Video-Memphis Bridges McRae Beats Suspect With Handcuffs

[WaTcHeR]

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[WaTcHeR]

:Recently released video:MEMPHIS, TN.Memphis police officer Bridges McRae beating a suspect at 201 Poplar in an apparent case of police brutality.

The video, recorded February 12th, shows Duanna Johnson in the booking area at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center after an arrest for prostitution.The tape clearly shows a Memphis police officer Bridges McRae walk over to Johnson - a transsexual - and hit her in the face several times.

"Actually he was trying to get me to come over to where he was, and I responded by telling him that wasn't my name - that my mother didn't name me a 'faggot' or a 'he-she,' so he got upset and approached me. And that's when it started," Johnson said.

Johnson said that officer Bridges McRae was attempting to call her over to be fingerprinted. She said she chose not respond to the derogatory name the officer called her.

"He said, 'I'm telling you, I'm giving you one more chance to get up.' So I'm looking at him, and he started putting his gloves on, and seen him take out a pair of handcuffs," Johnson said.

Officer Bridges McRae hit Johnson several times with the handcuffs wrapped around his knuckles. In the video, you can see the flash of the metal. The tape shows another officer holding Johnson's shoulders as she tries to protect herself.

After taking several blows, Johnson stands up and swings back.

"I was afraid. I had had enough. Like I said, I thought the other officers that were witnessing this would at least try to stop him," Johnson said. "I mean, he hit me so hard. Like the third time he hit me, it split my skull and I had blood coming out. So I jumped up," Johnson said.

But then she sat back down, and the officer her in the face again. Then he maced her. On the tape, other people in the room are seen turning away and fanning their hands because of the smell.

"We wanted some acknowledgement - my client did - so she would know that the Memphis Police Department didn't condone this," said Murray Wells, Johnson's attorney. "We were optimistic that they would be as outraged about this as we are, and we haven't gotten any indication that they're interested in it at all.

"These are the people we depend on to protect us, and I think the majority of officers in Memphis are good officers, and when you see what you see on that video, it's a scary sight to see that that could happen to any one of us," added attorney Aurthur Horne

On the tape, Duanna is eventually handcuffed and left on the floor. A nurse comes in, and goes directly to the officer.

"I couldn't breathe, and they just made me lay there," Johnson said. "Nobody checked to see if I was okay. My eyes were burning. My skin was burning. I was scared to death. Even the nurse came in and she just ignored me, and I begged her to help me."

The video clearly shows the nurse walk right past Duanna as she's rocking back and forth in pain in the background.

A copy of the tape was reviewed by both the FBI and the District Attorney's office, the latter of which dropped all charges against Johnson. An FBI investigation into possible civil rights violations is still underway.

Meanwhile, the Memphis Police Department confirmed that officer James Swain who was holding Johnson was on probation, and has been fired. The officer who threw the punches is currently on non-enforcement status pending an administrative hearing.

[admin]

A Memphis police officer has been fired and another is assigned to desk duty after a beating involving a transgendered suspect being booked into the jail.

Officer James Swain, 25, who had been serving a probationary period as a new officer, has been fired, said police spokeswoman Det. Monique Martin.

The other officer, Bridges McRae, 28, is on nonenforcement status, which means he's assigned to desk duty with no gun or badge, she said. He faces an administrative hearing, but Martin wouldn't say when that would happen.

She said the department isn't releasing photographs of the officers.

The suspect, 42-year-old Duanna Johnson, said Wednesday she believes repulsion and hatred for those like her is why she was beaten and sprayed with tear gas on Feb. 12 while being booked for suspicion of prostitution.

The incident was caught on video, which also shows Johnson striking the officer at least once. It was released this week by Johnson's attorney, who is threatening to file a federal lawsuit for civil rights violation.

Amnesty International, which has been tracking police violence against lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered individuals is holding a news conference today in Chicago to discuss a campaign it is launching in that city to protest such violence.

The group reports widespread abuse by law enforcement ranging from derogatory language and excessive handling to rape and assault, said Ariel Herrera of Amnesty International.

"The most vulnerable are transgendered individuals of color," Herrera said. "They are the most stigmatized in the community and often targeted by police."

Transgendered refers to transsexuals, cross-dressers and others whose outward appearance does not match their sex at birth.

The Feb. 12 videotape, which doesn't have audio, shows McRae approach Johnson, who is sitting at the end of a bench. Johnson jerks her hand back when McRae reaches for her.

