Mike Bennett arrest footage

[Rocket]

Again, people who post on news comments sections are crazy people... no one here is singing their praises.
I guess I don't get where you're coming from either. I don't support the use of the T word as it relates to the Bennett issue nor any other issue save for someone robbing a store by beating the shit out of the storekeeper... regardless of race, creed, etc..., that would be a thug.

Bennett's no thug and saying so is offensive.

There's a lot of ignorant assholes out there. Just don't read the comments section, it's better for ya.

 

[hawksincebirth]

I guess I'm confused why you would assume he considers Bennett a thug just because some idiot posters in the comments section are calling him that. Do you think it's possible to think the cops did there job here and not think Bennett is a thug?

All I did was ask him if he agrees .. I didn't accuse I asked him a question sorry if I'm a lil upset some of the nasty and racist comments from our fellow fans makes me sick .. I don't think anyone on our team is a thug. I don't see someone who feared for his safety as deserving of the treatment we witnessed . Sorry not sorry

 

[hawksincebirth]

Again, people who post on news comments sections are crazy people... no one here is singing their praises.
I guess I don't get where you're coming from either. I don't support the use of the T word as it relates to the Bennett issue nor any other issue save for someone robbing a store by beating the shit out of the storekeeper... regardless of race, creed, etc..., that would be a thug.

Bennett's no thug and saying so is offensive.

There's a lot of ignorant assholes out there. Just don't read the comments section, it's better for ya.

Awesome for you to agree there .. it's very upsetting to me personally so I apologize if I came across as combative.

 

[Ozzy]

No worries, I would be pissed off too if I was reading those comments. It is a tough issue for me too even though I think the cops were justified here. We all want racial equality and fair treatment for everyone. It's a topic that everyone should be passionate about.

 

[hawksincebirth]

No worries, I would be pissed off too if I was reading those comments. It is a tough issue for me too even though I think the cops were justified here. We all want racial equality and fair treatment for everyone. It's a topic that everyone should be passionate about.

This is where this topic makes progress. I am no way anti police or l.e
I have no problem with detaining someone but it's how you do it .. if bennetts side is even 50% true i.e. Gun to the head and threatened. That is where the justification stops with me. We see it too often . Could they of possibly stopped Bennett without guns or threats. I'm sure this could of been handled differently.

 

[Ozzy]

If they said what he alleged they did then I'm not a fan. I'm not defending it at all but I've been in similar scenarios and it's hard to explain the pressure of an active shooter or potentially violent situation as an officer when you have a lot of people potentially relying on your for safety. Again not saying it's right but it's a tough spot to be in and I don't think many people realize that if they haven't been out in that position. Also I want to be clear....if we do have incidents of racial misconduct I want it brought to light and handled as quickly and severely as possible so we can limit those type of incidents. I just don't personally think it happened here but with more evidence I'm open to being wrong. Like Stone said above I hope it's obvious. Anyway good discussion and I know I'm in the minority here but I do care about the issue at hand.

 

[Cyrus12]

Here's a question I can't find the answer to...did Bennett stop when told by the police or did he runaway from them?

 

[EverydayImRusselin]

Here's a question I can't find the answer to...did Bennett stop when told by the police or did he runaway from them?

Considering the number of people there and the adrenaline he was probably experiencing I doubt he would know they were yelling at him specifically. And again, the previous video released shows multiple cops telling people to run.

 

[Rocket]

Again, people who post on news comments sections are crazy people... no one here is singing their praises.
I guess I don't get where you're coming from either. I don't support the use of the T word as it relates to the Bennett issue nor any other issue save for someone robbing a store by beating the shit out of the storekeeper... regardless of race, creed, etc..., that would be a thug.

Bennett's no thug and saying so is offensive.

There's a lot of ignorant assholes out there. Just don't read the comments section, it's better for ya.

Awesome for you to agree there .. it's very upsetting to me personally so I apologize if I came across as combative.

It's hard to be calm when others are pissin' you off, so I get it.

Go Hawks !!

 

[Rocket]

Here's a question I can't find the answer to...did Bennett stop when told by the police or did he runaway from them?

That's a good and relevant question.

 

[JGfromtheNW]

I don't see how this new video proves or disproves either the LVPD or Bennett.

The things that are most telling to me about this whole situation is 1) the detaining officer's body cam was not activated and 2) if the LVPD has access to literally hundreds of videos from neighboring hotels, witnesses and the officers themselves, why has there not been some type of "slam dunk" video disproving that the detaining officer ever pulled a gun on him and told him he'd blow his brains out? Meanwhile there are a few pictures that were released the SAME DAY as Bennett's statement that show the detaining officer with either a gun or tazer out.

The LVPD can literally prove Bennett is lying with a single video, instead they release video footage that's been edited and/or completely irrelevant to Bennett's claims. This is nothing more than deflecting and discrediting the victim to protect their precious fellow officers and their own embarrassment.

