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Waiting While Black -- Fort Worth Officer Punch, Kick Black Man At Hospital

biff_poindexter

biff_poindexter

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https://www.star-telegram.com/latest-news/article206653499.html

Now, when I first heard about this story, I assumed the black guy obviously did something to cause him to be assaulted and arrested -- if only left with the officer's account of what happened, I definitely would have believed the black guy deserved what he got. Luckily, there was video evidence to show what ACTUALLY happened and the local DA made the right choice in bringing charges against the officer.

To briefly summarize what happened -- 20-year-old Henry Newson was a patient at Harris Methodist hospital who had been released and was waiting in the lobby of the hospital for his mother to take him home. He was approached by Fort Worth police and hospital security because they felt it was suspicious for a guy to be sitting and waiting in the lobby of the hospital -- why? I don't know. He was later punched in the face and put in a headlock by the officer and later pinned to the ground by other officers and was arrested. Mr. Newsom was charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass, but those were dismissed in March 2017.

Hopefully, this officer will have his day in court and be rightfully convicted of the crimes he is charged with (official oppression, aggravated perjury and making a false report) -- I don't know why he wasn't charged with assault though -- but this increase in calling police on people for any and everything should be unsettling to anyone, not just black people.
 
Last edited:
What happened just before that?
 
biff_poindexter said:
https://www.star-telegram.com/latest-news/article206653499.html

Now, when I first heard about this story, I assumed the black guy obviously did something to cause him to be assaulted and arrested -- if only left with the officer's account of what happened, I definitely would have believed the black guy deserved what he got. Luckily, there was video evidence to show what ACTUALLY happened and the local DA made the right choice in bringing charges against the officer.

To briefly summarize what happened -- 20-year-old Henry Newson was a patient at Harris Methodist hospital who had been released and was waiting in the lobby of the hospital for his mother to take him home. He was approached by Fort Worth police and hospital security because they felt it was suspicious for a guy to be sitting and waiting in the lobby of the hospital -- why? I don't know. He was later punched in the face and put in a headlock by the officer and later pinned to the ground by other officers and was arrested. Mr. Newsom was charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass, but those were dismissed in March 2017.

Hopefully, this officer will have his day in court and be rightfully convicted of the crimes he is charged with (official oppression, aggravated perjury and making a false report) -- I don't know why he wasn't charged with assault though -- but this increase in calling police on people for any and everything should be unsettling to anyone, not just black people.
Click to expand...

People call the cops for the smallest reasons these days - I think some of that has to do with the Obama Adminstration's program of "See Something -- Say Something." It didn't help at any rate. Now, virtually anyone can be seen a suspicious and have the cops called on them.

The officer should not have punched the guy -- but why didn't hospital security check it out first? Why was the cop called? I'd like to know what the suspect said to the officer before he was punched -- I have a feeling that might be pertinent.
 
HowardBThiname said:
People call the cops for the smallest reasons these days - I think some of that has to do with the Obama Adminstration's program of "See Something -- Say Something." It didn't help at any rate. Now, virtually anyone can be seen a suspicious and have the cops called on them.

The officer should not have punched the guy -- but why didn't hospital security check it out first? Why was the cop called? I'd like to know what the suspect said to the officer before he was punched -- I have a feeling that might be pertinent.
Click to expand...

I watched the video -- He was on the phone with a relative or friend when the security was talking to him -- he was telling them he was there waiting for his mother and told them he was a recent patient -- he then went on to say he wasn't required to have to tell them anything else -- another officer appeared in camera view and asked for him to get off the phone -- the victim quickly gave his phone to another officer (that is called cooperating) -- the officer than grabbed the victim, the victim said something to the effect of why are you grabbing me bro? -- the officer was offended by the use of the word bro and punched him -- there is ABSOLUTELY ZERO I have seen or heard in that video that justifies in anyway for that officer to punch him.

We as citizens definitely need to break ourselves out of this habit of trying to justify what someone says to an officer and grounds for that officer to assault that person -- because it never seems to work in reverse -- an officer can't call a citizen all kinds of insults and that citizen is then justified for striking an officer -- an officer is granted certain privileges but punching a person in the face because he said "bro" is not one of them.
 
