The Revenge of the Thin Blue Line 18: Ow! My Balls! Edition

I've had some direct experience with control, ahem, tactics such as this. 

Back in late March 2022, Officer Travis Lewis and another Indianapolis Metro Police Officer were called to the scene for a possible burglary in progress.  There was no suspect, no apparent attempted burglary, and no other crime in progress.  Police then ran a name check on the caller who appeared to have an active Order of Protection prohibiting from being at the residence in question.  In such an offense, being present in violation of a court order is a mandatory arrest no discretion for the Officer.

This is were you step in and deal with the issue straight up.  Tell the guy he seems to have an OOP.  If, he starts telling you he isn't going anywhere you move on to handcuffing him... maybe.  Using words and persuasion is always preferable to force even, the lightest of force.  But, that's not what seemingly happened as the Officers on scene handcuffed the suspect* and tried to get him into the back of the squad car.  

At this point the Officers should already be verifying the Court Order is valid. And I don't know what was going on before the ball twisting use of force; maybe Ofc Lewis was tired, hungry, sleepy or ready to go home.  Maybe dispatch verified the court order incorrectly.  Maybe the innocent suspect was engaged in an act of "Aggravated Mopery"  whatever, the result was Lewis grabbed the guys nuts a couple of times in order to get him into the back of the squad car.

It seems the other Officer on scene came forward to the Department about the Use of Force policy violation, that's commendable and very brave, and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has only released partial video of the incident and while they conduct an investigation but, several charges of battery and official misconduct have already been filed against the Officer.

There's a whole host of other factors which could be at play here, Ofc Lewis direct supervisors may have expected him to (or ordered him to) clear up the call quickly and move on to others.  Maybe the department has a policy of handcuffing suspects immediately.  I hope he gets a proper defense but, all Officers should know by now Times have Changed.  

A decade ago such an interaction wouldn't have resulted in criminal charges nor a department investigation and probably would have gotten the Officer involved a round of pats on the back and joking Attaboy's.  Because Policing in the United States has always been comfortable with the causal use of violence or threat of violence directed at "mopes". 

"Mopes" is a term of long lineage used by Police and Courtroom Officials for suspects but, as Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve highlighted in her phenomenal book Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America's Largest Criminal Court, the term broadly applies to anyone who interferes or slows down the rapid dispensing of "justice" in the criminal justice system.

But, post-Ferguson in 2014 and definitely post George Floyd these types of incidents are more and more frequently caught en flagrante delicto by body camera and citizens cell phones and can no longer be brushed aside or tolerated by a civilized society let alone applauded.  Of course, the adoption of casual violence against suspects is in direct violation of Sir Robert Peel's instructions to the newly created Metropolitan Police of London in 1829 and the still pertinent rules for Police conduct as crafted post World War 2, Principle #6; 

The police should use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to achieve police objectives.

But, those rules governed Policing in the British Commonwealth.  The history of Policing in the United States diverged as it was in direct response to the pressures of Industrialization, the influx of immigrants of differing cultures and language, and the recent emancipation of black Americans from Slavery with the addition of Frontier Justice aimed at controlling and eradicating Native Americans and Mestizoes. 

*- I should point out this is the pernicious quality of Police parlance as the caller was innocent of any crime but, at this point in the narrative and interaction with the Officers he was a "suspect" for a Violation of Order of Protection.  So, using force on him has been, for many years, okay.