COPWATCH
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Levar Edward Jones: The Sad Secret of a Survivor Shot by Police
Posted: 02/14/2015 11:12 am EST Updated: 04/15/2015 5:59 am EDT
In 2014, multiple autopsies held little weight on the scales of justice. In several cases, no actual crime was committed until the police arrived. Yet, in every one of those tragic incidents we were left asking, why did that unarmed person have to die?
The repetition of that question takes a toll on a caring heart. This brings me to one person who was shot by the police and lived to tell about it -- Levar Edward Jones.
Divine intervention aside, I'm not just saluting him for being a survivor; I want to nominate him for an honorary law degree. Not only did he take a bullet at close range, he made an open and shut case of his innocence and cross-examined the officer who shot him - all while bleeding on the ground in handcuffs. I know it sounds like an urban legend but this is the story of how Levar Edward Jones went from perpetrator to prosecutor in three minutes.
On September 4, 2014, Levar drove into a gas station in Columbia, South Carolina. As he exited his vehicle, State Trooper Sean Groubert pulled up, got out his patrol car and requested Levar's license. He was NOT pulled over by the officer so displayed no defensiveness. He simply complied. Holding keys or a cell phone in his left hand, he checks his empty back pocket with a light tap. With the fluid motion of instinctive deduction, he then turned into the car to retrieve his wallet. While Levar leaned in, Officer Groubert screamed, "GET OUT THE CAR" twice, with his gun drawn. Levar quickly complied (again) and pivoted in awkward shock while restraining his body from sudden movement. That's when Officer Groubert fired four shots.
This happened in daylight, not the murky suspicion of night. The driver's door was ajar so there was no obstructed view. Other commuters were going in and out. I highlight these details to illustrate the low level of threat. At least until Groubert started recklessly shooting in public around flammable gas tanks.
In a society that has a tendency to blame the unarmed deceased victim, Levar's shooting was a breath of fresh air for undeniable innocence and police accountability. Officer Groubert was not only fired, he was also arrested (trial verdict pending). The State even reached a settlement agreement for Levar the following month (that might be record).
There are a few other things that should be noted.
Firstly, even after being shot, Levar still managed to raise his hands in universal surrender. #HandsUpDontShoot.
Secondly, while Levar spewed a series of pertinent questions, he also gave logical explanations of his complicit actions without any hostility. He even calls the officer "Sir."
Third, Levar made Groubert answer the questions of both why he was shot and why he was stopped in the first place. He repeats the officer's reason with quizzical disbelief -- Seatbelt!?!?
Finally, Levar strengthens future testimonial by "bullet pointing" the incident to a passerby. Between moans of pain, he eliminated criminal profile suspicion by stating his occupation, showing employee ID and indicated that he just left work. All this, as if to counter any accusations of him fleeing a crime just committed (i.e. Mike Brown's alleged strong arm robbery).
On the flipside, Groubert deserves a round of pathetic applause for not shooting Levar (again) after his hands were up. Internally, he's probably the laughing stock among a cynical club of badges who know corpses can't testify. Since they put their life on the line everyday they act like any time they use their weapon it's an honorable discharge. That attitude of entitlement is supported by a long history of non-indictments and acquittals. If this shooting wasn't caught on camera, Groubert would probably be on paid administrative leave and Levar would be just another complaint number.
Figuratively speaking, the police get away with killings by the numbers and get to call it a sting. That above the law pride probably got the best of Groubert because he gave the "code blue" text book reason for shooting an unarmed citizen. It included the fair warning, the perpetrator's blatant disregard for orders and the aggressive "he kept coming toward me." In addition, when that alleged perp is a Black man, there's always a feral detail to convey man vs. animal to the white subconscious. This time it was "he stared at me."
That "stare" leads me to the sad secret. With or without staring, Levar knew what the officer saw -- the false personification of fostered perceptions deeply rooted in the birth of a nation -- so in the face of near death, with hands bound by chain, Levar Edward Jones declared his truth to be self-evident by giving the officer something owed to him, to us and to many -- an apology
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Not only were these guys totally innocent they were actually helping to look for the stolen bicycle that the police were called about:
Unbelievable video here:
This is the video Gardena police didn't want you to see - LA Times
"I have never felt more inclined to address an issue after seeing this video. The lack of coverage or interest in this case is disturbing. This is the most damning evidence of officers basically executing an unarmed man. I say execute because there is no other way to explain this video.
