Explanation for Beating Doesn't Excuse It
by TChris
John J. Hatfield, the LAPD officer who beat Stanley Miller with a flashlight as another officer was placing Miller in handcuffs, claims the beating was justified because he was warned by the two officers who already had Miller under control that Miller had a gun in his pocket. The object in Miller's pocket turned out to be wire cutters -- a tool that bears not the slightest resemblance to a gun -- but the explanation, even if mistaken, doesn't justify kicking and hitting Miller. The most effective protection against a gun is to take the gun, not to beat a man who has already given up and who is being handcuffed by other officers.
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