Where was the loud mouth when they turned OJ Simpson loose,
you talk about blind justice!!! What about the fact that he was
not obeying the law and he is not fulfilling his duties as a parent.
Another family on government assistance!!!
GREENVILLE, S.C. --- A federal jury on Friday acquitted a white South Carolina trooper who bragged about striking a fleeing black suspect with his cruiser in a scene captured on video tape.
Lance Cpl. Steven Garren insisted during his four-day trial that the crash was an accident and that he did not have enough time to react when the sprinting Marvin Grant cut in front of his patrol car on a dark, rural road last year. "No one wanted Marvin Grant to get hit by a car," lawyer Wally Fayssoux said after the verdict.
He said Lance Cpl. Garren's testimony helped the jury make its decision.
"They got a chance to see and meet Steven Garren," he said.
The jury saw the video of the June 2007 incident dozens of times. It shows Mr. Grant running from Lance Cpl. Garren's car, then suddenly cutting in front of it. Mr. Grant was hit and rolled off the hood.
In the video, Lance Cpl. Garren brags to a deputy who also had been pursuing Mr. Grant, then seconds later says, "Yeah, I hit him. I was trying to hit him."
Lance Cpl. Garren left the courthouse smiling. He refused to take questions from reporters. Later in the day, officials said the suspended officer would be reinstated.
Black leaders in South Carolina reacted angrily to the decision from the jury of 10 whites and two blacks.
"This just goes to show us that justice isn't blind and that Lady Justice's scales are very unbalanced," state NAACP President Lonnie Randolph said. "To describe it as a miscarriage of justice is an understatement."
Lance Cpl. Garren was charged with using unreasonable force that deprived Mr. Grant of his civil rights. He could have faced a maximum 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said he couldn't envision handling the case differently. "I don't think this case is representative of the Highway Patrol or law enforcement agencies," he said.
Mr. Grant, who escaped after being hit, testified that he spent three weeks on crutches but never saw a doctor. He is in jail for failing to pay child support, but he never faced charges in the chase that started the incident.
Lance Cpl. Garren has been suspended without pay since his federal indictment in June. Public Safety Department Director Mark Keel said Friday that he could not be disciplined again for the incident and could be back on the force as early as Monday.
He said the ordeal sent an important message to law officers.
"I think that the fact that he was indicted by a federal grand jury, that he went to trial and was tried by a federal court, I think sends a message that's loud and clear that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated," Mr. Keel said.
Lance Cpl. Garren's trial was the first of two federal civil rights cases to come from a spate of police videos that showed questionable tactics by South Carolina troopers. The videos and how supervisors treated the officers on them brought the ousters of the heads of the Highway Patrol and Department of Public Safety earlier this year.
Comments
Where was the loud mouth when they turned OJ Simpson loose,
you talk about blind justice!!! What about the fact that he was
not obeying the law and he is not fulfilling his duties as a parent.
Another family on government assistance!!!
A bunch of retarded people in Augusta, If Mr. Grant had not been running none of this would of happened. We pay these police to stop crime at all cost and when they do we want to judge how they fight crime. Excuse me murderer would you please put your hand up we have to arrest you now. I know how about you in that house when you get done stealing can you step outside to be arrested? Now if Mr. Grant had been runing away from beating up your grandma you would be upset with the officers for not being tough enough. Dont do the crime if you cant handle the time. As an american I refuse to treat any piece of crap like this with respect. I only hope it sends a message to the rest of the trash that we wont take it any longer. God bless the men and woman who protect us why wont we protect them?
Thank you nofrills!!
Where was your loud mouth when they turned ROBERT BLAKE loose?
The Justice System has spoken. The Trooper put himself in this position, if not trying to impress others by stating with his own mouth that he intended to hit this person, there may not have been a trial.
Until your son is treated in this manner continue to celebrate.
This officer will offend again
Two wrongs don't make a right! I'm a white man, if it matters,and that kind of BS is uncalled for.The cop swears to uphold the law not bend it.
cncop1, not if your son doesn't run.
If the criminal hadn't been in the situation he put himself in, he wouldn't have been clubbed with a car. It's a war, police against the criminals. Trying to make this typical and good arrest about skin color is why so many black Americans have to endure disrespect. Get over it, grow up, and quit bringing heat needlessly down on your brothers.
I saw the dashcam video and heard about the gloating, and was appalled. However, I did not sit on the Jury and listen to the facts of this case. So while my initial reaction was that this officer went too far and didn't do enough to try not to hit the suspect, I have to believe that 12 persons listening to the facts came to the correct decision.
