Disturbing footage has emerged of a Kentucky policeman throwing mud at unsuspecting pedestrians in a low-income neighborhood, in a scene straight out of the show “Glee.”
Footage released by the Louisville Metro Police Department this week shows former officers Curtis Flynn, 40, and Bryan Wilson, 36, driving in an unmarked vehicle in their uniforms and throwing large mud at people on the sidewalk.
In one video, police are seen walking down Berry Boulevard in south Louisville when they see a woman walking on the sidewalk in the rain.
As the car slowed down, an officer was seen asking the woman: “Hey honey, you got change for a dollar?”
Then, when the woman turned towards them, the policeman yelled, “How about a drink” as he threw the contents of his cup at the woman. The two policemen then burst out laughing.
Another video shows officers approaching different women in the Park Hill neighborhood.
As they got closer, one of the cops was heard saying, “He’s going to get this, mom. He will have all this” as he held up the large drink.
In at least one case, a victim fell to the ground as a result of the attack.
Newly released footage shows a pair of former Louisville police officers throwing mud at unsuspecting pedestrians. WHAS11
Those were just some of 24 unique incidents in which Flynn and Wilson threw ice-cold drinks at pedestrians between 2018 and 2019 and recorded their actions in a scandal known as “Slushygate,” according to the Louisville Courier Journal, which first obtained the footage from a Freedom of Information Act request. Information.
Officers would then share the videos they shot with their colleagues in group messages or show them during their breaks, the Journal reported.
Both Flynn and Wilson pleaded guilty to civil rights violations afterward, and a federal judge called their actions “horrific, shocking to the conscience” before sentencing Flynn to three months in prison and Wilson to 30 months in prison, according to WDRB.
At least five other officers were suspended for their roles, such as assisting with filming or driving and failing to report misconduct, but were allowed to keep their jobs.
There were 24 unique incidents where officers threw ice cold drinks at pedestrians between 2018 and 2019. WHAS11
Among them was Detective Joseph Howell, who received a 10-day suspension.
“I think it’s just some stupid prank thing that the special unit does,” he told the Kurier Journal. “And everyone seems to be OK with it.”
Flagging the misconduct would accuse his supervisors of not doing their job, he said, because “everybody knows about it.”
“If I go to [commanding officer] at that point, I would 100% be cut out of it. I will be exiled without a doubt.”
But Sgt. Kevin Casper has denied knowing about the attack and is appealing his 30-day suspension — despite writing in a group text where the video was shared, “you all need to use the slow mo feature,” according to the Journal.
Internal documents show at least three other Ninth Mobile officers were involved in the texting but were not disciplined, the Journal reported.
Officer Curtis Flynn, 40, was sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to civil rights violations. WHAS11 Bryan Wilson, 36, was sentenced to 30 months in prison. WHAS11
All of the officers involved were part of an elite squad tasked with preventing drug and gun crime that eventually gained a reputation for police brutality and abuse of power, and was disbanded in 2019.
“The reputation is that they get a lot of guns off the street. They made a lot of arrests,” Deputy Chief Steve Healey told the Journal.
“You don’t really hear about all the other stuff until you’ll see news reports come out, you’ll see complaints come out.”
In fact, the civil rights charges against Flynn and Wilson only came as a result of the FBI investigating Wilson for a separate sextortion scheme, according to the Journal.
Mayor Craig Greenberg has since called the act “unacceptable” and said he is “thankful every officer caught throwing drinks at people has been prosecuted by the Department of Justice.”
In one video, police are seen asking a woman, “Hey honey, you got money for a dollar?” before asking him, “How about a drink?” and sprinkled it with the contents of the cup. WHAS11
But he also stated that the incident happened long before he or the current LMPD chief took office.
“We are focused on improving the LMPD culture where we work proactively [the] community, build trust with the community, and we want to have LMPD that everyone trusts and respects,” he said, noting that the department has changed the way it trains officers and has increased its emphasis on supervision, according to WHAS.
“Such incidents will not be accepted by the Chief [Jacquelyn] Gwinn-Villaroel or myself.”
In a statement, the Lousiville Metro Police Department also said, “It is understood that the video of the drink throwing incident from 2018 – 2019 is unsettling and disturbing to the public. The incident is part of LMPD’s painful history.
“For context, the individual responsible for throwing the drink faces federal prosecution, and the others involved no longer work at LMPD and/or have been subject to disciplinary action,” he said.
“The Department has implemented reforms that emphasize constitutional policing while rebuilding community trust.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
