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How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 6:32 am
by RiverDog
Considering last night's tragic events, I wonder if Michael Bennett has any more to say about the behavior of the Las Vegas police. He seems to know a thing or two about police work.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:11 am
by haxin jaxin
An apology from MB to the fine men and women of the LVPD is in order.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 8:39 am
by NorthHawk
Why would he apologize if he was wronged by the police?
Just because there was a nutcase on the 32nd that floor police had to deal with doesn't give other abuses a free ride.
These incidents are mutually exclusive.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 10:05 am
by FolkCrusader
I have to agree with NH. Aside from your occasional "get off my lawn" attitude I see you as typically quite logical, River. One has zero to do with the other. An entire police department (as well as those of many surrounding areas) is going through likely the most traumatic single criminal event they will ever go through. They deserve our support and concern.

Bennett has brought up a situation where he believes his civil rights were violated by a few officers. He hasn't even been allowed to see the video evidence at the scene yet the LVPD has released edited video twice in support of their claim. Maybe they are right, maybe they are wrong. The evidence is certainly not clear yet. Nor has Bennett decided if he will even file suit.

So to say that either one of these situations is related is beyond my comprehension. You sound like the whackos on my FB feed.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 10:26 am
by haxin jaxin
As we’ve seen by last night’s incident, a cop’s job during an active shooting is messy as hell. They have to take out the shooter as quickly as possible. No time for niceties. The LVPD was employing the same procedures the night MB was detained. Bennett should understand this. I actually think he does, but crying racism helps him on his current soap box. Besmirching the fine reputation of the LVPD in order to further his cause is despicable.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 11:16 am
by NorthHawk
We don't know if in fact he is besmirching the reputation of the LVPD or not.
That's what the lawsuit (or whatever it's called) is all about.
Hopefully the truth will be found.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 12:31 pm
by Aseahawkfan
Second guessing cops, public figures such as coaches or politicians, or even people you know is what we all do. I wouldn't stop the lawsuit. I'd use it to find out what's really going on and motivating the police to act in such a way.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 4:13 am
by RiverDog
FolkCrusader wrote:I have to agree with NH. Aside from your occasional "get off my lawn" attitude I see you as typically quite logical, River. One has zero to do with the other. An entire police department (as well as those of many surrounding areas) is going through likely the most traumatic single criminal event they will ever go through. They deserve our support and concern.

Bennett has brought up a situation where he believes his civil rights were violated by a few officers. He hasn't even been allowed to see the video evidence at the scene yet the LVPD has released edited video twice in support of their claim. Maybe they are right, maybe they are wrong. The evidence is certainly not clear yet. Nor has Bennett decided if he will even file suit.

So to say that either one of these situations is related is beyond my comprehension. You sound like the whackos on my FB feed.


The cops said that they were responding to a report of an active shooter when Michael Bennett was detained, so it most definitely is related.

You're right, we still don't know all the facts. What we do know is that Bennett was detained for all of 10 minutes, 7 of which were spent sitting in the back seat of a police car, and that he did not suffer any bodily injuries from the detainment, also was seen shaking hands with one of the cops as he was released. That doesn't sound too violated to me. Like you said, we haven't seen all the evidence, but there is certainly none that we know of that suggests that his civil rights were violated.

In light of the recent events, even if there was something inappropriate that the cops did during those 180 seconds, I don't think Bennett's lawsuit is going to get very far if he requests a trial by jury.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 7:27 am
by idhawkman
FolkCrusader wrote:I have to agree with NH. Aside from your occasional "get off my lawn" attitude I see you as typically quite logical, River. One has zero to do with the other. An entire police department (as well as those of many surrounding areas) is going through likely the most traumatic single criminal event they will ever go through. They deserve our support and concern.

Bennett has brought up a situation where he believes his civil rights were violated by a few officers. He hasn't even been allowed to see the video evidence at the scene yet the LVPD has released edited video twice in support of their claim. Maybe they are right, maybe they are wrong. The evidence is certainly not clear yet. Nor has Bennett decided if he will even file suit.

So to say that either one of these situations is related is beyond my comprehension. You sound like the whackos on my FB feed.


That all said, Bennett could make one hell of a statement by donating all of his law suit money to the LVPD for sensitivity training instead of just taking the money and running. (pun intended)

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 7:43 am
by NorthHawk
The cops said that they were responding to a report of an active shooter when Michael Bennett was detained, so it most definitely is related.

You're right, we still don't know all the facts. What we do know is that Bennett was detained for all of 10 minutes, 7 of which were spent sitting in the back seat of a police car, and that he did not suffer any bodily injuries from the detainment, also was seen shaking hands with one of the cops as he was released. That doesn't sound too violated to me. Like you said, we haven't seen all the evidence, but there is certainly none that we know of that suggests that his civil rights were violated.