OrphanSlug said:
What happened just before that?
Click to expand...

He was sitting down waiting for his mother to pick him up -- there is a reason this officer was charged relatively quickly and the charges dropped against the victim relatively quickly -- the officers in this case were wrong, period.
 
biff_poindexter said:
He was sitting down waiting for his mother to pick him up -- there is a reason this officer was charged relatively quickly and the charges dropped against the victim relatively quickly -- the officers in this case were wrong, period.
Click to expand...

That very well may be the case, I am just curious as to the context of the encounter in the first place. Video does not tell us for sure.
 
HowardBThiname said:
People call the cops for the smallest reasons these days - I think some of that has to do with the Obama Adminstration's program of "See Something -- Say Something." It didn't help at any rate. Now, virtually anyone can be seen a suspicious and have the cops called on them.

The officer should not have punched the guy -- but why didn't hospital security check it out first? Why was the cop called? I'd like to know what the suspect said to the officer before he was punched -- I have a feeling that might be pertinent.
Click to expand...

Innocent people often act incredulously when approached aggressively by police.

Because they are innocent. They didn't do anything wrong.

You would most likely do the same. If you are innocent of any wrongdoing, just waiting for someone to pick you up at the hospital or some such and some cop rolls up on you like he just caught the biggest criminal ever. Starts in with the domination routine they are trained in. Woe be into you if you don't immediately kowtow, show the slightest irritation.

Cops routinely treat people in ways they would never tolerate from a civilian. And the "system" provides little to no satisfaction to those mistreated. There was a thread here recently demonstrating how hard it is to just get the forms to file a complaint

When I was a kid coos were heroes. Their presence made you feel safe.

Now I am compelled to warn adolescent males that cops may arrest or kill them for being a knucklehead adolescent. That cops are dangerous now.

I feel it is folly for a society to allow law enforcement to behave any way they like because their job is dangerous. Policing isn't the most dangerous job. And the more dangerous jobs don't confer on those who do them for a living the right to mistreat their fellow citizens with impunity.
 
OrphanSlug said:
That very well may be the case, I am just curious as to the context of the encounter in the first place. Video does not tell us for sure.
Click to expand...

That's a completely fair sentiment to have -- but in this case, there was camera footage of the hospital lobby -- and the victim sitting and waiting for his ride -- the police cam pretty much captures enough of any preceding context to make a fair enough assessment that the officer was wrong for what he did -- so much so that the officer perjured himself and also gave a false report to another officer about the incident -- innocent cops don't do either of those things -- and the victim not breaking into a "Stepin Fetchit --yes massa, no massa" minstrel character doesn't justify that officer's actions.
 
biff_poindexter said:
https://www.star-telegram.com/latest-news/article206653499.html

Now, when I first heard about this story, I assumed the black guy obviously did something to cause him to be assaulted and arrested -- if only left with the officer's account of what happened, I definitely would have believed the black guy deserved what he got. Luckily, there was video evidence to show what ACTUALLY happened and the local DA made the right choice in bringing charges against the officer.

To briefly summarize what happened -- 20-year-old Henry Newson was a patient at Harris Methodist hospital who had been released and was waiting in the lobby of the hospital for his mother to take him home. He was approached by Fort Worth police and hospital security because they felt it was suspicious for a guy to be sitting and waiting in the lobby of the hospital -- why? I don't know. He was later punched in the face and put in a headlock by the officer and later pinned to the ground by other officers and was arrested. Mr. Newsom was charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass, but those were dismissed in March 2017.

Hopefully, this officer will have his day in court and be rightfully convicted of the crimes he is charged with (official oppression, aggravated perjury and making a false report) -- I don't know why he wasn't charged with assault though -- but this increase in calling police on people for any and everything should be unsettling to anyone, not just black people.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree, this could have been handled differently. You could also have chosen a different title for this thread, if you were concerned about police misconduct. Or may be this is about bad racist cops done wrong because the dude was black. Prove it.
 
HowardBThiname said:
People call the cops for the smallest reasons these days - I think some of that has to do with the Obama Adminstration's program of "See Something -- Say Something." It didn't help at any rate. Now, virtually anyone can be seen a suspicious and have the cops called on them.