Johnson said McRae cursed her, called her a "he/she" and a derogatory term for a homosexual. She said McRae put on his gloves and slipped his handcuffs across his knuckles and started hitting her.

In the tape, Swain comes behind McRae and appears to be holding Johnson down.

"No one has ever hit me like that," Johnson said. "I thought when he put on his gloves he was going to drag me. His face was so angry. On the third blow, I thought I was sweating, but I was bleeding. That's when I got up to try to make him stop. I swear I just wanted him to stop hitting me."

Johnson said she pushed at the officer and then sat back down because, at 6 feet, 5 inches tall, she didn't want to appear to be a threat to the officer.

McRae then sprayed her in the face with tear gas. The officer ordered her to lie face down on the floor, Johnson said. McRae handcuffed her.

Later, a nurse is seen coming into the room to tend to McRae while Johnson, who has moved back to the bench, is rocking back and forth behind her.

McRae filed an assault charge against Johnson. In his report, McRae said Johnson swung at him and threatened to shoot the officer in the head. He said he was punched repeatedly in the head and neck by Johnson, whose first name is listed as Dwayne in the report.

Johnson was treated at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis and released.

Attorney Murray Wells said he sent two letters to city officials and the police department telling them that Johnson wanted to press charges against the officers and planned to sue. Wells offered to settle the matter for $1.3 million, but the city didn't respond.

The police department is conducting an internal investigation and would not discuss the case.

"Part of our policy is not to humiliate an officer, whether they were right, wrong or indifferent," Martin said. "We can't rush through an investigation just because a video has been released."

McRae's most recent performance evaluation, for 2007, shows that he "exceeds expectations" as an officer.

His personnel file shows three reprimands: once for failing to return a manual to the training academy as directed, once for failing to appear in court after being subpoenaed and once for wearing a baseball cap with his uniform instead of his standard uniform cap.

The police confirmed the FBI has been notified and requested to look into the complaint.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20 ... g-suspect/

[admin]

I count at least three other police officers just standing and watching the beating. Police officers protect and serve? I think not!

[anderson]

I have read some of your forums there are many unbelivable suspects are there in the world in my read kmowledge i have gained some in this site. So thanks for this site and the auther of this.................................

Anderson


Florida Drug Rehab

[WaTcHeR]

Officer Bridges McRae

A local family claims they had a violent run-in with the same officer involved in the jailhouse beat down case, though their lawsuits were later dismissed.

Action News 5 was the first to show you video of a violent encounter between a Memphis police officer and a transgendered woman in the intake area of the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center. It was last February when surveillance cameras rolled as Memphis Police Officer Bridges McRae repeatedly struck suspected transgendered prostitute Duanna Johnson.

Last week, Johnson's lawyers said they plan to file a lawsuit over the incident. Action News 5 has learned it won't be the first lawsuit against McRae.

According to a lawsuit filed in federal court, on December 19, 2005, a truck driver named Kirby Lloyd arrived home and parked his tractor trailer in his mother's back yard on East Brooks. Lloyd started his other car, a 1994 Mazda, and went inside to greet his mother.

(Click here to read the lawsuit filed by Lloyd.)

When he went back outside, the lawsuit claims Lloyd was "accosted" by two Memphis police officers, including Bridges McRea. Lloyd claims he was slammed onto his mother's driveway with excessive force, and arrested for a "fictitious offence." In the lawsuit, Lloyd claimed said his civil rights were violated, and sued for $300,000 to compensate for medical bills and lost wages caused by his injuries.

Lloyd's sister, Kim Merrell, was also arrested that night. She filed suit as well, also asking for $300,000.

A judge dismissed both suits last summer, and both cases are now on appeal.

In the Lloyd case, the Memphis City Attorney's office represented McRea, the other officer, the city, and the mayor.

At the time this story was posted, calls to the City Attorney's office Monday had not been returned.

http://www.wmctv.com/global/story.asp?s=8543192

[WaTcHeR]

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[WaTcHeR]

Officer Bridges McRae Who Beat Black Transexual Had Many Complaints



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[KC]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A former Memphis police officer pleaded not guilty Nov. 19 to civil rights charges in the jailhouse beating of a transgender prostitution suspect that was captured on video.

An indictment unsealed Nov. 19 accuses officer Bridges McRae, 28, of using unreasonable force by repeatedly striking Duanna Johnson with his fist and handcuffs in the intake area of the Shelby County Jail in February. Johnson, a biological male who lived as a woman, was being booked on a prostitution charge when the incident happened. A video of the beating was broadcast on Memphis television stations, leading to McRae’s firing.

