Officer in video punching and kneeing a teenager was investigated in ’08 death

http://www.necn.com/10/29/10/Boston-Police-officer...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/201...

by Officer McManus. Is this the first time he is identified as the Officer who ordered Woodman to stop?

McManus was 30 and had about 1 year experience when he took down Woodman for failing to stop or making a smart comment or both or whatever.

I think it's likely McManus used the same technique on Woodman as he does in the video. I wonder if those techniques are safe for a person with a surgically repaired heart like Woodman's - a heart strong enough to play basketball but not to take a repeating punching with a knee and fist until the suspect complies.

McManus knew what Woodman had in his hand, a drink.

There was no concern articulted in reports about whether Woodman was armed, which I've heard said about the Roxbury CC incident (and now question whether there is a basis in fact for it.)

Could it be that Woodman didn't so much decide to comply as have been beaten into submissiveness or worse suffered blunt force trauma that triggered an arrhythmia and heart failure? His doctors said that he had brain damage from lack of oxygen while he lay on the ground handcuffed, unattended and unconscious.

If we had a video, we'd know more. (Who trusts the BPD incident report of Woodman's arrest is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?)

McManus joined the department in 2007. In 2008, he was among nine officers patrolling the Kenmore Square area during the Celtics championship celebration.

David Woodman, a 22-year-old Emmanuel College student, walked by them, holding a cup of beer.

McManus ordered him to stop. When Woodman kept walking, McManus rushed up to him and grabbed his hand.

After a violent struggle, McManus and other officers forced him down to handcuff him. Woodman, who had a heart condition, stopped breathing.

One of the officers tried to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, while McManus performed chest compressions.

Boston police and separate investigations by Conley and an independent panel found that Woodman may have stopped breathing for several minutes before officers realized his condition, but that his death was not a consequence of the struggle.

Woodman died after an arrhythmia 11 days later.

An independent panel found that there was a “lack of supervision’’ and other “missteps’’ by Boston police, but none of the mistakes contributed to Woodman’s death. In June, the city paid $3 million to Woodman’s family to settle a civil rights lawsuit.

Lack of supervision? Other missteps?

Instead of listening to criticism like a professional and trying to set procedure that is 1) effective and 2) keeps the suspect, immediate public and police safe, he blames the public for their concern about what they see, and tells them not to record the police but instead record the criminals.

If I were the mayor, I'd have a private sit down with Nee and tell him talk stop bullying the public and try to solve the issue.

Its quite possible the public doesn't want Officer McManus or any officer going full metal jacket on suspects who are non-threateningly resisting arrest.

The video has sparked outrage from some activists and elected officials, who are calling the arrest a case of excessive force.

Nee challenged the community to record shootings and robberies they witness in their neighborhoods.

“Where are the cameras when we want to see real crime?’’ he asked.

"It’s hard to trust the Police Department in the first place and this doesn’t help."

We all now have a very clear image of what David Woodman's arrest must have looked like.

On June 18, 2008 officer Michael T. McManus, the officer seen in last week's video punching and kneeing a restrained teenager, had an encounter with David Woodman. Woodman walked by officer McManus in Kenmore Square with a cup of beer in violation of the open container law. McManus ordered Woodman to stop. Woodman did not stop. Woodman was then swarmed by eight police officers and one supervisor (see the original story at http://bit.ly/dxOIsW). At some point during the arrest David Woodman stopped breathing. (Note at 2:12 in last week's video that the narrator says that she heard the restrained teenager say he couldn't breathe.) David Woodman died in the hospital 11 days after his arrest.

Both the Suffolk County District Attorney and former U.S. attorney Donald Stern investigated Woodman's arrest and subsequent death. The police officers' actions were cleared. David Woodman's parents rejected Stern's report because it contained no mention of Woodman's injuries "including seven abrasions or bruises on his face, a laceration of his lip, a bruise on his right arm, and a cut under his chin." (http://bit.ly/bmPbyq)

As in the Woodman case, the Suffolk County District Attorney has appointed a prosecutor to investigate the October 22 arrest that is the subject of the video.

Thomas Nee, the President of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, has already predicted the outcome of the DA's investigation. "The president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association and the union's attorney both said they expected McManus and the other officers to be cleared. They said McManus was using techniques taught to him by the city. "We have no concern about the outcomes of this investigation," said BPPA president Thomas Nee. "That’s the training." (http://bit.ly/b36xp6)