Philly Cop Files Brutality Suit against Police Department

Cop Block

The content below was shared by Max McDuh via CopBlock.org/Submit. It documents a not too unusual situation (unfortunately) – people wearing police badges assaulting another – with a twist – the person wronged was a colleague. That person – Brandon Ruff, is now suing.

Outfit: Philadelphia Police Department
Phone: (215) 686-3280

Philly cop Brandon Ruff claims his friend bought three firearms from neighbors “in a proactive attempt to stop violence.” Cop attempted to turn in the guns at a different precinct than where he is assigned. Was treated as though he were being investigated, then roughed up, then held for 6 hours. He suffered two sprained wrists and two sprained shoulders.  

And has now filed a suit in federal court.

From the post Philly cop files brutality suit against police department by Sam Wood at Philly.com:

Ruff claims he was roughed up by seven officers from the 35^th District when he attempted to anonymously turn in three handguns at the precinct. Ruff, who says he suffered two sprained wrists and two sprained shoulders in the fracas, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

Ruff, an eight-year veteran assigned to the 16^th precinct, said the acts of the 35^th District officers “were committed willfully, wantonly, maliciously, intentionally, outrageously, deliberately and/or by conduct so egregious as to shock the conscience.”

In his suit, Ruff said a friend asked him to turn in three firearms the friend had bought from neighbors “in a proactive attempt to stop violence.”

Ruff, who was off duty, checked to make sure the guns were unloaded and then drove to the 35^th District station at Broad Street and Champlost Avenue. When he arrived at the precinct, he told an officer he wanted to turn in some firearms. The officer asked who owned the guns. Ruff – who refused to identify the owner — said he was turning them in under a “no-questions-asked” policy and asked to speak to a supervisor, the suit states.

But according to a police spokesman, a “no-questions-asked” policy does not exist outside of periodic gun-amnesty programs.

“Can you drop them off like a baby? Typically, no,” said Lt. John Stanford, a department spokesman. “That’s only done when we do buybacks.”

After a supervisor failed to appear, another officer demanded to see Ruff’s identification. He told her that he didn’t have a state ID on him but had his work ID instead. Ruff asked to make a phone call outside the building. As he walked out, someone shouted, “There he is,” the suit states. Another officer came up behind Ruff and twisted his right hand behind his back. More than five officers ran to the scene. At that point, Ruff used a code number to identify himself as a fellow officer and said that his ID was in his pocket, according to the suit.

Two of those police officers held Tasers to his chest and rib cage and threatened to activate them. One of the officers spotted a weapon holstered to Ruff’s hip and demanded, “Why the hell would you come into a police station with a gun on your hip? Where is your permit to carry?” Ruff responded that his police officer ID was his permit to carry, according to the suit.

http://www.copblock.org/68739/philly-cop-files-brutality-suit-against-police-department/