In light of the recent events, even if there was something inappropriate that the cops did during those 180 seconds, I don't think Bennett's lawsuit is going to get very far if he requests a trial by jury.



How many were stopped by the police?
How many were white and what was the description of the alleged shooter? Was it a tremendously quick large black man with a beard? If not, the previous questions become important.
There was talk that he was running and hiding behind equipment or slot machines. How is a guy who is 6-4 280 supposed to protect himself from a shooter when that size?
He has a right to minimize his profile when leaving as everyone else.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 7:58 am
by c_hawkbob
How about lets wait till he actually files a lawsuit to discuss that lawsuit.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:21 am
by burrrton
How many were white and what was the description of the alleged shooter?


The club was something like 90% black that night, North.

If we want to discuss changing how police are trained to respond to active shooter situations, fine, but we have to quit trying to make Federal Civil Rights cases out of bog standard police work.

He has a right to minimize his profile when leaving as everyone else.


On that we agree. I don't blame him a bit for running/hiding.

However, when most of the people around are black, it's pretty silly to act like he was singled out because of his skin color.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:39 am
by rocket
However, when most of the people around are black, it's pretty silly to act like he was singled out because of his skin color.


Nice to see I'm not the only one to notice this. Seems like most minds are made up regardless of those pesky law, training, procedure and other fact things.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:13 pm
by RiverDog
c_hawkbob wrote:How about lets wait till he actually files a lawsuit to discuss that lawsuit.


Well, he's already gone public, complaining to anyone who will listen, so if he's not waiting until a lawsuit is filed, why should we?

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 7:34 am
by c_hawkbob
From what I can see everything he said was reactionary and said shortly after the event. I'll wait and see if anything more comes of this but I wouldn't be surprised if nothing does. Meanwhile it's you all keeping this an active discourse, not him.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:06 am
by NorthHawk
It's interestingly convenient that the cop's body camera wasn't turned on at that time.
Coincidence, possibly but maybe the other video's can give as complete a picture as possible.
We'll see how it all unfolds.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 11:55 am
by Aseahawkfan
c_hawkbob wrote:From what I can see everything he said was reactionary and said shortly after the event. I'll wait and see if anything more comes of this but I wouldn't be surprised if nothing does. Meanwhile it's you all keeping this an active discourse, not him.


Is Riverdog the one kneeling at games or writing a book called "How to Make White People Uncomfortable"? I didn't realize. It sounds like Mr. Bennett being reactionary and this event occurring is very convenient for his activist agenda and his book. I"m sure he'll include the experience to support whatever conclusion he is advancing with a book with such a name.

Bennett is very much driven by an agenda.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 1:33 pm
by c_hawkbob
c_hawkbob wrote:From what I can see everything he said was reactionary and said shortly after the event. I'll wait and see if anything more comes of this but I wouldn't be surprised if nothing does. Meanwhile it's you all keeping this an active discourse, not him.

Aseahawkfan wrote:Is Riverdog the one kneeling at games or writing a book called "How to Make White People Uncomfortable"? I didn't realize. It sounds like Mr. Bennett being reactionary and this event occurring is very convenient for his activist agenda and his book. I"m sure he'll include the experience to support whatever conclusion he is advancing with a book with such a name.

Bennett is very much driven by an agenda.


Quite obviously I was talking about the lawsuit, not everything else going on in his life. And actually he's taking a seat, not kneeling (which to my way of thinking would be showing greater respect) and he was doing that as well as writing the book well before this event ever took place ... or is it your contention that he somehow staged this whole episode to mesh with his "agenda"?

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 4:27 pm
by Hawk Sista
We don't know what happened to Michael that night; was it his perspective that he was singled out and threated, or was he?? As a black man, I can surely understand having an emotional reaction to the events he endured, even if the PD is to be 100% believed. But we have discussed this topic in many threads. Irrespective of what comes from it - what we learn, what MB does, etc... tying his experience and MB's subsequent reaction to the worst mass shooting in the modern era is just looking for a fight. Are you suggesting that Bennett, even if he feels he was wronged, should drop the issue because something horrendous happened in the same city? Because the first responders did a nice job of handling a lunatic with 23 machine guns? Or are you saying that Bennett is a liar because look how well they did, or what they have had to endure, or what they are always on guard about?

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 6:24 pm
by RiverDog
Hawk Sista wrote:We don't know what happened to Michael that night; was it his perspective that he was singled out and threated, or was he?? As a black man, I can surely understand having an emotional reaction to the events he endured, even if the PD is to be 100% believed. But we have discussed this topic in many threads. Irrespective of what comes from it - what we learn, what MB does, etc... tying his experience and MB's subsequent reaction to the worst mass shooting in the modern era is just looking for a fight. Are you suggesting that Bennett, even if he feels he was wronged, should drop the issue because something horrendous happened in the same city? Because the first responders did a nice job of handling a lunatic with 23 machine guns? Or are you saying that Bennett is a liar because look how well they did, or what they have had to endure, or what they are always on guard about?


