There is no instance of police brutality where it isn't a needless tragedy but
some really stand out for just how truly horrific they are.
We have a case here that happened in Pennsylvania where there was
gunfire on Sunday in the parking lot of Walmart.
Okay, Rashawn Smith was hit and
was apparently down bleeding from the abdomen Kenneth Vineyard,
rushed to Rashawn Smith's side while he was laying bleeding on the ground.
Paramedics arrived,
vineyard had been trying to help out Rashwan during that time.
Then apparently Vineyard stepped away to allow them to do their job.
A man in plain clothes who you will find out ended up being a cop, although not
visibly identified as such, demanded that he get further away from the victim.
He tried to explain that he was just trying to help out.
So the plainclothes police officer struck him, pushed him away,
he fell, hit his head on the pavement and he died.
He was a literal good Samaritan.
He saw someone get shot and rather than doing what almost every one of us would
have done which is to run away as fast as you can to protect your own life.
He decided I'm gonna go help that person even though I could end up getting shot,
I'm gonna do whatever I can help this person.
The authorities, the ones who are supposed to able to count on
show up assault the good Samaritan and take his life just completely senseless.
This is a person who was doing what every one of us would love to dream that we
would do and lost their life as a result of it.
I can't imagine a worse tragedy than this, JR.
>> Well, as you said, many of us would dream to be the person
who has the courage and the ability to try and
save someone's life in a traumatic dramatic situation like this.
But everyone's not like that.
You said all of us would want to dream to,
some people dream of watching people die in the streets.
Some people look at folks that are on the ground bleeding from something
a gunshot wound and go F that guy, and anybody who helps them.
I don't want them helping them either because I'd rather see this happen.
There are humans out there in our country apparently this guy is one of them,
who would take some joy in seeing that happen so
much so that his aggression and his anger overtake him to stop anyone from ending
his fantasy of watching something in real life happened.
That he would just love to see.
He's like no no no this is what I've been waiting for for however old this idiot is,
39 years I'm seeing it now.
No no get away.
Now he's part of this entire situation instead of sitting back and
hoping maybe praying that the guy would die in the parking lot while someone's
trying to save his life instead he made sure that God I can't stand these people.
>> Again, he could have rightly been worried that he was in danger immediately
after the shooting.
But it turned out that the greatest danger of his life came when the cops showed up
as is so often the case.
How devastating?
And then on top of all this, an added layer of just, I cannot imagine.
So state police have confirmed that they're investigating Vineyard's death.
They say that they plan to talk to the center township officer,
the guy who killed him as early as Wednesday.
This news originally broke like two days ago.
Shooting was several days ago.
What do you mean, you're gonna talk to him as soon as Wednesday?
But probably Wednesday we'll do it.
Call him, call him right now.
Do you not have his number?
Do you not know where those cops generally congregate?
Do they have a building like an office?
What do you mean by Wednesday we'll get around to it?
He took a guy's life based on all of the evidence that we have.
He resulted in the guy's death and
you're eventually gonna get around to talking to him.
Are you not merciful?
>> Hey there.
>> Hey.
>> What's this in your back pocket?
I just saw you walking in.
>> A navigational aids, what's the problem?
You're a?
>> Yeah, I am actually what's your name and date of birth?
Do you want me to put you on handcuffs right now, just say I do.
>> What is your suspicion?
>> It looks like you're carrying a gun in your back pocket,
I'm stopping to make sure you're carrying it properly.
>> Okay, have you ensured that it's not a firearm?
>> No you can turn it so I can see it [INAUDIBLE].
>> So you might be familiar with this story at this point.
This is a legally blind man in Florida,
James Hodges being approached because of his cane.
They think it's some sort of weapon and so the cops decide to hassle him.
We have some updates on this story but
just in case you're not familiar with the entire interaction.
Let's jump into a little bit more of the video.
>> What dis she stop you for?
>> For a walking stick.
>> It could look like a weapon she asked you to presented it, okay?
>> Now she's asking me photos of ID, I don't need an ID and
that's reasonable articulated suspicion and
I committed a crime and committing a crime and was about to do a crime.
>> Sir, I know her suspicion was that you were armed, okay?
She's asking for your ID.
>> Well now she has verified that I am not armed, so there is no problem.
>> Do you get the idea or not?
>> I [INAUDIBLE], you don't need it.
>> Okay.
>> All right, Mr. Hodges was that that hard?
>> It's gonna be I want your name and your badge number.
>> [INAUDIBLE] >> So is that so hard?
And James Hodges says it's gonna be, well he knew what was going on.
He knew the actual regulations and
he also knew how this was probably likely to go down.
Those deputies are now facing suspension without pay.
One of them Harrison was demoted after the investigation.
So there have been some consequences, perhaps not as much as we would want.
Of course I personally think that those videos demonstrate everything that is
wrong with the psychology of far too many cops.
Whether you think that she was justified in stopping him in the first place and
I think most people probably would not.
Once he demonstrated that he was just a legally blind man with a cane,
that should be it.
Or maybe not it, maybe there should be an apology and then that's it,
you move on with your life.
But unfortunately these cops felt like he had been challenged them.
So now even though they've got nothing, they know that they've got nothing,
they have to hassle this guy,
joking about being tyrants insisting that they see his ID.
They don't need his ID for literally anything, he doesn't have a gun.
They know that they're just hassling a guy because of his walking stick, Adrian.
And as a result of their need to prove that they're powerful and strong in alpha.
How dare you question us?
They're they're suffering the consequences now.
>> Yeah, and they should indeed several consequences.
It's like these officers oftentimes they think everything is a gun,
everything is a gun.
But when there's an actual gun, no that can't be found.
It's so incredibly mesmerizing this thought that this walking stick that
this man has, he is legally blind that the officer would use that as a pretext
to hassle him because it does not make any logical or reasonable sense.
But what it does communicate to me is that this is a power trip and action and
an abuse of power.
And the thing is, is that it's instances like this that deteriorate
the relationship between the community and law enforcement.
Because why wouldn't it?
It's absolutely absurd.