Posted On: October 3, 2008 by Bobby G. Frederick

Trooper acquitted in South Carolina civil rights trial

Trooper Steve Garren was found not guilty of intentionally running down a fleeing suspect in a Greenville federal court today, despite the dashcam video showing him swerve to hit the man and despite Garren stating on the video that he hit the man on purpose.

On Wednesday during testimony, suspended Garren said, "There was absolutely no way I could have avoided hitting Mr. Grant … I'm just glad he wasn't hurt. I can assure you if he had been injured, the comment would not have been made."

The comment Garren was referring to was recorded on the dash cam video from June 24, 2007, that shows Grant flipping over the hood of Garren's car.

On Tuesday, jurors heard the recording from Garren's cruiser saying:

Garren: "Hey, I nailed the ---- out of him. I nailed the ---- out of him when he hit that ---- field. He went flying up in the air."

Deputy: "You hit him?"

Garren: "Yeah, I hit him. I was trying to hit him."

Garren testified Wednesday that the statement was made in the "heat of the moment." He said, "I didn't even know I made the statement."

I am glad that the US Attorney brought the charges, and that the federal courts are doing their part to bring attention to police abuse in South Carolina, after local prosecutors refused to bring charges under state law.

Congratulations to Garren's defense attorneys, John O’Leary and Wally Fassoux, for an excellent job defending an unpopular client.

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Comments

Well, I guess video tapes only tell the truth when cops say what you see is not really what happened, after all the bastard confessed. Congratulations South Carolina, your people are still some of the most racist in the country. You are right up there with Gena and the little city down the road where a Black man was tassed to death just a few months ago. He was in a sell with his hands handcuffed behind his back. He was about 23 years old and was picked up for some small issue. Now he is dead and the media could care less. In Oregon where Barack Obama had a huge crowd turn out to see him, his likeness was hung in effigy last week at George Fox Quaker College. I don't think it was reported by the national media. The media, ahaaa there are a bunch of people who hardly report on the racial crimes of whites toward others. Why is that, if we all have a right to know what is happening in the country? Or, is it just what the media types want people out here to know. Like seeing black men as the enemy and putting them back in chains one way or another. It is then easy to make them expendable so cops can chase them down like deer and hit them with cop car, then brag about it . All with the help of a duplicite media who has turned them into animals to be slaughtered. The FBI said it should not have happened but the town folk said let the man go, and he is now free. He is still a cop. He is still able to hit human beings with a car paid for by taxpayers. He will still draw a salary, that I hope he chokes on, from the public. Our country would be amazing if it were all we are told it is and blacks would not be in danger like something on a hoof. We already know that ball player was found guilty of 12 counts of lawbreaking because the media wants us to. The Judge could not wait until this morning to get the verdict. She called everyone back to court yesterday evening and after he was found guilty she jailed that man without bail. Almost all of the people in that set up got plea deals, he is going to jail maybe for the rest of his life over a stupid set up and his own stupid actions. When are white people going to say enough? Justice, lol.

Most police officers are in the same social class as the criminals they chase down and abuse. Statistics show that officers, especially in southern states like South Carolina, are uneducated, were raised in poor communities with little social awareness of the rights of other groups. This lack of education and social awareness explain why some officers commit crimes, like assaulting U.S. citizens with impunity.
I think a college education should be a prerequisite to obtaining jobs in the police force, but then again, state governments do not want to pay officers higher salaries, which would be required if police applicants held bachelor's degrees. So, we have a lot of uneducated, ignorant, and violent individuals policing this country. A lot of these officers should be sitting in jail along with the criminals they violently arrest.

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