Memphis officer accused of beating trans arrestee

[ScottNbama]

www.wmctv.com/global/story.asp?s=8515744

He is on non-enforcement duties...assisting rookie officer is fired already.

[Deleted]

That officer was just looking for an excuse to beat that inmate. Correction staff have been taught to address an inmate based on the name that's on the booking sheet. No exceptions!!
If the name says John brown, you address him as Mr Brown. If the name is Mary brown you address her as Miss Brown. If it's a transexual, in a bright red dress with yellow lipstick and nine inch platform shoes and the booking sheet says Richard Brown, you address him as Mr Brown-period!!
Sometimes transexuals come in and use female names while in the housing area. They can call themselves anything they like and believe me, i have heard some pretty silly names. Names like Miss Demenah, Erika Furs and Ineda Mann come to mind.
But all we have to do is follow the institutional orders and call them the name that's on the booking sheet. No matter what they say.
That officer is nothing more than a bully. He's a disgrace to his uniform and I hope he gets fired. As far as the other officer is concerned, I view him as a bully in training and I'm glad to see him go as well.
I would never allow an officer to call an inmate a fag. They knew that if I heard them, I would write it up and see to it that they would be called on the carpet, in the wardens office, and they would have hell to pay. The same thing goes for beating up helpless, handcuffed inmates.

[bluepride]

This poor excuse for an officer needs to be fired. Anyone who does what he was shown doing makes all law enforcement look bad. If he has unresolved issues in his own head regarding trans people or gays or anyone else, he should never take it out on anyone else. This unbridled, irrational hate for someone he doesn't even know, speaks volumes about himself. And the others who stood looking on should be ashamed of themselves. Are they that small inside that they don't even try to put an end to something they knew to be so wrong? Just because the person is a transvestite? Are they that afraid of reality?? That officer has issues inside his own head. I wouldn't be surprised if he secretly harbors buried desires and being in this trans person's presence triggered his irrational fears and thinking. In any event, all of law enforcement will be better off without him and anyone like him. Just shameful. I'm the biggest supporter of cops and also justified force when necessary. But this is just way over the lines. He has to go, pronto.

[bluepride]

Godwin Says Suspect's Beating 'Made Me Sick'

Police director asks FBI to investigate officer caught on security videotape

Friday, June 20, 2008

Immediately after Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin watched a videotape of an officer beating a suspect in the booking area of the jail, he reported the incident to the FBI.

"It made me sick," Godwin said Thursday. "I was infuriated. I notified the FBI because they needed to investigate to see if this person's civil rights were violated."

Bridges McRae, the officer who hit the suspect, has been on desk duty since the February incident. Rookie officer James Swain, still on probation, was fired.

The incident became public this week after a videotape was released by the suspect's attorney.

Since Godwin became director in 2004, at least 40 officers have been fired or resigned following investigations, he said.

"There are going to be issues," Godwin said. "I'll deal with those issues. We don't have some code of silence here. If an officer does wrong, there are consequences because it taints the other 99.5 percent of the men and women in the department who work hard for the city."

POLICE DIRECTOR SAYS BEATING "MADE ME SICK"

[hoosiercop]

Well whether he means it or not, at least Godwin is saying the right things now.

[bluepride]

Memphis Police Officer Fired, Accused of Beating Transgender Suspect

A Memphis Police Officer is off of the job after an alleged beating of a transgender person, that was caught on camera.

Memphis Police have confirmed that Officer Bridges McRae was fired following an administrative hearing about the incident.

Duanna Johnson says McRae beat her up while another man, Officer J. Swain, held her down. Johnson says McRae called her names and made fun of her sexuality before beating her.

Swain was already on probation with the department and was fired.


Memphis Police Officer Fired, Accused of Beating Transgender Suspect

I'm not one to wish for cops to be fired for certain infractions but in this case, I make a giant exception. I'm glad both officers are history.

[hoosiercop]

Yes, a strong message like this needs to be sent to say that this type of behavior WILL NOT be tolerated. Fear of losing their job is the only way to affect some homophobes' hateful behavior.

[bluepride]

Duanna Johnson Murdered "Execution-Style" in Memphis

Memphis, TN - Duanna Johnson, the transgendered woman whose jailhouse beatdown cost two Memphis Police officers their jobs, was shot and killed execution-style in North Memphis on Sunday, November 9, 2008.

The shooting happened at the corner of Hollywood and Staten, a few blocks from Johnson's home.

She was killed just hours before she was supposed to get on a bus and go back to Wisconsin to live with her mother and try to put her troubled life back together.

"She lived a fairly hard life," says Johnson's attorney, Murray Wells. "She was around people that are unsavory. And that lifestyle is not safe."

Wells says his client's death, while not totally unexpected, is still shocking.

"It's horrible timing." says Wells, "She was going home. The Federal indictment was coming down. The lawsuit was going to be filed. And now all of that is on hold. So, I find it ironic, at least."

On Dexter Street, where Johnson lived, neighbors have been trading whodunnit theories all day long.

