man, that these uniformed thugs had to resort to a gang beating to keep the old man from hurting them and get him under control.
THAT OLD MAN WAS OBVIOUSLY A BADASS……………
Chatting in forums wont solve this.
No one ever claimed it would, waking people up with a website helps grow our numbers, getting information out there so folks can keep their finger on the pulse of reality helps us make better decisions.
Would you like to purpose a solution?
That’s correct, Frank. Numbers mean a whole lot, and the word needs to be spread.
This site serves an essential purpose as a kind of “information hub,” but I think a lot of work also needs to be done by posting in more “hostile territory” as well.
Sites like Breitbart are a good example. You see a lot of mouthbreathers at those places who think sucking off the police (and “our troops”) is what “conservative” men do. Even worse, they seem to take a kind of macho pride in it.
We need to explain to those people
* that it’s total chickensh!t for any man (barring the handicapped or very elderly) to look first to other men to defend his safety;
* that each of us is completely responsible for defending his own freedom, and that this cannot be outsourced to any large organization which could easily turn around and endanger that freedom; and,
* that willing submissiveness to “authority” is ALWAYS the mark of a pussy.
Society needs rules, but it doesn’t need rulers. No man who possesses a shred of dignity will ever accept a master; he’ll die first.
I fully agree, I always enjoy reading your comments. I find I have better results waking people up in person, they don’t act so tough when I speak the truth directly to their faces.
I spread the word on youtube much, I try to always comment “Shared at fromthetrenchesworldreport.com” When I post a Youtube video here.
I enjoy your comments as well, Frank. I hope you’ll keep up the good work here and elsewhere. And yes, waking people up on a person-to-person level can be very effective, especially if the right people are targeted. By the “right people” I mean those who are likely to go out and spread the message to others in the same way you did.
IM A dam cripple,,,,,,,,, still I DOMT CALL THE DAM LAW………..
Wanna bet? Like Frank Face said, it gets the ball rolling. Besides belittling ignorance, get your face right and try contributing, why did you log on?
Then what WILL, Sherlock, short of shooting them all???
Exposing their corruption will at least cause them collateral damage… far more than NOT exposing it.
Chatting in forums wont solve this.””
NOPE, BUT ITS A DAMN START……………….
All they had to do was plant him in a wheel chair, quick tie and wheel him out! BUT, they opted for the “slam him to the ground” routine. This guy was a dead man as soon as he was arrested. They wanted him dead as soon as he decided to give them the finger.
They were commiserating this as soon as they stopped “shaking the keys”…
Let’s face it, get arrested, get ready to die! Especially if your a believer in the “Bill of Rights”
ITS GREAT TO SEE ALL THESE COMMENTS………. HAPPY DADDY S DAY GUYS!!!!!!!!!!
Hey KOYOTE, stay away from the damned doctors. They’ll kill ya. I only trust one in my area because he understands that I will check him out before I take his advice.
YEP