Fort Worth Cops – Excessive Force Caught on Video? Watch and Decide for Yourself.

Carey Cass Hudson admits to being charged with driving drunk and being hauled down to the Fort Worth jail — but he’s not defending against a DWI charge. Nope, Hudson is fighting Fort Worth law enforcement by accusing the cops of using excessive force against him down at the station.

And Carey Cass Hudson has it all on videotape to boot.  (Watch the video below, released by Carey Hudson and the Fort Worth Star Telegram.) 

Warning: This Video is Disturbing.

As you watch the video, you’ll see the following:  he’s handcuffed behind his back.  Not much of a threat to anyone, right?  He’s being escorted by more than one police officer.  He’s shoved into a door frame.  Lotsa cops around.  Then he’s thrown onto the floor in a manner that would make Mike Tyson proud: fast, deliberate, with power.  Carey Hudson doesn’t move, except to curl into a fetal position once he’s on that linoleum floor. 

Two things of note.  Look for the blood there by his head once the cops start to move him.  And count the cops that are either involved in this brutality, or that sashay by while this man is lying there, bleeding. 

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that the DWI charges have been dismissed against Mr. Hudson, and that a settlement of $120,000 is being offered to Mr. Hudson by the City.   You betcha a quick settlement would be good for the City. 

Fourth Amendment, 1983 Actions, and the Crisis of Excessive Force/Police Brutality in this Country

But is this justice?  First, let’s consider what is Excessive Force under the law.  The United States Constitution, under the Fourth Amendment, allows for a personal seizure if it is “reasonable.” 

Remember the Fourth Amendment?  “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”   That’s important.  Especially today. 

Cross the reasonable line, and you have a federal constitutional violation, and a violation of the Civil Rights Act (42 USC 1983) as well.  That law reads:

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom or usage of any State . . . subjects or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States . . . to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law . . . .

What’s unreasonable force?  Unreasonable, or excessive force, is any force that is greater than the amount of physical force needed to subdue a criminal suspect. 

Excessive Force by Cops is a National Law Enforcement Crisis Today

Lack of trust in local police departments due to cops’ repeated use of excessive force is a crisis nationally.  It’s happening everywhere, not just in our neck of the woods. 

Good thing that video cameras are available to document these events – because you gotta wonder if any of us would know anything about what happened to this man in that police station if that camera hadn’t been there. 

Is this an example of Excessive Force?  You decide: