Posted on 06/26/2012 7:45:13 AM PDT by marktwain
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A Minneapolis man says he was beaten by police as he left a downtown nightclub.
Zachary King says he was walking to his car when police noticed his gun in his waist band. He claims he told police he had a permit to carry, but they still attacked him.
King suffered a concussion after five officers beat him on Father’s Day night. King says video of the assault was taken by a bystander. He says it all started when police noticed a bulge near his waist band.
“I have my conceal and carry, and it’s my gun. And soon as I said that he grabbed me by my neck, slammed me against the wall, snatched my gun out the holster, started waving it in the air saying ‘gun, gun, gun,’” said King.
King says he made no sudden moves, nor said anything disrespectful.
“Then four other officers just came and slammed me on my face, one of the officers had me by my head just banging it on the sidewalk,” he said.
King says officers eventually went for his back pocket and his wallet to get his weapons permit.
“And he goes like this to show them that I have my card and they stopped beating me,” said King.
King was then taken to the hospital before his last stop, jail.
King’s attorney, Mike Patton, says his client was arrested, jailed and not charged for recording police back in April that allegedly showed abuse of power.
“He has zero criminal record, zero,” said Mike Patton.
He was also acquitted of manslaughter in 2008 after his pit bull mauled to death his 7-year-old son.
“It takes a lot of courage to come forward in this type of situation. He doesn’t want to see this happen to other people,” said Patton.
Patton says police had no probable cause to do anything to his client.
He says he is working with internal affairs and hopes that street video from Minneapolis Police cameras will back up his clients claim.
We reached out to Minneapolis Police for comment on King’s accusations. Police say because there is an open civilian review authority investigation, and they cannot comment.
Could police want to "make an example" of him?
Welcome to the USSA, comrades. The Police are ALWAYS right.
Man this guy is living a tough life...
- His dog kills his kid. How horrible!
- Thrown in jail for recording apparent police abuse activity
- Police beat him up for no apparent reason and then take him to jail
Police in these large cities have some serious issues. We continue to see corruption and screwed up morals and abuse. And that is just normal LE types. Don’t even begin to look at the special weapons, assault, hostage and other teams etc.
I live in Minneapolis. I am a white middle-class professional - and I fear the Minneapolis Police.
They have a reputation for corruption and thuggery that can rival amost any other law enforcement agency in the US.
A story like this does not surprise me in the least.
“as he left a downtown nightclub”
Even I know this is a no-no, unless they make over half their income from serving food.
Current circumstances not withstanding, OMG!
How do you live with yourself after that? I can't imagine the guilt the guy must live with but would be interested to learn more of his life circumstances.
There should be no law that makes it illegal to record police activities.
Seems like obvious retaliation to me.
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The roll of the police should always be suspect for it is a very fine line between keeper of the peace and representative of the oppressor and power is a powerful corrupter.
The less power the police have, the more individual responsibility is required. This rule explains the omnipotents of the police in the land of the left.
I ask this as someone who has had a CCW for about 30 years and worked private security including being certified to teach the MegaBill class in NYS
I’m betting the cops didn’t “see” anything.
Most CCW holders understand that “concealed” means CONCEALED!
This guy has been marked for harrassment.
Don’t ask what I’d do in his situation....
The fruits of prohibition are starting to ripen.
First they came for the herb users, and I said nothing.
What's a "no-no"? I don't know the laws in Minneapolis. Do you? Or are you commenting on your opinion of judgment? I didn't see anywhere in the story where the police found the victim to be intoxicated. And I am pretty confident they would have tried to find something to implicate criminal activity following the initial event.
Please enlighten me. I am licensed and do carry on the rare occasion that I am in an establishment that serves alcohol (perfectly legal).
Something seems very weird about this.
A guy walking down the street and police just randomly beat him up, because they may have seen his gun.
hum?
Did they tell him to stop?
Did they tell him to explain?
Was he belligerent, defiant?
There is something missing from this story.
The other side of that coin, however, is that if and when the police decide to adopt that "Harry Callahan" style of LE (two letter acronym for "Law Enforcement"), they no longer have any reasonable expectation of maintaining the respect or support from the general community that other more constrained Departments might expect and receive.
They can also expect to be videoed regularly, distrusted mightily, and scrutinized minutely with no slack afforded by the law-abiding citizens who live under the threat of neo-rogue policemanship.
Suck it up. You make your choices, and you accept what naturally flows from them. As the mob often says, "We got no right to complain. It's the life (we chose)."
;-\
I suspect that the police recognized him from the recording incident, actively looked for a "bulge" and then decided to beat him.
In a state with Shall Issue CCW, the presumption should be that somebody carrying concealed has a permit, and does not excuse this conduct.
I have no knowledge of MN laws. I do know that in TEXAS (800 miles from MN) the law states that CCW permit holder is not allowed to carry into an establishment whose primary business involves alcohol (51% or more). That might be the reference.
“why would he allow it to be visible?”
It wasn’t. They noticed a “buldge” in his pants.
Even I know this is a no-no, unless they make over half their income from serving food.
It depends on the state. I do not think Minnesota bans carry in establishments that serve alcohol. Most states do not do so, though some do have the limitation that you note.
Perhaps they do things differently in MN than in the uptight northeast, but carrying in a bar has always been a no-no as long as I have been permitted. Great way to get face-slammed into the tarmac.
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