God or the devil, someone's in the details

[Universe Prince]

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2008/12/galveston_false_arrest.php

I'll start with the cops' side:

Both the daughter and the father were arrested for assaulting a peace officer. "The father basically attacked police officers as they were trying to take the daughter into custody after she ran off." Also, "The city has investigated the matter and found that the conduct of the police officers was appropriate under the circumstances," Helfand says. "It's unfortunate that sometimes police officers have to use force against people who are using force against them. And the evidence will show that both these folks violated the law and forcefully resisted arrest."

And now, the side of the father and daughter:

It was a little before 8 at night when the breaker went out at Emily Milburn's home in Galveston. She was busy preparing her children for school the next day, so she asked her [African-American] 12-year-old daughter, Dymond, to pop outside and turn the switch back on.   As Dymond headed toward the breaker, a blue van drove up and three men jumped out rushing toward her. One of them grabbed her saying, "You're a prostitute. You're coming with me." Dymond grabbed onto a tree and started screaming, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." One of the men covered her mouth. Two of the men beat her about the face and throat. As it turned out, the three men were plain-clothed Galveston police officers who had been called to the area regarding three white prostitutes soliciting a white man and a black drug dealer. [...] After the incident, Dymond was hospitalized and suffered black eyes as well as throat and ear drum injuries. Three weeks later, according to the lawsuit, police went to Dymond's school, where she was an honor student, and arrested her for assaulting a public servant. Griffin says the allegations stem from when Dymond fought back against the three men who were trying to take her from her home.

Three strange men jump out of a van, grab a girl, try to take her away and beat the crap out of her, and she gets accused of breaking the law because she resisted arrest? I hope there are missing details. I mean, the city says the conduct of the police officers was appropriate. Doesn't seem appropriate to me, considering the police were at the wrong house, but the city wouldn't lie about that, would they?

But let's say, for the sake of argument, that the police conduct was appropriate under the circumstances. Since the police were at the wrong house, seems to me the girl and the family deserve an apology, at the very least, and to not be charged with a crime. Am I wrong?

[fatman]

Am I wrong?

Not in my book.

[hnumpah]

Considering the injuries, I'd say they were entitled to a bit more than an apology. Mistakes happen, certainly, but there is no need to compound them by trying to blame the victims of the police department's error.

[Lanya]

The cops are lucky they weren't shot.   And the poor girl is lucky she wasn't tasered. 

[kimba1]

uhm
I reread this several times to make sure
3 white prostitutes

one  12 year old black girl

I don`t know what are the missing details but those cops are bad
and I mean barney fife bad not shield bad

[Xavier_Onassis]

I would like to see the 12 year old Black girl in those shorts.

But really, the cops seem incapable of identifying a suspect or even counting.

Worse than Barney Fife, and Barney was not dangerous.

[Amianthus]

Worse than Barney Fife, and Barney was not dangerous.

Well, only when he kept his single bullet in his shirt pocket.

[BT]

http://www.takkle.com/photos/496307/-/member/7133690

The incident happened two years ago. I guess she is 14 in these pics.

[Universe Prince]

She definitely looks too dark to be mistaken for a white prostitute.

[Xavier_Onassis]

The photos are dated 2004/01/01. Of course, it could be that she did not bother to set the date.

She seems to be aware that she has a pronounced booty.