But what is most alarming is that there was no indictments, no admittance of officer wrong doing, and the police did everything they could to hide the videos from the public for 2 years!
This is absolutely the most unjustifiable police killing I have ever seen. There needs to be more attention on this. There needs to be immense changes in the city of Gardena. This death shouldn't be marginalized by the national media. Latino lives matters.
By the way, if you didnt read the article, these "suspects" were actually the victims that the cops were called in to help."
The men were friends of the man whose bike had been stolen and were helping him search for his bike. Mistaking them for the thieves, the sergeant stopped the men, according to a memo written by a prosecutor from the L.A. County district attorney’s office, who reviewed the case.
Unbelievable video here:
This is the video Gardena police didn't want you to see - LA Times
"I have never felt more inclined to address an issue after seeing this video. The lack of coverage or interest in this case is disturbing. This is the most damning evidence of officers basically executing an unarmed man. I say execute because there is no other way to explain this video.
But what is most alarming is that there was no indictments, no admittance of officer wrong doing, and the police did everything they could to hide the videos from the public for 2 years!
This is absolutely the most unjustifiable police killing I have ever seen. There needs to be more attention on this. There needs to be immense changes in the city of Gardena. This death shouldn't be marginalized by the national media. Latino lives matters.
By the way, if you didnt read the article, these "suspects" were actually the victims that the cops were called in to help."
Why'd he put his arms up then down then up then down like 3 times, then walk forward, the cops were clearly ready to shoot. The dispatcher told them they were responding to a robbery, not a theft, which is the difference between those cops arriving and performing a felony stop vs simply getting out and approaching the three. Everyone involved failed, from dispatch, to the people who trained those officers, to even the victims. Shitty situation
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lol quit trollin.
The guy was slightly confused taking his hat off and bringing his arms down, that obviously doesn't warrant getting shot to death. Pigs obviously had itchy trigger fingers.
Pigs don't need to have their guns drawn every time they make a routine call, it's a stolen bike not hunting Osama.
The guy was slightly confused taking his hat off and bringing his arms down, that obviously doesn't warrant getting shot to death. Pigs obviously had itchy trigger fingers.
Pigs don't need to have their guns drawn every time they make a routine call, it's a stolen bike not hunting Osama.
There's a fundamental part of this that you're ignoring; it wasn't a "routine call". The dispatcher told the police that a robbery took place, not a theft. Robbery is a felony and implies the use of force or the use of a weapon, that's why they were trying to perform a felony stop. Each person was going to be told to back towards the officers one at a time, until they were all handcuffed checked for weapons and the scene was cleared. I agree that they were trigger happy and everything quickly spiraled out of control unnecessarily, and the loss of life is shocking and tragic.
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A robbery does NOT imply a weapon. I should know since I was charged with one. A robbery is taking something of value from a person or place, that could involve force (no weapons). There are various levels of robbery. If the robbery was with a weapon, the dispatcher would have without a doubt said the suspect is believed to be armed. Stop playing the troll. You're not a lawyer
This was two years ago. Does dropping your hands warrant getting shot to death? Obviously not. Think about what you're saying. Is this what it's come to, people blaming the victim for moving? Is this the kind of society you want to live in, where police will shoot you dead if you movev incorrectly? There is to be no accountability for the actions of the police and how they conduct themselves? Perhaps they could be trained to, I don't know, don't shoot everyone that breathes?
most cops are not of sound judgement to handle these type of calls.
it takes a special person to want to do that job
to me the quality of recruits has dropped off significantly and you are seeing what happens when unqualified people have guns and are scared of being shot so they shoot first
cops are spooked now a days any sign of not following commands is a death wish
it takes a special person to want to do that job
to me the quality of recruits has dropped off significantly and you are seeing what happens when unqualified people have guns and are scared of being shot so they shoot first
cops are spooked now a days any sign of not following commands is a death wish
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If you object, disagree, or simply have a generally shitty attitude, that's your prerogative as a free human being, and it's not justification to be murdered over.
It blows my mind when I see this type of shit. "Well if you had just responded quickly, in a non threatening manner, while staring at the ground so as not to meet your superior's eyes, following every command with the utmost accuracy, not speak back, nor pretend you have an opinion, you'll be just fine. You probably won't have a bullet tear through your skull if you simply follow those rules."
