One Way to Get Justice When a Cop Beats You Up: Be a Cop Yourself
Sometimes, it seems like there is an endless barrage of news stories about people who are beaten or killed by police and receive no criminal or civil justice. But occasionally, these victims do get restitution. One such victim is NYPD Officer Larry Jackson.
A federal jury just awarded Jackson $15 million in a lawsuit stemming from an incident in 2010, when he was beaten and arrested in his own by a group of fellow cops who responded to a call about an altercation outside his house. Jackson, who is black, was off-duty at the time, and pled with the officers that he too was a member of the NYPD, according to the suit. He claims that the injuries he sustained to his hand left him unable to use his gun, and that he may have to retire from the force.
When police arrived, they mistook Jackson for one of the agitators and began to physically subdue him, ignoring his repeated attempts to identify himself as a member of the NYPD, according to the lawsuit.
“Dude, it is my house and I am a police officer too,” Jackson told the arresting officers, according to the complaint. Jackson was then handcuffed and taken to the 113th Precinct stationhouse even after officers found his NYPD shield, which had been in his front pocket the whole time, the lawsuit says.
Want to make sure you get your due when an NYPD cop mistakes you for someone else and smacks you silly? Try signing up to be a cop now, as a preemptive strike. We can’t promise it will bring you justice, but it certainly couldn’t hurt.
