Syracuse, NY — In the land of the free, any number of innocent actions — which millions of people do every day — can get you ticketed, arrested, beaten or even killed. For walking across the street improperly police will beat you. For dark window tint, police may kill you. And, as the following incident proves, for playing loud music, police will drag you from your car, beat, and arrest you. All of this violence, brutality, and death almost always stems from officers “fearing for their lives.” It also shows how the overwhelming majority of these cases go unpunished.
Syracuse Police chief Kenton Buckner told the press on Monday that officers did not use excessive force when they pulled Shoalin Moore from his car and beat him on the ground during a stop over loud music.
Claiming that he understood how the video sparked concerns in the community, the chief explained that “force never looks good. Images and language can often be disturbing when a police officer uses force. As part of our internal review, I have reviewed this incident through three lenses, the law, SPD policy and our training.”
While claiming that the cops yanking Moore from his car and beating him was okay, the chief said the officers’ use of profanity was over the top.
According to WAER,
While the force was ruled justified, Buckner says officers went over the line in their demeanor — using profanity and other aggressive language. He says they will be disciplined for that. The situation clearly escalated when Shaolin (SHOU lin) Moore failed to get out of the vehicle for a noise violation, then got worse when he resisted attempts to handcuff him. Buckner suggests people follow orders of police to minimize any risk of force.
He also defended actions that on the video shared to social media showed officers punching Moore and putting a knee on his head. Buckner says none of her actions were inteneded to injure, but rather were tactics to gain control as they were trying to handcuff him.
After the chief claimed they investigated themselves and found they did nothing wrong, the mayor noted that he was satisfied with this.
“We have members of our community demanding different approaches and they’ve done so in ways that have been genuine and productive. And we have a commitment in city government and in the leadership of the police department to being more open, to engaging in conversation, and to admitting when we’re wrong and willing to make change. The way in which this matter has been handled is evidence of that commitment,” Mayor Ben Walsh said.
As TFTP reported, Moore, 23, was playing his music loudly earlier this month. It was not the middle of the night and he wasn’t harming anyone, but police targeted him anyway. Instead of issuing Moore a ticket for loud music, a now viral cell phone video shows cops drag him from the car, throw him on the ground and beat the hell out of him.
As the video shows, Moore is sitting in the driver’s seat of the car when police demand he exit the vehicle. Clearly confused as to why he is being forced from his vehicle for loud music, Moore asks why he is being told to do so.
Moore told the Free Thought Project that when he noticed he was pulled over he had his driver’s license and insurance ready, but police wanted nothing to do with that.
Instead, according to Moore, police “immediately told me to get out of the car.”
Moore asked why he was being told to get out of the car for a non-criminal offense and that’s when all hell broke loose.
Because he didn’t immediately prostrate himself before these officers, it caused them to “fear for their safety,” so violence was used against the non-violent Moore.
When police drag the man from his car and begin beating him, the passenger leans over to film it. This clearly enraged one of the officers who darted to the other side of the vehicle to stop the passenger from filming.
As the video shows, the officer did not want to be identified on the video, so he covered his badge number as he walked over to stop the passenger from filming. He then rips the phone from the innocent man’s hands and arrests him as well.
Naturally, police claim the violence was necessary because they thought Moore had a gun.
As CNYCentral reports:
Officers asked Moore to get out of the vehicle to be searched. When he refused, officers “physically removed Moore from the vehicle and used force to place him into custody”.
Buske writes that when he was grabbing Moore from the car, Moore quickly “reached towards the front of his waistband.” Then, when Moore was on the ground, Buske says that he observed him “laying on his stomach with his hands and arms tucked in between his midsection and the ground.”
Buske says he was unable to see Moore’s hands, and struck Moore’s head 2-3 times “in an attempt to distract him and get his arms behind his back” after he refused verbal commands.
There were no weapons in the vehicle, and Moore and his passenger were both unarmed.
Nitch Jones, a local activist, who was not in the video but posted it to his Facebook page, told Syracuse.com that he’s filed a complaint with the city’s Citizen Review Board, which will investigate and potentially recommend officer discipline. He filed it on behalf of the people in the video, he said.
“Imagine driving down the street in a very urban neighborhood that is known for crime, drugs, and violence with loud music and being pulled over by the police. Officer(s) approach your vehicle ask for license and registration. CAR is legal, ID is legal. “What more do you need officer(s)?” STEP OUT OF THE CAR! “Why”? If the car is being pulled over for loud music – issue an appearance ticket and allow the car to proceed with a stern verbal warning. Nope, not on Friday evening,” Nitch wrote in a Facebook post.
Sadly, it appears the officers will not face accountability.
Below is a video showing what listening to loud music in a police state looks like.