“Injustice anywhere—Is a threat to justice everywhere…” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
The wheels of justice grind slowly for a reason. Rushing to judgment often brings about a self-fulfilled and inaccurate outcome. Bias and prejudice, along with a predetermined perspective of guilt and innocence, have wrongfully sentenced many individuals to death.
Conditioned and inflamed ‘mind sets’ frequently give way under the weight of emotional appeal. I’m profoundly disturbed and saddened by the events surrounding Mr. Eimers’ death.
My life’s experience has required me to directly address several incidents where police conduct brought about the death of innocent men. In the last incident, the state, with malice and forethought, decided to execute a man they knew to be innocent. Over time they were systematically beaten back, so as to settle for three life sentences without parole. Continued pressure brought a dismissal of all charges and his release.
My dream was to become a police officer. My wounds were a career changer. Some of the most courageous and ethical individuals I know are and were members of law enforcement.
I aspire to the 10% rule. At least ten percent of the members of any organization are inept, corrupt or dangerous. Not all Marines are glowing examples of proper conduct. I know teachers who should have been put behind bars for a very long time. The same goes for police officers, firefighters, lawyers, corrections officers, wardens and state attorneys.
The relentless, courageous and extraordinary investigative journalism proffered by ‘The Blue Paper’ has given us the video of Mr. Eimers’ arrest. After watching and re-watching this 53 second video that records Mr. Eimers being handcuffed; this is what I saw.
Mr. Eimers exits his vehicle from the driver side, walks slowly and deliberately to the rear of his car. He then proceeds to walk about 15 feet beyond the rear of his vehicle. He appears steady and stable on his feet. He does not exhibit any form of aggression.
He kneels down on his right knee first, using his right arm as a brace. He kneels down on his left knee and simultaneously thrusts both of his arms out in front of him. Initially he props himself up on his forearms and elbows with his head up. It appears that he is looking at an officer approaching him. As this officer walks towards him with their arms locked in a firing position, Mr. Eimers bows his head down, face towards the sand.
As the first officer makes contact with him, he holsters his weapon and remains standing as he straddles Mr. Eimers from behind. This officer reaches down and takes hold of Mr. Eimers’ left wrist and forearm, pulling it behind him. This same officer quickly reaches down for Mr. Eimers’ right wrist and forearm, swinging it up and back behind him.
It’s at this point that Mr. Eimer’s body shows signs of distress. Involuntary or voluntary resistance is exhibited by Mr. Eimers to what the police are doing to him. The police want to handcuff him. Mr. Eimers may be struggling because he wants to continue to breathe.
At this time Mr. Eimers contorts his head up and to the right. It appears that he is trying to look back at the officer attempting to cuff him. Mr. Eimers begins to twist and jerk his body in protest of being handcuffed. Or, were these the actions of a man suffering from positional asphyxiation, who simply wanted to stay alive.
Other officers approach Mr. Eimers, attempting to steady him so the cuffs can be applied. During this time Mr. Eimers is squirming and kicking his legs in the sand, in a low-crawl type of motion.
When Mr. Eimers’ arms were drawn up and behind him so that he could be handcuffed, the brace and support that they gave him while he lied face down in the sand were removed. The added weight and tilt of the body compressed his abdomen. Air hunger and oxygen deficiency would have triggered his struggling to grasp a breath of air. Thus, requiring increased force by the police to secure the arrest.
I did not see the police aggressively rush and jump on Mr. Eimers. I did not see them knee or strike Mr. Eimers at any time during the 53 second video. There did not appear to be any direct force or weight applied to the back or torso of Mr. Eimers by the police, during this time frame.
Parallel and independent investigations detailing every relevant facet of this tragic event are necessary. No one is above the law. And no one should have their name mulled about as a murderer, if they’ve done nothing wrong.
To access all Blue Paper coverage of the death of Charles Eimers click here.
Maybe your rulers down in Key West are following Hillary’s lead when she responded “What difference does it make!” when questioned about the death of Ambassador Stevens in Benghazi.
Rumor has it the military and police force are referred to as “our dogs” by the ruling class. Is that really what you want to aspire to? What you want our children to aspire to? Can you please list any honorable activities either of these groups perform. I would like to see your perspective on this a bit better.
Sister, please forgive the delay in getting back to you. This is the last weekend of my theater company’s production of “Knock Me A Kiss”.
Police officers have regularly stopped to place blankets on and offer comfort to the homeless struggling to survive through a frigidly cold night in NYC. I believe Sloan published a picture of an officer performing such an act in one of his daily editions.
Frequently, as a young boy living in the South Bronx I witnessed police officers running into burning buildings, rescuing as many individuals as they could before the fire department arrived. For many years we had a rash of apartment building fires in the Bronx. It looked like Berlin after the War.
I’ve witnessed police officers jump into the East, Harlem and Hudson rivers to rescue children who had found themselves struggling to stay alive, for any manner of reason. Many horrific car crashes with leaking gas tanks were met by arriving officers who rushed to the scene to extract the pinned families before the vehicle burst into flames. On several occasions I watched as police officers risked their own lives to save an individual from killing themselves.
The Bronx is a dangerous place to live. Gangs of criminals guarded their drug territory and other enterprises. They would kill innocent civilians at the drop of a hat, if they interfered with any of their activities. My mother walked up 5 flights of stairs to our apartment several times every day. I did my best to protect her, however, I was too small to really do anything about it.
Law enforcement rid our apartment complex of these murderers. Several officers were killed. During this process some of the detectives befriended me as a young child and assured me that everything was going to be OK.
