The trouble with Tribble
Former Kershaw County deputy Oddie Tribble was fired August 5th after beating a handcuffed man with a baton until his leg was broken, on video (below). At least two other deputies stood by and watched as Tribble repeatedly beat the man, seemingly undisturbed by the violence.
Police get much more than the presumption of innocence when they are accused of committing a crime - they get the red carpet rolled out for them. More often than not they are not charged with a crime (see this post about a Pensacola officer who tased and ran over a teenager, killing him, and the comments to the post). When they are charged they are given every benefit of the doubt, and more often than not juries will acquit them.
In the CNN story that I linked to, they do not identify the deputy in the video - Oddie Tribble - he is only referred to as "the deputy." But the man who was beaten, Charles Shelley, was identified. In a press conference, our SLED chief Reggie Lloyd said:
"We don't think it is typical behavior in South Carolina, but it's disturbing behavior," Lloyd said. He added that standard police training does not include the method shown in the video."You probably shouldn't be hitting anybody with a ... baton while they're handcuffed."
Comments
This was a disgusting act. The police officer intentionally continued to beat the man's leg hitting the same area repeatly. He deserves prison time and I pray that he gets it. The on lookers deserve jail time as well and should be fired for failing to protect that citizen. The entire incident is disgusting & actually promotes the belief in not trusting police officers.
Posted by: Cecile | August 12, 2010 6:17 PM