No excusess being made by me. I maintain the police were convicted out of political expediency. The civil rights trial was conducted out of political need.
They were convicted because they brutally beat an unarmed citizen and because a blind man could see the travesty of the whitewash in the first criminal trial.
The difficulty you and I are having has nothing to do with the trial and everything to do with you not seeing out-of-control police abuse in the video. Regardless of sanctioned procedures and what might be legal the images speak for themselves .. and if there are police who fail to see what is clearly visible to the vast majority of Americans, then there is indeed a problem.
Of course there will be abuses of authority by cops, the issue is whether or not such abuse is part of an organisation's entire culture or if it's in a particular area or if it's usually isolated to individuals at given times. It's fine to come up with sweeping condemnations but they're usually inaccurate.
The abuses should be addressed as abuses and not swept under the rug, turned the blind eye towards, excused and hidden behind "regulations", and treated as every other criminal case in court. That does not, my friend, appear to be the criteria you are applying in this case. There is, was, and shall never be a valid excuse for what cops did in that incident.
Were they dealt with, I mean dealt with officially?
The only reason these scumbag cops got any justice was because of the anger and outrage that exploded because of it. It would have been swept under the rug just as most cases like ths are.
Here's an example of what I mean ..
A Travesty in Columbus, Georgia -Will this nonsense ever end?????
The following was forwarded to me in the form of a letter shortly after this murder happened. It was written by a fraternity brother of Kenneth Walker:
Kenneth B. Walker was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
He was another innocent, unarmed African American male who was brutally murdered by so called "law enforcement".
On December 10, 2003 a local sheriff's special unit targeted 4 black men riding in an expensive SUV as possible "drug suspects". The reality of the matter is that every individual in that SUV was a college graduate, as well as responsible citizen. These four innocent men were dragged from their vehicle at gunpoint, and forced to lie on the side of a major Interstate like animals. Simultaneously one of the "John Wayne" sheriffs made a conscious decision to shoot Kenny Walker in the front of the head twice, with a H&K MP5 assault rifle.
The coward who shot Kenny claimed that he made a "judgment call" because he couldn't see Kenny's right hand. While Kenny lie dying on the side of the road, the bastards knowing full well at this point that they had targeted the wrong vehicle, still harassed the other 3 gentlemen. They placed them in 3 separate cars and held them in 3 separate cells. Furthermore, Kenny was shot at 9:00pm and his family was not notified until 1:30 am. They didn't even get a chance to say their farewells, because he died before they arrived. Of course they found no guns or contraband in the vehicle. 6 hours later they released the other men. They gave the driver his keys and said, and I quote "you're free to go, by the way your friend is dead".
Kenneth Walker was a loving husband, devoted father and responsible civic oriented individual who was involved in the local community. Not only had Kenny never been in trouble with law; when they pulled his record they couldn't even find a speeding ticket! So what it amounts to is that if you are a black male in this country, no matter how righteous, your life is subject to come down to a "judgment call". To add insult to injustice, this tragedy is being stonewalled and quietly swept under the rug by local government officials. From what we understand, the entire incident was caught on tape. The Sheriff's Department is refusing to release the tape, which is a matter of public record under the "Freedom of Information" Act.
Columbus is a small town. The "Good Old Boy" network is very much alive there and the longer they hold the tape, the more likely it will be altered or disappear all together (remember the 90 seconds missing from the Cincinnati tape).
http://strongblkwoman.blogspot.com/2005/07/travesty-in-columbus-georgia-will-this.html
Walker, an engineer, left a loving wife and 3 year-old daughter .. he's dead and gine forever .. and here's the punch line .. the cop that shot this innocent man dead was acquitted of all charges.
See if you can find the white example of Kenneth Walker. I have a thousand such stories of innocent people being murdered by police.
Try this one ...
Cops Shoot, Kill 92-Year-Old Woman After She Opens Fire on Them
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
A police official said narcotics officers were justified in returning fire on a 92-year-old woman they shot to death after she shot them as they tried to serve a warrant at her house.
Neighbors and relatives said it was a case of mistaken identity. But police said the woman, identified as Kathryn Johnston, was the only resident in the house at the time and had lived there for about 17 years.
Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said the officers had a legal warrant and "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door. He said they were justified in shooting once they were fired upon.
As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman.
One was hit in the arm, another in a thigh and the third in a shoulder. The officers were taken to a hospital for treatment, and all three were conscious and alert, police said.
Sarah Dozier, identified as a niece of the woman, told WAGA-TV that there were never any drugs at the house. "My aunt was in good health. I'm sure she panicked when they kicked that door down," Dozier said. "There was no reason they had to go in there and shoot her down like a dog."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,231364,00.html
Here's the punch line ...
Monday, 30 April 2007
Police officers kill 92-year-old and plant drugs as their cover story
'Two police officers pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of a 92-year-old woman during a botched drug raid last fall. A third officer still faces charges. Officer J.R. Smith told a state judge Thursday that he regretted what had happened."I'm sorry," the 35-year-old said, his voice barely audible. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation, making false statements and perjury, which was based on claims in a warrant.
Former Officer Gregg Junnier, 40, who retired from the Atlanta police in January, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation and making false statements. Both men are expected to face more than 10 years in prison.'
http://www.davidicke.com/content/view/6666/48/
There were no drugs in the house, there had never been a "buy" at the house and in fact, theses scumbag cops tried to threaten an informant to claim that he'd bought drugs there when he had not. She did not, Annie Oakley style, shoot all three cops as claimed, they shot themselves.
See if you can find an example of a 92 year old white woman being gunned down as she sat alone in her own home.
I could go on ...
The point is that while you're looking at "regulations" and trying to find rationale for the brutal beating of an unarmed man, citizens are being murdered, set-up, extorted, and abused. You're looking at the plight of cops first instead of through the eyes of those they are supposed to protect.
No doubt you can. I won't try and minimise it, there is embedded conflict between police and minority groups in many big cities in the US. I'm trying to work out in my own mind why that is.
It exists because of plain as day police brutality and the attempts to justfy that brutality .. and for the racist nature of that brutality.
King's colour has never been an issue for me. His actions were the issue. The reponse by the police was the issue. Apparently someone's colour is important in the discourse of law enforcement and just about anything else in the US. I don't understand it. I've never been in a country where skin colour was such an issue all the time. It comes down to (a) black good, white bad or (b) white good, black bad etc. All bullshit.
It's a day in the land of the free.
Really I don't know the answer to the first part of the question, the information must be available somewhere though. The second part is hypothetical of course, don't know either way but again, the colour business intrudes. As I said, I don't understand it. Any woman being killed by police in these circumstances is horrific, I would assume the police have been dealt with.
The cops were acquitted on the basis that the broom the woman was holding constituted a threat to the officers and gave them justifiable reason to murder her unborn child.
I don't know the laws of the various states but at common law anyone has the right to use force to defend themselves from unlawful attck, whether that be from the police or the average thug.
Cops are above the law and killing one, no matter how justifiable, makes the shooter guilty .. especially if black or hispanic.
There, that should stop me in future 