The officer should not have punched the guy -- but why didn't hospital security check it out first? Why was the cop called? I'd like to know what the suspect said to the officer before he was punched -- I have a feeling that might be pertinent.
Click to expand...

See something. say something wasn't from Obama, it started with the Bush administration as a response to 9/11. It's a stupid idea and results in wasting cops time chasing down non-issues when they could be doing better things like dealing with real crimes. It's basically amateur hour with completely predictable results.
 
Gaius46 said:
See something. say something wasn't from Obama, it started with the Bush administration as a response to 9/11. It's a stupid idea and results in wasting cops time chasing down non-issues when they could be doing better things like dealing with real crimes. It's basically amateur hour with completely predictable results.
Click to expand...

Could have been handled by a hospital worker walking up to the guy and asking. Simple really.
Sadly, the video starts when the situation already seems to have escalated, and we don't know what happened prior. We just don't have enough to go on.
 
biff_poindexter said:
I watched the video -- He was on the phone with a relative or friend when the security was talking to him -- he was telling them he was there waiting for his mother and told them he was a recent patient -- he then went on to say he wasn't required to have to tell them anything else -- another officer appeared in camera view and asked for him to get off the phone -- the victim quickly gave his phone to another officer (that is called cooperating) -- the officer than grabbed the victim, the victim said something to the effect of why are you grabbing me bro? -- the officer was offended by the use of the word bro and punched him -- there is ABSOLUTELY ZERO I have seen or heard in that video that justifies in anyway for that officer to punch him.

We as citizens definitely need to break ourselves out of this habit of trying to justify what someone says to an officer and grounds for that officer to assault that person -- because it never seems to work in reverse -- an officer can't call a citizen all kinds of insults and that citizen is then justified for striking an officer -- an officer is granted certain privileges but punching a person in the face because he said "bro" is not one of them.
Click to expand...

It sounds like it needs to be investigated why the police officers were there in the first place.

If they were called specifically for this guy who had just been released from their care, the hospital needs to be held accountable for that action and what happened subsequently.
 
Mason66 said:
It sounds like it needs to be investigated why the police officers were there in the first place.

If they were called specifically for this guy who had just been released from their care, the hospital needs to be held accountable for that action and what happened subsequently.
Click to expand...

That is a good point. What type of procedure was they guy in for. What is their protocol on releasing patients? Don't they have to see to it that patients are handed over to some responsible party?
 
Lovebug said:
Yes, I agree, this could have been handled differently. You could also have chosen a different title for this thread, if you were concerned about police misconduct. Or may be this is about bad racist cops done wrong because the dude was black. Prove it.
Click to expand...

Your willful ignorance of how blacks are often portrayed as a threat for doing the most pedestrian things is your problem -- not mine.

The Yale student napping in her own dorm -- explained away by folks like you as "well the person who called the police was mentally ill" -- even tho these types of calls happened more than once -- guess they were mentally ill too

The woman calling the police on a black family for bbq'ing at public park or how "walking while black" even became a thing at all in this day and age.

Walking While Black: Tickets - The Florida Times-Union - Jacksonville, FL


...but as usual, when it comes to blacks -- it is always explained away -- no sign of any type of larger systemic problem in certain police departments.


However, if Trump gets investigated by his own DOJ and FBI -- suddenly folks have no problem screaming corruption
 
Lovebug said:
Could have been handled by a hospital worker walking up to the guy and asking. Simple really.
Sadly, the video starts when the situation already seems to have escalated, and we don't know what happened prior. We just don't have enough to go on.
Click to expand...

I agree. Probably don't even need to go that far. Public areas of hospitals are public. People tend to congregate there and possibly stay there for long periods of time for lots of legitimate reasons.
 
HowardBThiname said:
People call the cops for the smallest reasons these days - I think some of that has to do with the Obama Adminstration's program of "See Something -- Say Something." It didn't help at any rate. Now, virtually anyone can be seen a suspicious and have the cops called on them.

The officer should not have punched the guy -- but why didn't hospital security check it out first? Why was the cop called? I'd like to know what the suspect said to the officer before he was punched -- I have a feeling that might be pertinent.
Click to expand...

