Posted on 03/17/2016 7:02:55 AM PDT by Enlightened1
North Carolina Sheriff Earl “Moose” Butler suspended five deputies after 78 year-old John Franklin McGraw punched a Black Lives Matter activist who disrupted a Trump rally and flipped off the crowd.
The sheriff suspended the deputies for several days. Two deputies were demoted.
Seriously?
A North Carolina sheriff has suspended five deputies for their actions at a Donald Trump rally in which a black man being escorted from the event was allegedly assaulted by a white man.
A statement from Cumberland County Sheriff Earl “Moose” Butler on Wednesday said three deputies were demoted and suspended without pay for five days. Two other deputies were suspended for three days without pay, and all five were put on probation for 12 months.
Butler launched an investigation after a video showed a man with a cowboy hat hitting a black man being led from the arena by deputies March 9. Officials said the deputies had their eyes on the stairs when the man was hit.
A news release from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office last week said John Franklin McGraw, of Linden, was charged with assault and disorderly conduct after the rally Wednesday in Fayetteville.
(Excerpt) Read more at thegatewaypundit.com ...
Good point. I guess we are supposed to wait until they knock us out, we wake up and then try and find the nasty skank and fight back. Na uh, no more. It pays to be on alert.
So, is his IQ 2, 3, 17 or 11?
LOL!
I’m for it. The police were escorting the guy out, and when he got punched, they did nothing to the guy who punched him. The protester was obnoxious, but he was still obeying the law by leaving when the cops told him to. He was assaulted while the cops were right there, and they did nothing.
I could see the cops being reluctant to cause a riot by hauling the older guy in just then, but best I can tell they didn’t even take his name and couldn’t have tracked him down without the media. That’s poor police work and they should have been called on it.
There’s also the fact that, since the cops were escorting him, this protester could haul them into court for failing to follow up after he was assaulted. Now that they’ve been disciplined within the system, if he sues he’s going to look like a money-grubbing loser.
Thanks for the clarification of how ASSAULT and BATTERY should be viewed.
Assault, as I understand it, is menacing, threatening, etc, with no physical contact. Battery is physical contact, even if it is only a light touch, is the definition I’m remembering.
I had not known that battery can be used as a legal defense for assault. But it certainly makes sense that that would be the case.
Yes, totally agree. It saddens me that freepers have their knickers in a bunch over one punch. It was only a sucker punch because the thug didn’t expect a 78 year old white Republican to fight back.
That first sentence contradicts itself.
It is his ‘culture’.
Just part of the argument that the thug had it coming.
flipping a bird ...
Is in no way easing the situation and part of why the thug got slugged and why he had it coming.
Wasn't this the thug that was ISIS sympathiser?
People had a lot better manners when dueling was the order of the day.
An armed society is a polite society.
[[Two deputies were demoted.Seriously?]]
Yup- those officers should have used their super duper psychic powers to predict the man would throw a punch out of the clear blue and arrested the man before he threw the punch-
there’s no excuse for not using your psychic powers to prevent acts of violence!
I suppose that is where the disagreement is highlighted. I, don’t believe that anyone “has it coming”. I believe that an ordered society requires the members of that society to follow the laws. Further, using “has it coming” to justify illegal actions is encouraging violence and criminal behaviour.
Can “Whitey had it coming” be used to justify assault and battery?
Can “Bitch had it coming” be used to justify assault and battery?
Can “Nigger had it coming” be used to justify assault and battery?
Can “X had it coming” be used to justify assault and battery?
Choose any term, offensive or not, and substitute in that sentence. Even try “Loud mouth offensive protester had it coming”.
Only pussies throw sucker punches.
Has anyone thought this maybe staged? ie; the old guy is a plant? These days of dirty tricks makes one extremely cynical. It would not be beyond the realm of possibility that he was a Bernie or Move On.org supporter and saw an opportunity and took it.
BTW he didn’t punch the guy he used his elbow which was smarter. Just my 2¢.
is too
because I are so wise!
it may not be a SUCCESSFUL defense, but it is a defense
“It is clear to me that the protester was not free to come, stay or go as he pleased. As such, he was in the custody of the officers and was being escorted out.”
We disagree with whether or not the protester was in custody because there is a difference between being escorted or being followed. In any case, his movements were being directed by the deputies, but he was not restrained in any way. In addition, the protester that got hit was not the only one being asked to leave by the deputies, but one of at least 3 in a line being followed up the stairs. From the available footage, he was in the middle of 3. In any event, there was no deputy directly in front of or behind him.
To my knowledge, no audio recordings exist as to what words were being spoken that led to the protester being struck by the old man, but it’s evident from the video that showed while leaving, the protester continued his actions which led to him being asked to leave in the first place.
This incident is not worthy of an all day discussion so I’m going to end my part with this. There is plenty of blame to be had by all parties involved. As a former deputy sheriff and police officer, these are my observations based on the available information.
1. The protester was there behaving in a manner to attract negative attention and reactions from the crowd. He succeeded.
2. The old man shouldn’t have hit him but it’s likely that extenuating circumstances exist i.e. fighting words that elicited an immediate violent response/challenging to a fight, both of which are criminal offenses whether they’re still enforced or not.
3. The deputies did not control the actions of any of the people that were being asked to leave so they are to be held responsible in the sense that they did not have control of the situation and their allowance of the situation is what led to the battery on the protester by the old man.
There’s plenty of blame to go around for everyone involved.
he was not in their custody - he was being walked out, and chose to flip everyone the bird- right in the old mans face.
I would not convict the old guy if I was on the jury
Very true.
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.