Here is the setup to understand the upcoming video.
The man, 40-year-old Aaron Tatkowski, said he had just come home when he saw Hart pulling over the woman — his daughter-in-law — and he didn’t like how he was talking to her.
“He hollered for me to get back in my truck, so I got back in my truck,” Tatkowski told CBS affiliate WTOL. “Next thing you know, I’m yanked out of the truck and it made my girlfriend say a few things. He yanked her out of the truck.”
Tatkowski claims he was trying to comply with Hart, but was worried because his two granddaughters were still sitting in the backseat.
Tatkowski said Hart forced him, his girlfriend and his son to the ground, which is where the cellphone camera video — shot by a witness — begins.
The Toledo Blade also has coverage. We don’t have video of the complete event, and it would be good to see the run-up to this “footage.”
But even in the absence of more video, several observations may be made. First, something went horribly wrong for an officer to be pointing a weapon of any kind at people who are laying on the ground and obviously not a threat to him. The escalation appears to have been the officer’s fault.
Second, the officer doesn’t appear to be in the best shape. I’d like to see him with his hands zip tied behind his back, lying prone, and be told to get up. I doubt that he could do it.
Third, I cannot see any reason at all the officer should have taken the cell phone from the caller and thrown it down. I’m not sure what the caller was talking about (officer in distress?), but the phone call appears innocent enough. At a minimum, the officer should be charged with theft and vandalism. It wasn’t his phone to destroy.
Finally, in addition to the unfortunate and irresponsible militarization of police tactics in America, it occurs to me that the problems run even deeper with police forces. For one thing, they apparently aren’t teaching officers well enough in Police Academies.
It also seems that there is a temper problem with many officers. Hot heads don’t belong on the police force – the police need educated men and women, knowledgeable of the law and Supreme Court decisions like Tennessee Versus Garner, and who know how to deescalate sensitive situations. Obviously, this event is a complete fail on every level.