Duanna Johnson's Death Will Not Stop MPD Lawsuit

Transgender Beating Victim Found Dead in North Memphis

I hope people don't start jumping to conclusions on this incident. It would be the easiest thing in the world to try to link the officers who were involved with the beating some months ago. Nothing should be ruled out though. Let the investigation begin and let it go where the truth takes them. Trans prostitutes do live in that netherworld where all sorts of violence and crime is an everyday thing. We all know that. Let's see where this goes.

[Deleted]

I agree with Bluepride in that we all know that transexual prostitutes lead a hard life. They leave themselves open to all kinds dangerous and deadly activities. By living outside the law, many of them wind up dead. These violent ends usually don't come to them because they're transexual. It comes to them because of substance abuse, prostitution, boosting, and a host of other illegal activities many of them are involved in. The same thing would apply to heterosexual prostitutes as well.
I can't believe that the police would be so stupid as to kill her. After all they would be the first suspect. And, even with her dead, the law suit is going to continue. Not only that, the officers who were fired are going to stay fired. I just don't see what killing her would accomplish. Except for some kind of childish payback.

[bluepride]

I've always found transexual prostitutes as great informants who actually help cops. I can't tell you how many times I've had one pass by a radio car and let cops know who's carrying a gun. Just a brief description like, the guy in the green and yellow shirt has a gun in his left waistband. Things like that. I'm sure they give cops information not only because they want to be model citizens but probably more for their own protection. Which is understandable. It makes me wonder of Duanna was like that and if she was, why would those idiot cops behave the way they did earlier in the year. Anyway, I hope the murderers are found and prosecuted to the fullest.

[bluepride]

Former MPD Officer Indicted in The Beating of Transgender Woman Duanna Johnson

MEMPHIS, TN -- Former Memphis Police Officer Bridges McRae has been indicted on a civil rights violation in the beating of transgendered woman Duanna Johnson.

According to the indictment, McRae is accused of using excessive force when he repeatedly hit Duanna Johnson with his fists and handcuffs on February 12, 2008.

Johnson told Eyewitness News that McRae called her a "he/she" and other derogatory terms before and during the beating. She said another officer, J. Swain held her down while McRae hit her.

Both officers were fired from the Memphis Police Department in June after the video of the beating was released to the media.

If convicted, McRae could face up to 10 years in a federal prison.

Former MPD Officer Indicted in The Beating of Transgender Woman Duanna Johnson

[bluepride]

Not Guilty Plea by Ex-Memphis Police Officer

A former Memphis police officer pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to civil rights charges in the jailhouse beating of a transgender prostitution suspect which was captured on video.

An indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses 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 videotape of the beating was broadcast on Memphis TV stations and online in June, leading to McRae’s firing. His former partner, James Swain, 25, was also fired.

McRae pleaded not guilty at a brief hearing on Wednesday before a federal magistrate and was released without bond. No trial date was set.

Not Guilty Plea by Ex-Memphis Police Officer

I don't like to see cops in trouble but the tape of this incident speaks for itself. It shouldn't have happened. And I'm glad the officer was fired pretty swiftly by his department. Now, let the criminal justice system work to it's conclusion of this case. Out and out brutality is never a good thing.

[hoosiercop]

<<<<<McRae declined comment as he left the federal courthouse. His lawyer, Ted Hansom, said McRae was “in a scuffle” with Johnson, who stood 6-foot-5, and was doing what he had to do to defend himself.>>>>>

I guess he must have been really scared for his life while his partner held Johnson down on video, huh? What a f-ing idiot. That just makes me want to see him get nailed even more. He knows he's wrong and is going to try to make up any stupid excuse for it, even though he knows that everyone knows what happened. Pathetic.

Yeah I in general don't like to see cops in trouble either. But some cops do not deserve to be cops, and the more of those cops we can be rid of, the better this PROFESSION will be!

[bluepride]

Former Memphis Officer Pleads Guilty in Transgender Beating Case

Former Memphis Police Officer Bridges McRae was originally facing ten years in prison if convicted. One month before his retrial McRae admits to using excessive force against Duanna Johnson while booking her into the Shelby County Jail.

After watching video of the beating, all but one member of the jury wanted to convict Bridges McRae. His April 2010 trial ended with a hung jury. A month before McRae was set to be retried his attorney’s reached a plea deal. Will Batts, Executive Director of The Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center is happy McRae will serve time behind bars, but feels two years is a light sentence. “It’s incredibly senseless. It’s hard to imagine somebody watching that and not feeling horror.”

McRae’s attorney says the former Memphis Police Officer is sorry for his actions, and she feels the punishment is reasonable. “Mr. McRae was put into a situation where he’s an officer in a dangerous city,” Attorney Lauren Fuchs tells myEyewitnessNews.com. “He was on a long shift and at the end of that shift, an altercation happened and he overreacted.”

Read article: Former Memphis Officer Pleads Guilty in Transgender Beating Case