 

[hawk45]

I don't see how this new video proves or disproves either the LVPD or Bennett.

The things that are most telling to me about this whole situation is 1) the detaining officer's body cam was not activated and 2) if the LVPD has access to literally hundreds of videos from neighboring hotels, witnesses and the officers themselves, why has there not been some type of "slam dunk" video disproving that the detaining officer ever pulled a gun on him and told him he'd blow his brains out? Meanwhile there are a few pictures that were released the SAME DAY as Bennett's statement that show the detaining officer with either a gun or tazer out.

The LVPD can literally prove Bennett is lying with a single video, instead they release video footage that's been edited and/or completely irrelevant to Bennett's claims. This is nothing more than deflecting and discrediting the victim to protect their precious fellow officers and their own embarrassment.

One could also ask why video hasn't been unearthed proving the officers used excessive force, because if such a thing existed it'd be on TMZ by now. Alleging a cover-up on the part of the LVPD is a bridge too far IMO.

Not to mention if events went down exactly as Bennett described it is still no slam dunk for excessive force, in fact I'd wager it's a bad bet. LEOs get a lot of latitude when neutralizing a suspect in an active shooter scenario for any reason. Because if they're wrong, innocent people die instead of someone merely getting threatened, zip-tied, and released.

They didn't even injure him.

Bennett's own statement said the officer told him he'd blow his brains out ****if he moved****. Cops are trained that the more forceful and scary the better, because as we've seen with other shootings, when the suspect fails to comply with a command to cease all movement, the cop has an internal clock of like 0.5 seconds before shooting or risking the suspect charging him or pulling out a weapon.

They may have saved his life by scaring him into freezing. When Bennett is being taken to the police car they still have to yell at him to get in the car, so he was freaked out to the point where nothing but super loud voice was getting through.

As for body cam not being activated, yeah, there need to be penalties for that IMO unless there is some malfunction or good reason demonstrated why not. Body cams activated before they are chasing him but not during the critical interaction just looks dodgy and defeats the purpose of body cams.

 

[JGfromtheNW]

Once again, there's been photos since the day Bennett made his statement that shows the detaining officer over him with a gun/tazer. So far, no video or photo footage from the LVPD proving otherwise OR proving that what Bennett claims to be said didn't occur.

Last I checked Bennett and his lawyer don't have immediate access to hundreds of videos like LVPD and leaking footage from a hotel's security footage that is currently under investigation by the police is a huge no-no for employees. Take into consideration the fact that Bennett was ID'd, charged at and taken down in a matter of 5-10 seconds, in order for footage to exist of Bennett being treated as he claims someone would have had to:
1) Be in the location of the incident
2) Already have their phone out
3) Be close enough to witness and clearly record what was said
4) Be quick enough to start recording the part of the detainment that hasn't been released by the LVPD (already released footage shows Bennett already on the ground, cuffed and completely bewildered)

The LVPD and related police union have a vested interest in protecting their own and discrediting their victims. You can see this played out an a national scale with the amount of officers that do not receive a conviction even though there is black and white video evidence of wrong doing.

Do people really think Bennett is making this type of stuff up as some type of false-flag or cry for attention? If he's proven a liar (it seems the majority of folks already have written him off as one) it's only going to hurt is brand. I highly doubt Bennett, his agent, his legal team and whoever else was a voice in his ear didn't tell him to just gamble on the truth NOT coming out and make a big fuss out of nothing.

 

[Ozzy]

I think one issue people criticizing the cops in the Bennett case is that if they are potentially involved in an active shooter situation tensions are very high and there is a ton of pressure on the officers. We saw what can happen in an active shooter situation in Vegas just recently. If the cops say don't move then don't move. Did anyone listen to the Vegas video? Cops ran towards that situation not away from it. It's not really happening here but I've seen a ton of people bash the cops and say what they should of done or what they would do but I doubt many have had the experience of running into a potential active shooter situation. The more I've watched this, thought about this etc. the more convinced I am the cops did the right thing based on what we see. It's possible they yelled and cussed at Bennett like he said but if so its somewhat understandable when someone is fighting with you and not complying, if that's what happened. I'm disappointed in Bennett for claiming he was racially profiled based on what I see. That's my best guess at this.

 

[hawk45]

I think one issue people criticizing the cops in the Bennett case is that if they are potentially involved in an active shooter situation tensions are very high and there is a ton of pressure on the officers. We saw what can happen in an active shooter situation in Vegas just recently. If the cops say don't move then don't move. Did anyone listen to the Vegas video? Cops ran towards that situation not away from it. It's not really happening here but I've seen a ton of people bash the cops and say what they should of done or what they would do but I doubt many have had the experience of running into a potential active shooter situation. The more I've watched this, thought about this etc. the more convinced I am the cops did the right thing based on what we see. It's possible they yelled and cussed at Bennett like he said but if so its somewhat understandable when someone is fighting with you and not complying, if that's what happened. I'm disappointed in Bennett for claiming he was racially profiled based on what I see. That's my best guess at this.