Does this represent a free society to you? Because it's not. One could imagine this is the way plantation owners spoke to slaves.
This doesn't have anything to do with the quality of recruitment, it's the result of the militarization of the police.
It blows my mind when I see this type of shit. "Well if you had just responded quickly, in a non threatening manner, while staring at the ground so as not to meet your superior's eyes, following every command with the utmost accuracy, not speak back, nor pretend you have an opinion, you'll be just fine. You probably won't have a bullet tear through your skull if you simply follow those rules."
Does this represent a free society to you? Because it's not. One could imagine this is the way plantation owners spoke to slaves.
This doesn't have anything to do with the quality of recruitment, it's the result of the militarization of the police.
I'm not condoning this in anyway but like I said in my post police been trigger happy and nothing's going to change that unless the 99% all of a sudden revolt and finally stand up for themselves against the 1%... so just cooperate and get the fuck on.
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Props:
BUTCHER 206
pretty much. we've been looking away far too long and let the prisons for profit system take over everything. we need some kind of massive uprising but the truth is most people make enough money to not care and actually want to keep it this way. they want that military like barrier between them and the people causing problems, and in their eyes thats the poor
Texas Rangers investigating suspicious death of woman found hanged in jail cell
FILED UNDER FUCC TEXAS PIGS YA HEARD ME
28-year-old Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell in Waller County, Texas on Monday, and while the police are calling it a suicide, her friends, family, and pretty much everyone else who hears about this aren’t convinced that’s what happened.
land’s friends and family feel that the police’s story doesn’t add up. For one thing, the odd quickness with which everything seemed to escalate seems off. In a matter of 72 hours Bland went from being pulled over for a minor traffic violation, to being arrested for assaulting a cop, and then killing herself, according to the police’s story. There’s also the fact that Bland is black, and Waller county supposedly has a history of discriminatory law enforcement behavior.
[Chicago Tribune | ABC 7 Chicago | My FOX Houston]
FILED UNDER FUCC TEXAS PIGS YA HEARD ME
28-year-old Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell in Waller County, Texas on Monday, and while the police are calling it a suicide, her friends, family, and pretty much everyone else who hears about this aren’t convinced that’s what happened.
land’s friends and family feel that the police’s story doesn’t add up. For one thing, the odd quickness with which everything seemed to escalate seems off. In a matter of 72 hours Bland went from being pulled over for a minor traffic violation, to being arrested for assaulting a cop, and then killing herself, according to the police’s story. There’s also the fact that Bland is black, and Waller county supposedly has a history of discriminatory law enforcement behavior.
[Chicago Tribune | ABC 7 Chicago | My FOX Houston]
Texas Rangers investigating suspicious death of woman found hanged in jail cell
FILED UNDER FUCC TEXAS PIGS YA HEARD ME
28-year-old Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell in Waller County, Texas on Monday, and while the police are calling it a suicide, her friends, family, and pretty much everyone else who hears about this aren’t convinced that’s what happened.
land’s friends and family feel that the police’s story doesn’t add up. For one thing, the odd quickness with which everything seemed to escalate seems off. In a matter of 72 hours Bland went from being pulled over for a minor traffic violation, to being arrested for assaulting a cop, and then killing herself, according to the police’s story. There’s also the fact that Bland is black, and Waller county supposedly has a history of discriminatory law enforcement behavior.
[Chicago Tribune | ABC 7 Chicago | My FOX Houston]
FILED UNDER FUCC TEXAS PIGS YA HEARD ME
28-year-old Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell in Waller County, Texas on Monday, and while the police are calling it a suicide, her friends, family, and pretty much everyone else who hears about this aren’t convinced that’s what happened.
land’s friends and family feel that the police’s story doesn’t add up. For one thing, the odd quickness with which everything seemed to escalate seems off. In a matter of 72 hours Bland went from being pulled over for a minor traffic violation, to being arrested for assaulting a cop, and then killing herself, according to the police’s story. There’s also the fact that Bland is black, and Waller county supposedly has a history of discriminatory law enforcement behavior.
[Chicago Tribune | ABC 7 Chicago | My FOX Houston]
This is just like that. People are throwing out accusations against the police with no real evidence. I'm sure the pigs down there are racist and corrupt, but with nothing more to go on than this woman's family saying she would have never committed suicide, I'm not buying she was murdered.