MCSO Arrest: Procedural Failures or Racism?

[XLFD]

Recent review of an incident report involving the arrest of a black Ludington resident by the Mason County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) gave a few causes for concern.  When avoidable mistakes and the absence of accountability are found in such a report, it points directly at the need for reform and a change of behaviors.  Ludington could easily turn into another Kenosha if they do not correct what went wrong here.

I asked the MCSO for the records of a 'traffic stop' reported in the MCP on May 25th, specifically:  "All MCSO public records corresponding to this incident, including the deputy's incident report, any videos, pictures diagrams, UD-10's, completed forensic reports, etc."  I eventually received them it amounted to jail intake records, the incident report, a search warrant request and approval to draw blood for testing, the test results, and the like.  No videos, pictures/photos, or UD-10s (accident report required by the MSP) were included, nor were any referenced in the report.  

When Jody Hartley, recently employed as undersheriff, ran for office it was noted:  "Hartley would like to see the sheriff’s office have body cams, but not until revisions take place to the state’s Freedom of Information Act. Hartley, who was the FOIA coordinator at the office, is concerned about what those cameras may record that are in a private setting. He also wanted functioning in-car cameras for the sheriff’s office, too."

Dash cams and body cams on road deputies in this day and age should be a requirement, these tools have saved many officers and deputies from bogus charges made against them for abusing their authority.  They do record indiscriminately too, so law officers acting contrary to policy can find themselves in trouble too.  The overall effect of having true accountability makes both cops and robbers act better and can easily de-escalate a situation getting out of hand.  

The costs of buying and maintaining good quality cameras are almost insignificant, and they can save a lot of expense for the problems that arise when police proceed without them.  Dash and body cams purchase and maintenance should have been a (small) part of the recent $600,000 millage increase for the MCSO.

Wise citizens tend to distrust a police agency that refuses to use dash and body cams, wondering: "If they're doing nothing wrong, what do the police have to hide?"  In this instance, we would have multiple recordings of the three times the arrestee supposedly resisted and proof that he was treated humanely (or not).  Without cameras, if anything really went wrong, you may have had a critically injured or dead black arrestee with three big white deputies claiming they feared for their lives, and a black passenger who might know better.

The report also points to another accountability issue.  Deputy Adam Claveau made the initial contact and drafted the report, but two other deputies became involved when they arrived and were part of the arrest and each of the resisting offenses.  Neither Deputies Tom Brown or Michael Hanson make any kind of witness/victim statement to add to the report. 

It is irresponsible to not either have those two officers write their own reports or add to Deputy Claveau's report in a supplement.  It detracts once again from accountability, could make a prosecutor less likely to take the case up, and leave the arrestee's defense missing crucial elements.  The MCSO did the same unaccountable practice in a recent 'murder' case (Corey Beekman) and it has caused several problems.

Beyond these two issues of accountability, the report suggests that there was a bigger problem with the detainment of Reenya Burrell, one that could cost the taxpayers of Mason County plenty, and one that could prompt a call of racism, due to how the MCSO has treated injured white arrestees in the past differently.

Reenya Bilal-Clinton Burrell was involved in a single car accident, thinking Stiles Road kept going north he drove into the field at its end, probably travelling at over 55 mph.  Responding Deputy Claveau never questions Burrell on his health, rather he leads him through tests and arrests Burrell when Brown and Hanson appears on DWI charges.  Burrell is aggressively handcuffed when he passively resists, and guided roughly into the police car by three deputies.  

Burrell is taken to the hospital to expressly get a blood test, he falls to the ground before this happens and he is forcefully taken back to the car by at least two deputies.  At the jail, five officers are needed to remove him from the car.  According to Claveau's report, he and another officer pulled him out to an awaiting restraint chair, where Burrell continued to tense up and resist.  

The two other correction officers involved supplement the report (p9) and both claim something missing from Claveau's narrative, and missing by default from all of the other neglectful deputies who failed to do a report:

CO Eric Soneral:  "[Burrell] was laying limp in the backseat.  I told him to get out of the car and he just laid there saying he need to go to the hospital.  I told him he was just there and fought with the officers to get out."

CO Ruth Roberts:  "[Burrell] refused to get out on his own and stated he needed to go to the hospital."

With five witnesses at least, Reenya Burrell, stated clearly enough that he needed to go to the hospital.  Burrell had been in a high speed accident, had fallen to the ground in handcuffs, and had been forcefully manipulated three times by at least two deputies by that point, it would be humane to find out whether he was actually hurt and required treatment-- but no officer is on record asking about his injuries in either situation. 

It is much different than when MCSO deputies took an injured Joe McAdam and later Kim Septrion to the hospital (after the deputies inflicted their mostly superficial injuries) and the two explicitly refused treatment (McAdam getting tasered for the refusal).  They were white.  Burrell was lead out of the hospital because the officers got the impression he wasn't wanting to have a blood test, not because he may have had other injuries from the accident or the rough handling. 

