BART officer, passenger injured in scuffle caught on video

yizuman

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(CNN) -- An Oakland, California-area transit police officer was captured on video forcing an unruly man into a heavy-duty glass window, which shattered, during an arrest at a passenger station.

The video, posted on YouTube, shows an unidentified Bay Area Rapid Transit officer in a scuffle with a man whom authorities identified as Michael Joseph Gibson, 37, of San Leandro, California.

Gibson, who appears disgruntled and gesturing while on a train at the West Oakland Station, is pulled off the train by an officer, who has the man in an arm grip.

The officer forcibly walks the man toward the station wall, which is topped by large windows, and one window shatters as the officer appears to force the man against it. It was unclear exactly what caused the glass to break.

The incident happened about 5:40 p.m. PT Saturday (8:40 p.m. ET), according to a statement from BART police Sunday. The officer sustained facial lacerations and a concussion, while Gibson suffered cuts to his hand, forearm, palm and a cut to his head. Both were treated at a hospital.

"This is a use-of-force case that we will thoroughly investigate," BART Police Patrol Commander Daniel O. Hartwig said in a statement. "We will review all available information and video and are requesting anybody with any other video or information to please come forward."

Once released, Gibson was booked into the Santa Rita County Jail. He faces charges of battery on a police officer with injury and resisting arrest -- both felonies -- and public intoxication, a misdemeanor.

The officer was placed on leave due to his injuries, authorities said.

The suspect's sister, Lisa Gibson, of Antioch, California, said Sunday that her brother was diagnosed with bipolar/schizophrenic disorder and is under a doctor's care. She said he was released from hospitalization earlier this month.

She said her brother appears to have been intoxicated in the video. Still, she blasted the officer who made the arrest, saying, "Whoever this officer is shouldn't have a job. He has no integrity and a combative mind-set."

Saturday's scuffle is the latest incident to draw attention to BART.

Johannes Mehserle, a former BART officer charged with murder in the January shooting death of an unarmed man at a transit station, faces trial in Los Angeles County.

The circumstances of the shooting -- also caught on video -- prompted widespread media coverage and protests. In an October order moving the case, a judge cited those as factors affecting the likelihood of a fair trial in Alameda County, where the shooting happened.

Source: BART officer, passenger injured in scuffle caught on video - CNN.com

I think it's about time for the BART police department to be disbanded and replaced. Too many bad incidents has been happening from these officers.

What kind of arrest procedure is this called when shoving a passenger through a window? Is that in their handbook? :mad:

Yiz
 
One word: hate crime.

Police officer have a hate crime issue.
 
First, there was that officer who tasered a 10 year old and now this? Whatever happened to getting trained on proper restraints? Why am I certified in it and use it properly when I am just a mere teacher but they arent using it when their jobs probably require more of it than mine does? It is puzzling...
 
First, it's important to note that the suspect was acting like a complete idiot and looking for a fight. Had it not been a police officer that confronted him, he probably would have ended up in a LOT worse shape than what he did. Knowing what type of folks ride BART, I'd say he got lucky here.

Now, having said that, when a police officer acts like any other brazen, testosterone-hopped pinhead, they automatically lose all credibility as an "officer of the peace."

To me, this is the worse type of police on citizen crime. He's acting like a thug and a bully. A police officer needs to be calm and clear headed at EVERY moment of his job. No matter what. If he can't, he should not be a cop.

He should lose his badge and be charged with assault. What a pig.
 
I saw this video and I was appalled. It looks like cop SLAMMED him against the window like it's a wrestling match. But I'm not so sure about it because MAYBE.... just maybe the drunk was stumbling toward the window and the officer was trying to swing him around to stop him from walking and made a serious error in process. But it doesn't look like it....
 
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