Posted on 03/30/2012 7:44:13 AM PDT by Altariel
The niece stood in the darkened stairwell of the Winbrook Houses, listening, as 20 feet away five police officers yelled at her uncle, who had locked himself in his apartment.
It was 5:25 on a chill November morning. The officers banged loud and hard, demanding that her 68-year-old uncle open his door.
“He was begging them to leave him alone,” she recalls. “He sounded scared.” She pulls her shawl about her shoulders and her voice cracks; she is speaking for the first time about what she saw. “I heard my uncle yelling, ‘Officers, officers, why do you have your guns out?’ ”
The string of events that night sounds prosaic, a who-cares accumulation of little mistakes and misapprehensions. Cumulatively, though, it is like tumbling down the stairs. Somehow the uncle, Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., a former Marine who had heart problems and wheezed if he walked more than 40 feet, triggered his medical alert system pendant. The system operator came on the loudspeaker in his one-bedroom apartment, asking: “Mr. Chamberlain, are you O.K.?” All of this is recorded.
Mr. Chamberlain didn’t respond. So the operator signaled for an ambulance. Police patrol cars fell in behind — standard operating procedure in towns across America. Except an hour later, even as Mr. Chamberlain insisted he was in good health, the police had snapped the locks on the apartment door.
****
The district attorney will present the case to a grand jury and has not released transcripts. But the family’s recollection matches that of neighbors who listened through closed doors.
They say officers taunted Mr. Chamberlain. He shouted: “Semper fi,” the Marine Corps motto. The police answered with loud shouts of “Hoo-rah!” Another officer, the niece says, said he wanted to pee in Mr. Chamberlain’s bathroom.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Rest in peace, Kenneth Chamberlain. Thank you for your service to our nation. I regret that it was so repaid.
The police can be just as bad as Mutant Zombie Trayvons. Especially the no-knock SWAT thugs.
However, because the source -- the New York Times -- is a font of purposeful lying and extreme slanting, I cannot draw any conclusions.
The source, the New York Times, is utterly impeached.
Since the neighbors and the family members are in agreement on the details, I am inclined to believe their version of events is accurate.
I will see if I can locate a news source for this other than the NY Times.
Everything they write is a lie, including the words 'and' and 'the'.
Of course the NYT says he was an ex-Marine, I thought there was no such thing? Is this how we treat people who put their life on the line for this country?
Here’s an update from the local paper:
http://www.thedailywhiteplains.com/news/chamberlain-family-asks-audio-video-release
Many people I know have dramatically changed their attitude towards the police from one of being supportive and cooperative to avoiding any contact or communication with them if at all possible.
Who wants their dog or themselves killed by these out of control freaks?
Displaying a knife against intruders who are breaking in without a warrant, and where no crime has been committed, nor was there any sign that one would be committed ~ that's really not a law violation anywhere but New York.
NOW, Br'backwoods-engineer, 'splain, in detail who are the mutants, the zombies, and the trayvons ~ (having named them all) in this case.
Then, if you deal with that successfully, tell us who were the mutants, zombies and trayvons when the cops out in Oceanside shot a former Marine to death in his SUV claiming it was a lethal weapon of some kind. I believe they got away with that one, and it was in front of his daughters.
Can we please have someone go along with the cops whose job it is to shelter the eyes of the children when they shoot a parent in front of them? (/s).
Thanks!
One word:
Murtha
How would the police know what color the guy was behind his door? How many of the cops were black?
When everything looks like a nail you hit it w/ a hammer. Anyway, the highest aspiration of the police is ‘just want to go home at night’. So, its little surprise they’re a bit gun happy...dogs, people whats the difference?
The police interacted with the mans niece who would also be black. The niece is back, logical conclusion is that the uncle is a black man.
I no longer grant any agent of the government, especially the police, automatic credibility. The cops can earn my trust through legal behavior but a) they have no interest in earning anyone’s trust and b) they have become a law unto themselves, hiding or destroying exculpatory evidence, illegally arresting those who film a police action and shooting everything from family dogs to witnesses.
Cops in many instances have become just another street gang.
WTH? I cannot imagine the police in my town breaking down a door because a somewhat unhinged old man triggered his medical alert and wouldn’t let them in, and told them to go away through the door.
If Mr. Chamberlin, an old man with heart disease who could hardly walk forty feet, was “known to” the police, then they knew his family too, his niece who lives upstairs and his son who lives five minutes away. He was probably as well known for his medical emergencies as well as “behavioral” emergencies if any.
Why the hell would they escalate the situation with a frightened old man?
I’m going to try to withhold judgment until all the recordings are released, all the past history.
One question - why didn’t the niece call the son? If she wasn’t home, why didn’t a neighbor call her?
He was "known to" them. An old guy with heart disease, and possible mental illness. They'd probably been there before. Which is why they would know the niece lived upstairs. And who would most likely be at home at 0530.
Sounds like a clear case of torture and murder by thugs having a little fun. Hang them.
Contrary to what I was always told. The police are not my friend.
It may have been true in the 50s and even the 60s, but now they are just hired thugs who will kill your dog and read you your rights.
In fact they don’t even read the full Miranda rights statement, because they know you will not speak if you know the whole thing. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?” isn’t it. It omits the final sentence that states, “and nothing you say can be used in your defense.”
Frankly, I look at all LEOs now as potential enemies of this country. Their balaclavas, automatic weapons, mucho-velcroed vests and armor plus helmets and goggles are not accoutrements necessary to deal with individual citizenry. It is just not needed.
Safety is one thing; over-reaction and oppression are another.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.