Failure to provide medical care while having somebody in custody is a legally actionable issue.  The Supreme Court has ruled that the Eighth Amendment requires prisoners, and others in police custody, to be provided with adequate medical care. Unfortunately, many detainee's and prisoners' medical needs are ignored, resulting in illness, injury and even death.  If one is denied medical treatment, one's civil rights have been violated, and one is entitled to compensation.

The records at face value are indicative of three responding officers being indifferent to Burrell's health in handcuffing and forcing him into the patrol car, even when some of his stiffness and resistance noted may have been due to unseen injuries from the (likely) high speed accident.  This indifference continues at the hospital, then the jail when the reporting officer present makes no note of the request to go to the hospital, while the two correction officers note that fact, with one mischaracterizing Burrell fighting with officers to get out of the hospital (since R/O Claveau who was at the hospital presents a different scenario).    

One could easily inflect that the MCSO denied their arrestee medical care that night, and one could easily inject institutional racism into Burrell's overall treatment that night.  What's needed to combat those conclusions is more accountability in the sheriff's office and humane treatment of all arrestees, regardless of status or color.

[XLFD]

I object to the term 'dog whistles', it implies I have some underlying political motive for my analysis, I am just trying to understand why Mr. Burrell was treated differently than others, and why several deputies present did not follow protocols.  The only political issue I am invoking is the need for accountability at the MCSO, and how simple incidents like this could come back to haunt them if they decide to hide from that responsibility. 

According to a prior corrections officer and normal standards, the jail COs should have requested medical clearance from the officers bringing him in.  This could have been easily gotten by any of the attending deputies at the hospital (or before) by simply asking Burrell whether he had any medical issues from the crash or the arrest.  If refused, the hospital staff would make a document to note that it was.  This has been done for several people who actively resisted arrest, some hardened and violent criminals, but for some reason it wasn't done for Reenya Burrell.  Why was he treated this way?  What makes him different?

That's how a difficult-to-dismiss charge of institutional racism gets interjected here and the main problem occurs when there are two loud and dominant sides to a multi-sided issue, and those loud and dominant sides are both wrong.  There's the Black Lives Matter side that sees questionable police behavior and assumes the worst and the Blue Lives Matter side that assumes only the best.  The reality is almost always somewhere in between, and so the truth comes out peppered with black and blue marks.  

Leaving you wondering why Reenya Burrell was denied medical treatment he requested after his ordeals.

[XLFD]

I object even more to alleged race-baiting than I do for dog-whistling, but here's the point: if it isn't racism, then what else is it? 

He was given different treatment than other arrestees, namely, he was denied access to medical services when he requested it.  It was not only denied but the eight people (many with plenty of experience) on site at the jail (2 EMTs, 2 COs, and 4 road patrol deputies) fully ignored the issue.  What made all those present ignore the man's pleas, when I know directly of three specific other times when the MCSO was proactive on medical assistance to detainees?  You go through the list of why they might have denied him medical care:

Lack of training?  Nope, Eric Soneral has been at the jail for over a decade and knows protocols.  Three other road patrollers have lots of experience.

Burrell is a violent threat?  As noted, his record isn't clean, but it has non-violent property crimes and a drug offense.  He offered at worst 'passive resistance' here, which may have been due in part to the rough handling by the deputies aggravating injuries from his crash.  

If you fairly assess the situation, there really isn't any logical reason why he should have been treated this way, except that those present had some form of bias against providing him medical services.  Why would 8 people that should all know the protocols have this bias against Mr. Burrell, and not other more violent and resistant white people?  The evidence points to institutional racism, please advise if you have a more logical way around the facts of the matter.

I also find it unlikely that the MCSO didn't have video from the garage showing these interactions that night, when they most certainly should, barring a camera disfunction.  If I were to be walking in local law enforcement's shoes I would want to be creating a much more accountable system that's equally fair to all people.  I have urged many reforms for law enforcement through the years to root out the bad cops and bad procedures, giving them a pass only makes it worse, and spawns unhelpful movements like BLM.

[Freedom Seeker]

I really don't even want to touch this one, it is so slippery, but if I had only two black or white choices as in the title, I chose "procedural failure."

Neither is good action. But this is not black and white and police have hard choices, that get harder every day it seems with mind-altering drugs and break down of society,

It seems the guy was being recalcitrant when he was taken to the hospital by refusing to get out of the car. If he needed medical help, he should have been cooperative. It may be the new mo to feign "need medical attention" or maybe not. Let the system clear of drugs, and I don't want to go to jail.

I see Lake Lady's point. Police have tough jobs. They didn't kneel on the guys neck. Yet, we need body cams to show the real story, so I appreciate that effort of exposure.