AMEN, AMEN, AMEN, "nofrills", this situation could not have been summarized any better. All that needs to happen now is to have the Trooper's cruiser cleaned, shined, and gassed up, pick up a freshly cleaned uniform at the Dry Cleaners, pay him for any salary that may have been held back, and advise the worthless, piece of crap hood-rat maggot criminals of this Trooper's badge number. All of the mental midgets out there need to realize that getting into a foot race with an automobile is like taking a knife to a gun fight. Oops, I might have given the hood-rat maggot thugs too much to think about there!
Now I ask you why would the press refer to the trooper as "white southern" and the "victim" as black unless this was a case racial diatribes...I am most pleased that the jury saw this for what it was...A moment of intense adrenalin pumping actions to chase down a criminal fleeing...The message should go out that no longer will the criminal get away with yelling foul against the police officer just because the color of that officer's skin allows the opportunity...If your guilty or not guilty just don't run...It is as simple as that...Listening to the rest of the tape pretty much relayed that the person running was delighted with a potential "payday"...
what was his crime pat running a red light?you don't run anyone down with a car and try to hit them,and have a camera rolling while you're doing it.the film proved the officer guilty,and he is caught on tape loving every minute of it.it helped cost the commander his job,and also the dps director his job,but you want this trooper out there again?well i guess in the republican world this is acceptable.
If his only crime was running a red light, why did he run? I haven't seen the video - but I'm glad he didn't get away. These days criminals seem to have MORE rights than law enforcement.
angiesdad, get over it already and get a life. Apparently you can't read or just plain choose to ignore that which is stated and filmed no less. The thug was running and cut in front of the police cruiser. What would your reaction of been IF you were the one driving the cruiser???
angiesdad, get over it already and get a life. Apparently you can't read or just plain choose to ignore that which is stated and filmed no less. The thug was running and cut in front of the police cruiser. What would your reaction of been IF you were the one driving the cruiser???
You guys probably weren't awake at 3:00am last night to hear about a car on Lumpkin Rd. running from the cops, hitting a power poll, taking down lines and hitting a house causing a lot of people to have to fix what a [filtered word] tore up. There was a gas leak. People had to be evacuated from their homes.
From the sound of communications they might have gotten one but one got away.
I say shoot, it's cheaper than court. Hit them with the car... whatever you have to do. Until the parents of these [filtered word] get control we have to protect society.
By the way, this all started because cars were being broken into.
Come to my neighborhood... I got something for you.
the suspect RAN, as far as im concerned he was fair game.
I agree!!! Bump with the car, bullet in the knee cap w/e...... point being ... dont run from the police!!!
If you jump in front of a moving vehicle, you are going to get hit and that is exactly what the "victim" in this case did.
justus ur an idiot! i suppose u think oj was not guilty of killing his wife.... everybody got dna right??
What a suprise justus4 finds ways to justify criminal behavior because of their race instead of what they did or the facts of a case!!! NOT!!! You are still as big an idiot as you were the first time I read one of your posts!!!!!!!!
Ever notice he only posts every other day or so and only on race issues and only 1 time and never responds when people confront him on it? I wonder... do they get net access in jail or mental wards??? Maybe that's why he only has a short time to post his nonsense then disppears!!! I could only imagine with his BS what profession he must be in if hes not institutionalized, its a scarey thought that someone like this maybe working among us in society and possibly exposed to our kids, he could even possibly be a school teacher for all we know!!!
God saw and heard it ALL. Judgement day is soon to come. Believe me, whatsoever a man sows, tha shall he also reap. It is written. When you can REALLY laugh is when you are ACQUITTED from a dying hell and make it into HEAVEN. GOD is sending so many signs and wonders to us but we still won't take heed and obey his word. These comments are either written to God or to the devil. Whose children are we?
it's ok karma is gonna work on that officer like karma is working on oj right now.
that officer should've chase that man by foot not with his car.but the world is growing angry and the police are not liked very much.
karma,karma watch out it's working over time now.
justus4 i agree 100% with u and i'm not even black....law is not on you're side,it's sad but true but once obama in office things will change and maybe the other race will be the salves thats what they worried about.
justus is this the same sort of justice where whole groups of blacks come out to harass the police when they take a criminal down for...oh drug dealing or attempted murder or some such crime...If the police happen to be white 'whoa' buddy watch the sparks fly...They will nine times out of 10 feel threatened as they attempt to do their jobs while watching their backs until the black 'policemen are called in...Please the double standard is nauseating to say the least...
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