Lulz. Yeah, blame Obama. That's just GOTTA be it.
 
Gaius46 said:
I agree. Probably don't even need to go that far. Public areas of hospitals are public. People tend to congregate there and possibly stay there for long periods of time for lots of legitimate reasons.
Click to expand...

Hospitals often serve as shelter for the poor, homeless. That is why I am a bit surprised that the situation got out of hand. Something else must have happened. Was the guy what one calls a frequent flyer? Was he an ED patient wanting a meal, a prescription? We don't know.
 
Lovebug said:
That is a good point. What type of procedure was they guy in for. What is their protocol on releasing patients? Don't they have to see to it that patients are handed over to some responsible party?
Click to expand...

If the patient is ambulatory and an adult, what responsible party?
 
biff_poindexter said:
Your willful ignorance of how blacks are often portrayed as a threat for doing the most pedestrian things is your problem -- not mine.

The Yale student napping in her own dorm -- explained away by folks like you as "well the person who called the police was mentally ill" -- even tho these types of calls happened more than once -- guess they were mentally ill too

The woman calling the police on a black family for bbq'ing at public park or how "walking while black" even became a thing at all in this day and age.

Walking While Black: Tickets - The Florida Times-Union - Jacksonville, FL


...but as usual, when it comes to blacks -- it is always explained away -- no sign of any type of larger systemic problem in certain police departments.


However, if Trump gets investigated by his own DOJ and FBI -- suddenly folks have no problem screaming corruption
Click to expand...

So you know the entire story and can enlighten us? You can also say that...lets guess for a minute...the patient is a white frequent and belligerent, drug seeking ED guest, sat there yelling for some time because he didn't get the meds he wanted. Lets say he was asked by hospital workers to leave and didn't. Lets say they asked him again, and he again started yelling about something. When he saw the cops coming, he grabbed his phone, called his Mom to get him.
IOW, do you know the entire story? Where you there? Can you say for sure that the cops hadn't acted the same way if the guy was white? No you can't. You made an accusation. We are saying we don't know the entire story.
 
Lovebug said:
Hospitals often serve as shelter for the poor, homeless. That is why I am a bit surprised that the situation got out of hand. Something else must have happened. Was the guy what one calls a frequent flyer? Was he an ED patient wanting a meal, a prescription? We don't know.
Click to expand...

He'd been hospitalized for two days with a stomach problem and was waiting in the lobby for his mother to pick him up.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/V...h-Officer-Punching-Man-in-Face-477570473.html
 
Lovebug said:
Hospitals often serve as shelter for the poor, homeless. That is why I am a bit surprised that the situation got out of hand. Something else must have happened. Was the guy what one calls a frequent flyer? Was he an ED patient wanting a meal, a prescription? We don't know.
Click to expand...

According to what I read he was a patient who had spent two days in the hospital for a stomach ailment, had been just discharged and was waiting for his mother to pick him up.
 
Rexedgar said:
If the patient is ambulatory and an adult, what responsible party?
Click to expand...

I believe it's SOP for most hospitals to want a patient who had been admitted to be discharged to someone and not just walk out on their own. It's been that way with everyone I know who has been hospitalized.
 
most of these are escalated because of respect issues

you see it on Live PD all the time....cops pull over a young man, and his mouth gets him in worse trouble than he started

a simple traffic violation becomes something else real quick

i was taught to treat officers with respect...answer their questions as best as i can within reason

i taught my kids the same things....

the moment some of these youngsters get stopped, or get asked question, they pop an attitude

i dont know how the conversation started....and the cop apparently went way overboard

but so many of these confrontations could be avoided or lessened with a little respect
 
Gaius46 said:
According to what I read he was a patient who had spent two days in the hospital for a stomach ailment, had been just discharged and was waiting for his mother to pick him up.
Click to expand...

Thanks
Do we know what happened before the cops arrived?
 
Gaius46 said:
I believe it's SOP for most hospitals to want a patient who had been admitted to be discharged to someone and not just walk out on their own. It's been that way with everyone I know who has been hospitalized.
Click to expand...

My own experiences bear that out, but all my hospital visits have involved scalpels and sutures. Walk in, wheeled to the car.
 
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