[Willy]

X simply asked a question. Was this situation a product of procedural failures or racism? All this talk about dog whistles [which I still don't get] and race baiting [don't get that either] is not the issue. Let's understand one thing. If the Sheriff dept. personnel had been wearing cameras and all the policies and procedures had been followed I doubt we would even be having this discussion. This simply would have been just another file in the Sheriff's computer.  Because of the vulnerability of policing industry's integrity one would think that the sheriff would insist on his officers recording at least all of the arrests they make. Local police are not doing themselves any favors by leaving out this technology. After all there are cameras everywhere even on many residential doorbell buttons.  

[Willy]

I see your point LL. The point I am looking at is that it doesn't matter who is being arrested. The point is how the police carry out their activities which  should be the same with all the citizens they deal with no matter who they are. Like any other job, there are procedures to follow and in this case there seems to be a lapse in the way this was carried out. We don't know what really happened because we were not there. Body cams would have filled in the missing pieces the police did not provide or at least verified their story. I also don't care what his ethnic background is but in order to be impartial the police must be consistent no matter who they deal with.  

[Freedom Seeker]

True LL. That's the way we were taught too. "Yes, sir, Officer." And even, "I'm sorry, Officer," goes a long, long way. Recently I was stopped by MCSO on sb U.S. 31 at night. Shocked, I wasn't speeding, maybe a couple miles over 55 and not intoxicated. Rarely speed and do not DUI. But, right away, I started shaking, looking for my registration, etc. ready to hand it over. Officer said, "do you know your taillights are shining white, as if in reverse." I immediately said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know." And the conversation turned very amiable, didn't take my license even. I couldn't figure out what the matter could be with my tail lights and I explained it was the first time I drove the car since I had some body work done, maybe they wired them up wrong. Again I apologized. Here I was on U.S. 31 and the Officer was out there trying to help me figure it out. He could have impounded my car for major failure of taillights and shining like headlights in drivers eyes behind me. The Officer said, "do you have flashers?" "Yes sir," and I flipped them on for him and somehow the white lights went out and the red flashers came on. He asked if I was local, and I said I was a few miles from home. He told me to put the flashers on, drive carefully home and get the tailights fixed. I did the next day. The wires were crossed somehow in the repairs.

My point is, that's a great officer, wise enough to figure out that the flasher would replace the reverse white light and let me on my way. I thanked him again, and it gave me a good feeling about MCSO.
Officers have to weigh every encounter and the way they are treated makes a big difference, imo.

In Burrell's case, he was uncooperative, fell on the ground when taken to the hospital? (The limited report is a but unclear.) I still maintain we need body cams to protect the police action and the citizen's rights too.

[XLFD]

Always a good idea to be respectful to officers, but working cameras keep them honest so that they are more likely to be respectful to you and of protocols.  But the sheriff's office has plenty of excess money and won't buy cameras for their road patrol, so what do you do?  A good investment for Mason County residents and visitors would be their own in-car cameras that should always be turned on when you encounter law enforcement to keep everybody courteous and honest.  Especially if you believe they may have it out for you.  It's much cheaper than insurance.

The question I have put out here is independent on what type of person Burrell is, other than any sort of distinguishing characteristic of his situation that may have made multiple deputies and correction officers not follow protocol in his case, which was to make sure he wasn't injured from the crash or the subsequent forced arrest and to get medical clearance when they were at the hospital. 

Saying it wasn't racism is fine, but then what was it if it wasn't?  Why have MCSO deputies made sure they had medical clearance in all other cases I know of when the perp was white, even when some had more violent pasts or more active resistance on arrest?   

[XLFD]

Figured I should revisit this article because of the relevance it has today.  A state grand jury indicted Brett Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment for his actions that led to the death of Breonna Taylor back in March.  Three plainclothes LMPD officers (wearing vests reading "POLICE") entered her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, executing a no-knock search warrant amended into a knock and announce warrant. 

Here's the problem, the 3 police and one other witness claim they announced their presence, while a dozen other witnesses, including the guy who shot at them thinking they may be home invaders, said they didn't.  Because these officers did not have body cams or mikes, there is no way of knowing who is telling the truth.  Meanwhile, otherwise innocent Breonna Taylor is dead.

The lack of body cams verifying the officer's accounts (if true) will lead to many millions and millions of dollars in damages to businesses and more deaths  across America.  Yet our inept sheriff will not adopt these body and dash cams and risks the lives and careers of his deputies if something similar to this happens here, it could even happen in protests for this very unjust killing. 

On June 10 the Louisville city council voted unanimously to ban no-knock search warrants. The law is called Breonna's Law and requires all officers who serve warrants to wear body cameras and have them turned on from at least five minutes before the warrant is served to at least five minutes after.  All of our local governments should demand the same of their law enforcement agencies ASAP.

[Freedom Seeker]

I've been following Breonna Taylor case in Louisville. I applaud the Louisville city council for adopting body cams law and hope MCSO and LPD would do the same. Manistee, Lake Oceana, too... might as well make it a State Law.