Facing off against a group of murderously corrupt law enforcement officers, would not have been possible without good officers on the inside risking everything for the sake of justice. They saw to it that an innocent man, whom the system wanted to kill, was released and returned to his family. Without their cooperation this man would have never left prison alive.
The heroic acts of police officers after 9-11 are voluminous. Just yesterday on the Dolphin Expressway, off duty officers ran through traffic to the aid of a women whose child had stopped breathing. The child is fine and looks as healthy as can be.
As imperfect as we all are, it’s often easy to project our imperfection upon another. I’ve tried to restrain myself from this destructive ‘mind set’.
Sister, thank you for your comments and questions. I admire and respect your willingness to exchange ideas. God Bless You.
Thank you for the kind words Mr. Donnelly. I must admit in my quest to find the truth about how this world works, I mostly happen upon the negative. I do appreciate hearing more positive accounts concerning law enforcement and I hope we can hear more of these.
You must admit with situations like Kelly Thomas and Charles Eimers where there are videos and eyewitness statements of the police brutality that it’s very hard to consider that no one was at fault for their deaths.
Are the police being trained differently than they were back in the day? Do they have a different mission statement than they used to? What is going on with all the beatings, killings, roadside proctology exams, arrests and killing of children with obvious toy weapons or video game controller, the acquisition of fully weaponized tanks and drones I keep hearing about?
Does the good outweigh the bad or vice versa?
Sister, excellent points; every last one of them. My interpretation of the 53 second video, is just that, a 53 second view of an elongated police action that resulted in the death of an innocent man. However, I must attest to the fact that after the police chase, I was profoundly impressed by the calm and poise exhibited by the officers as they arrived on the scene, secured Mr. Eimers and placed him in handcuffs.
An honest investigation, seeking the whole truth and nothing but the truth, is owed to Mr. Eimers and his family. Nothing less will do. The nature of this death requires parallel and independent investigations. Although I’ve seen the FDLE maintain their integrity during high profile investigations, I would not leave this one to chance. I would request the Justice Department to generate its own investigation and reach its own conclusions.
Key West is a small city. There is not the scope and separation to clear and liberate one’s mind of the influences and pressures, to arrive at a particular outcome.
It can be done, however, why combine familiarity, partisanship and homage into the mix of an already difficult investigation. It’s not the wise nor prudent action to take. Only after a valid, accurate and complete investigation is done, will we be able to determine the how and why of Mr. Eimers’ death. And if called for, assign culpability.
This investigation is going to be thoroughly reviewed by millions. It behooves the authors of said investigation to be ‘spot on’ with everything that they touch.
Sister, I believe you hit the nail on the head; back in the day the resounding theme of the police department was to “protect and serve”. As such, candidates were screened and drawn to the department with a similar persuasion. It was reflected in their behavior once leaving the academy.
As previously stated, I still ascribe to the 10% rule. There are ‘shit-birds’ in law enforcement. They will always be there. However, I’ve witnessed police officers perform so many brave and valorous acts, that from my perspective, the good far outweighs the bad.
Rogue police officers have been permitted to engage in murderous conduct and other criminal activity with little or no punishment. Does Arthur McDuffie and Janet Reno ring a bell? Corrupt, weak and complicit leadership has opened the door for this type of insanity to take hold. Some state attorneys, along with their staff, have been duplicitous in these crimes. These miscreants have severely tarnished the names of those ‘officers’ who have given their “last full measure of devotion”.
Strong, bold and courageous leadership are required to supervise and train our heavily armed police departments. Flaccid and feeble political appointees will never be up to the task.
A competent leader will have their hands on the pulse of the department. They will know what is going on and in what direction they are heading. They will know the personalities, temperaments and skills of their officers. For in the final analysis, they are responsible for the conduct of the men and women under their command.
As with anyone engaged in a paramilitary career or operation, negligent leadership kills people.
Just returned from the sellout audience at my theater production. I’m juiced from their energy, appreciation and love. It’s contagious.
Thank you Sister for your kind words and insight. God Bless You…
I appreciate your thoughtful response Mr. Donnelly. It sounds like you are well respected and loved by your community and after all, isn’t that what it’s all about. Congrats on your show, it sounds awesome!
I do believe that it is ultimately up to the citizenry to either accept or not accept the treatment they are given by the ruling class. We have been far too compliant.
Is there any evidence of the police chase that allegedly occurred prior to Mr. Eimer’s exiting his vehicle?
Sister, thank you for extending the dialogue. I share your perception and understanding regarding our compliance to the over-reaching power of government.
The deck is stacked against an ordinary citizen effectively combating abuses, by what at times appears to be a lawlessness, associated with the intoxicating allure of excessive power.
Systems are in place to protect the citizenry from the misuse of police authority. They are called the Bill of Rights and Constitution. However, it appears that the government has gone to great lengths to find loopholes and develop strategies that circumvent the ‘rights of the people’. Unfortunately, there are always corrupt individuals available to put in charge of bureaucratic agencies who will ignore the law.
A ‘Dumbed Down’ education, along with a pampered and narcissistic society that believes it is entitled to whatever it wants, has produced generations of Americans who are in many ways weak, soft and selfish. They are not going to stand up to anybody or anything.
Again Sister, you have identified a salient point that must be examined. I’ve read several renditions of the police chase.
One report alleges that Mr. Eimers was pulled over by the police for a traffic violation. During this stop, it alleges that Mr. Eimers drove off from the police. It further states, that it was not a high speed chase. The chase ended at the location identified in the infamous ’53 second video’.
Determining the facts surrounding the justification of the stop, the exchange between Mr. Eimers and the police, along with protocol adherence during the chase and arrest are important aspects of the case.
Thanks for sharing your awareness, concern and valuable grasp of the information, as it relates to this tragic event.