During the week before the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, a mayoral staffer viewed a link to a newly posted YouTube video taken in May of 2011 showing three Bridgeport police officers stomping suspect Orlando Lopez-Soto who had been dropped by a police stun gun in Beardsley Park after a police chase. Appearing motionless on the ground Lopez-Soto is kicked repeatedly by three different police officers Joseph Lawlor, Elson Morales and Clive Higgins. The beating has become a YouTube marvel having received tens of thousands of hits since it hit the media over the weekend, but in that moment when the mayoral staffer had reviewed the video it had been seen just a few dozen times.
The YouTube sensation has taken on a life of its own, captivating media audiences from around the country. What if the mayoral staffer had done nothing after the link was brought to attention? Perhaps it would have surfaced at some point, but when the mayor’s office brings something to the Police Department the brass is gonna take a look.
Once Police Chief Joe Gaudett reviewed the video it did not take long for a process to be set in motion. The Police Department’s Office of Internal Affairs, which technically reports to the mayor, began an investigation. State and federal law enforcement officials were also contacted in case they wanted to conduct independent reviews of police conduct. Once the cat is out of the bag it’s best for everyone to cover their asses. The cops were removed from patrol and assigned to desk jobs.
A lawyer representing Lopez-Soto has filed a civil complaint in federal court, local and state representatives of the NAACP are screaming for action against the three police officers, lawyers in Bridgeport’s City Attorney’s Office are trying to figure out how to mitigate damages. One thing is clear, this case is going to cost the taxpayers of the city something. The question is, how much?
Lopez-Soto is clearly no boy scout with a history of narcotic and weapons possession charges, but the police report filed in the case, as well as the video, casts the cops as both dubious in how they portrayed what occurred and Dirty Harry vigilantes adding punishment to the pursuit.
Lawyers on all sides will look for an edge.
And the questions remain: how much will this cost city taxpayers? What will become of the internal police investigation? What will state and federal law enforcement officials do? Why did it take so long for the video to be posted on YouTube? Who posted it?
But what if the mayoral staffer had done nothing?
Here’s a question for you. Where was Lopez-Soto’s lawyer all these months???
It was stated somewhere in one of the postings or the articles. His lawyer said he didn’t have a case without proof. Lowlifes like him make accusations like this all the time. Now that there’s proof, the lawyer is going into action. This also gives credence to any previous accusations against these officers.
The lawyer representing Lopez-Soto probably grew tired of chasing ambulances.
This did not JUST happen … the Mayor’s office has been ignoring this problem for years while he was busy trying to take over the BofE and close down massage parlors instead of truly dealing with the problem of public safety which directly affects other areas like jobs and businesses that would increase our tax base. Finch’s mayoralty has been a total failure. HE HAS TO GO!
Does anyone reading OIB have access to the training protocol for the Bridgeport Police Department when pursuit of a lawbreaker is involved? Somewhere in the pursuit in the vehicle, out of the vehicle, call for the pursued to stop, taser warning, etc. things went away from the protocol. Training of military, public safety (police and fire) and healthcare practitioners is intended to provide specific guidance and direction in crisis situations.
Three burly men standing over and variously kicking an inert human form creates little favorable understanding of this encounter. If there is no protocol, or if such training is not frequent or mandatory, then emotions or an “us against them” culture can easily lead to brutal actions.
Meanwhile the CT Post reported another shooting at the Greene Housing with requests for information from the public. And no word has come from the Police Department (Chief’s office, PR William Kaempffer or NRZ Coordinators) for when the Department might like to publicize the TIPS program offered gratis to the community more than six months ago. Trustworthy Information for Public Safety, a system that allows good info to get to the police, but the informer’s identity is protected by anonymity. Does TIPS have potential for Bridgeport? Who thinks so? Time will tell.
This item has already been swept off the front page and the Post’s web site. Move along, nothing to see.
Don’t worry Kid, you’ll be reading a lot more about this case. It’s not going away.