We also saw in the Philando Castile incident when the officers fail to make clear, forceful commands immediately and insistently. If the officer in that instance would have yelled "stop moving or I will blow your head off" at the top of his lungs instead of just mildly saying "don't reach for it", Castile might have realized that he and the officer weren't on the same page with respect to what he was reaching for, and that he was in mortal danger.

Not to derail the thread, but it's a good example of why if the cops think you might be armed, it's far better for them to make their fear and intentions 100% clear and neutralize you fast, rather than leave any ambiguity. If Bennett was on the ground, he can't see the other officer coming to zip-tie him, and may not be aware that even the smallest motion on his part might lead to a shoot. The cop left zero doubt in Bennett's mind that the smallest motion might get him dead.

Talk about damned if you do, damned if you don't. In this case the cop is being impugned for making the mortal danger TOO clear. I think Bennett's family should be happy this cop chose to make things clear.

 

[JGfromtheNW]

If the cops say don't move then don't move. Did anyone listen to the Vegas video? Cops ran towards that situation not away from it.

If you watched the original video, the officer (I believe with the body cam on) is yelling "everybody out" literally seconds before the officers react to the Bennett. They weren't telling people not to move. You can go back further in the video and see plenty of people reacting in all different types of ways, some of them running out when they see officers are clearing the area.

I'm with you and hawk45, though. I can't imagine how chaotic and terrifying that type of situation would be for any type of LEO and at the end of the day no one was injured and there were just some hurt feelings and/or possibly miscommunications.

Bennett's biggest beef, from what I've interpreted, is that he sees the treatment as an excessive use of force. Is he wrong? Maybe, but I have no reason to believe that he's lying about what happened. Beyond that, he can actually still believe that he was racially profiled. Just because an officer is a minority doesn't mean they don't treat other minorities differently. Hell, there are stories you can google right now of black police officers ADMITTING that they treat black males differently than others. Maybe the police officer was excessive in his use of force because he sees a black man of Bennett's stature to be a much more intimidating threat than a 5'9" white dude who's 200 pounds soaking wet.

I definitely give the benefit of the doubt to the officer in how he acted, but I also give Bennett the benefit of the doubt in what occurred and whether he feels like he was discriminated against or not. It's not really my place to tell others whether they are right/wrong or should be offended/not offended when these things are such personal issues and experiences.

 

[Rocket]

The cops who assaulted the casino ( yes, assaulted ) where Bennett was detained, they were responding to an ACTIVE SHOOTER event and were looking for the shooter. The cops who assaulted the Mandalay Bay were responding to an ACTIVE SHOOTER event and were looking for the shooter.

Does this help people understand why Bennett had a knee in his back and possibly a gun in his face and he was cussed at and disrespected and almost tossed into the back seat of a patrol car? ACTIVE SHOOTER. That's what the cops were told in both situations. I was asked earlier in the week if the cops could be "more polite" when dealing with Bennett, when they were responding to an ACTIVE SHOOTER report.

Does anyone get this?

 

[JGfromtheNW]

Does anyone get this?

I think most of us here get that, that's why no one here is really bashing the cops. The point of my posts has been to disprove that Bennett is a liar because we don't have enough information to know whether he was lying or not, and the LVPD has been attempting to discredit Bennett's statement but has fallen flat on their face.

Their first response to Bennett's statement was to shame him and the NFL for anthem protesting, and then requested the NFL, who they just shamed, to do their job for them and investigate into it. You think they have any interest in remaining professional or unbiased in the matter? I don't think so.

 

[kidhawk]

Does anyone get this?

You think they have any interest in remaining professional or unbiased in the matter? I don't think so.

When you are threatened with a lawsuit from the get go, your replies will always be taking that into account. The LVPD obviously is careful to insure that everything they say and do keeps them ahead of the curve if that lawsuit ever emerges. Had a lawsuit not been brought to the equation from the start, things may have gone differently, but once lawyers get involved, it's always going to be a different ballgame.

 

[JGfromtheNW]

Does anyone get this?

You think they have any interest in remaining professional or unbiased in the matter? I don't think so.

When you are threatened with a lawsuit from the get go, your replies will always be taking that into account. The LVPD obviously is careful to insure that everything they say and do keeps them ahead of the curve if that lawsuit ever emerges. Had a lawsuit not been brought to the equation from the start, things may have gone differently, but once lawyers get involved, it's always going to be a different ballgame.

Sure, which makes it laughable for people to take the evidence that the LVPD has put out so far and somehow use it as proof that Bennett is a liar.

LVPD has handled it poorly from the start, and releasing edited footage last week that didn't help their cause... well, it didn't help their cause I guess.