A truly enraging video has surfaced this week, showing a homeless man savagely beaten and handcuffed for simply asking why the cop was harassing him. The man was identified as Justin Tyler Scott, a local homeless man known in the Austin area. The officer was identified as Austin Sergeant Gregory White.
The dash cam footage shows a very compliant Scott merely questioning why the police felt the need to grab him. The officer then punches Scott and tackles him to the ground without provocation. It was announced this week that Scott has filed a lawsuit alleging excessive force and false arrest, which resulted in his being incarcerated for 176 days.
The lawsuit filing, which was revealed this week, states that Scott was not participating in criminal activity, as was alleged by White upon the initial stop. The fact of the matter is, White was looking for a black female, not a white male, thus there was no grounds for the stop based on description. The reality is, White had no reason to suspect Scott of any crime and his presence was completely unrelated to the call Sgt. White was on. Nonetheless, White proceeded to interrogate Scott while simultaneously ignoring Scott’s questions. The lawsuit makes clear that Scott made no aggressive movements, yet Sgt White continued to twist his arm causing agony to Scott. The lawsuit goes on to describe in detail the beating that Sgt White delivered to Justin without provocation.
Austin has been in the news more than a few times this year for police misconduct and violence. Two officers were investigated after video of them slamming a black female teacher onto the pavement during a traffic stop in a Wendy’s parking lot, surfaced. Despite the public outcry, the agency handed no discipline down and decided to revamp their training program instead.
This new incident of blatant police misconduct shows that the Austin Police Department doesn’t take seriously the multitude of reports by citizens who have been victimized by their department. Justin Scott spent 176 days behind bars for an act that was provoked by an overzealous bully. Once again, the only justice that will come out of this incident will be in the form of a payoff.
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It’s your opinion that it’s “blatant misconduct”. I see it as a refusal to comply with legal instructions from a law enforcement officer. You must produce ID or your name in the state of Texas as with the majority of most other states. Just comply during questioning or arrest. If you feel wronged, file a lawsuit after the fact. And don’t scream like a little bitch when resisting. Totally makes you look gay.