McRae pleaded not guilty at a brief hearing on Wednesday before a federal magistrate and was released without bond. No trial date was set. He is charged with violating Johnson’s civil rights while in a position of authority, an offense that carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Johnson was found murdered earlier this month.


http://www.sovo.com/2008/11-28/news/national/9495.cfm

[memphismanx]

I just had to register when I found this site. This forum kicks ass.
A little update on this case. Duanna Johnson was found dead recently;
laying in a ditch I believe.
Hmmmm......I wonder WHO could have done such a thing.
My money is on Bridges McRae.
I live in Memphis, and let me tell you guys...the cops here are absolutley brutal. Real top notch pricks, all with chips on their shoulders.
You should check out http://mpdenforcer20.blogspot.com/
They have a monthly vote for ass-hole cop of the month, as well as shed a little light into the incompetency that is the MPD.
These pigs won't think twice about beating you if they think they can get
away with it. They plant drugs. They invent charges on the spot.
And I know several of them will even kill you.
Memphis police are just as bad as Chicago or New Orleans; maybe even worse due to the sheer amount of drug trafficking here. (they're involved)
They also treat everyone like criminals. Even if YOUR the victim!

[WaTcHeR]

Murder of Transgender Woman Revives Scrutiny

The videotaped beating of a transgender woman in police custody in Memphis last February led to charges against two officers and national condemnation from gay rights groups. The officers were fired, and the Police Department overhauled some of its procedures and began sensitivity training for the entire force.

But a week ago, the woman, Duanna Johnson, 43, was found fatally shot near downtown. Ms. Johnson’s death has revived scrutiny of the case as the department is under pressure to find the killer.

“Duanna Johnson’s case was tragic before, and now it’s an almost unimaginable loss,” said Jared Feuer, the Southern regional director of Amnesty International. “Her treatment demonstrates a culture of violence against transgender people that must be addressed.”

Ms. Johnson sustained a gunshot wound to the head late on Nov. 9, the police said, and officers found her body after responding to a shooting call in North Memphis. Investigators said three men were seen near the crime scene before the officers arrived, but police officials say they have no suspects, have made no arrests and do not have a motive for the killing.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay civil rights group, called for a federal investigation.

Ms. Johnson’s case attracted national attention in June after local television stations obtained a grainy surveillance videotape that showed a police officer, identified as Bridges McRae, striking her repeatedly with a gloved fist with handcuffs slipped over his knuckles and pepper-spraying her in the face.

Another officer, James Swain, held down the 6-foot-5 Ms. Johnson during the assault, which occurred on Feb. 12 after she was arrested on a prostitution charge. Ms. Johnson, who was in a booking area at the Shelby County Jail in Memphis at the time of the attack, told the authorities that Officer McRae had also hurled antigay epithets at her.

“The shock value of that video was incredible,” said Arthur E. Horne III, one of the lawyers who represented Ms. Johnson in a threatened federal civil rights lawsuit against the city, the Police Department and the officers involved in the attack.

The video was splashed across the Internet. The Memphis police director, Larry Godwin, said the crime left him “sick” and “infuriated.” Mayor Willie W. Herenton called the attack “disgusting” and promised to enforce any punishment doled out by the judicial system. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also opened an inquiry into the case to check for possible civil rights violations.

In June, the department fired Officer McRae and Officer Swain, who was a probationary officer, and asked the Tennessee Equality Project, a gay rights group, to hold training sessions for officers about sexual orientation.

Mr. Horne had offered to forgo a lawsuit if the city settled with Ms. Johnson for $1.3 million. He said her estate might still proceed with a lawsuit against the city, the department and the two officers over the beating.

“Hopefully,” Mr. Horne said, “it will open the eyes of people in Memphis, the country and the world to the challenges that transgender and gay people face due to hate crimes. The only bright side of these crimes may be that they can effectuate some change for transgender people.”

Jonathan Cole, the Shelby County chairman of the Tennessee Equality Project, praised the Police Department as embracing the problem. But Mr. Cole said that Ms. Johnson’s killing demonstrated how much discrimination remained in Memphis.

“We’re a sleepy Southern town,” he said. “For the most part, I think people in the South treat each other well. But there are prejudices that people have, and those prejudices come out in ways that are often violent when no one is looking.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/us/18 ... ml?_r=1&em