Actually we know quite a bit about what happened to Michael that night. We know that he was not arrested, that he was detained for 10 minutes, that he spent 7 of those minutes in the back of a police car, that he shook hands with a cop as he was released. All of that is on video. We also know that he was uninjured.

I'm not suggesting that Bennett should or shouldn't do anything. What I am saying is that in light of these events, there's bound to be one heck of a lot of sympathy for the LV police/security/first responders, and as a result, he is going to find it tough going in the court of public opinion. Compared to the awful tragedy that happened Monday night with 59 people dead and over 500 injured, Bennett's complaint looks pretty trivial.

I would not be at all surprised to see him drop his lawsuit. The timing couldn't be worse.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 6:39 pm
by Aseahawkfan
All I know is Bennett has an agenda and a book coming.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 6:55 pm
by obiken
NorthHawk wrote:Why would he apologize if he was wronged by the police?
Just because there was a nutcase on the 32nd that floor police had to deal with doesn't give other abuses a free ride.
These incidents are mutually exclusive.


Spot on, one has nothing to do with the other. Example: 9-11 vs NYPD Corruption cases.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:39 pm
by idhawkman
NorthHawk wrote:It's interestingly convenient that the cop's body camera wasn't turned on at that time.
Coincidence, possibly but maybe the other video's can give as complete a picture as possible.
We'll see how it all unfolds.


I don't know much about the body cams but one of the questions I have is how long does the battery last on those things? Do they plug them in when they go off duty?

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 10:32 pm
by Hawk Sista
I see what you are saying with public sentiment being more aligned to LVPD right now as a result of this awful tragedy. And yet I also understand that I neither know what happened to Bennett...nor how he felt about those 10-15 minutes through his lens... HIS paradigm. There is NO solitary objective reality, here now, or ever for that matter. Which is kinda my point. To one person, events are viewed/felt/perceived one way & to another - there are very real and very different set of truths as a result of a million things...life experiences chief among them.

No one person has the capacity to recall an emotion-filled moment 100% the way that it actually occurred.... complete with understanding of how the “other” party came to their own assumptions, feelings, perspectives & actions. Law enforcement who are on video beating the hell out of people (perhaps fatally so) are given a bigger pass (because they were afraid, didn’t ’t know what would happen, self preservation....Etc more often). Since the two disparate situations have been paired, seriously (in reflection) ask yourselves what the diatribe would be had the person who killed 59 people been other than a white dude. (This doesn’t make me racist to point it out... it frickin the exists). Write the story line if a
Mexican, black man, or coincidentally Muslim had shot up Vegas. What would be the headlines in the paper??? It’d
Be VERY different.

If the nation gave Michael his due diligence the way the officer has been given his for zero body-cameras and is role/actions, we’d all be further ahead and getting somewhere. While I realize it “cuts both ways” - there is a different standard for the black man to PROVE himself than a potentially over-zealous beat cop.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 5:00 am
by RiverDog
Hawk Sista wrote:I see what you are saying with public sentiment being more aligned to LVPD right now as a result of this awful tragedy. And yet I also understand that I neither know what happened to Bennett...nor how he felt about those 10-15 minutes through his lens... HIS paradigm. There is NO solitary objective reality, here now, or ever for that matter. Which is kinda my point. To one person, events are viewed/felt/perceived one way & to another - there are very real and very different set of truths as a result of a million things...life experiences chief among them.

No one person has the capacity to recall an emotion-filled moment 100% the way that it actually occurred.... complete with understanding of how the “other” party came to their own assumptions, feelings, perspectives & actions. Law enforcement who are on video beating the hell out of people (perhaps fatally so) are given a bigger pass (because they were afraid, didn’t ’t know what would happen, self preservation....Etc more often). Since the two disparate situations have been paired, seriously (in reflection) ask yourselves what the diatribe would be had the person who killed 59 people been other than a white dude. (This doesn’t make me racist to point it out... it frickin the exists). Write the story line if a
Mexican, black man, or coincidentally Muslim had shot up Vegas. What would be the headlines in the paper??? It’d
Be VERY different.

If the nation gave Michael his due diligence the way the officer has been given his for zero body-cameras and is role/actions, we’d all be further ahead and getting somewhere. While I realize it “cuts both ways” - there is a different standard for the black man to PROVE himself than a potentially over-zealous beat cop.


You're right, we don't know what was going on inside Bennett's mind and that it's difficult to see things from his POV. Just keep in mind that it is very possible that his perception could be a polar opposite perception of that of the cop(s) that detained him. The one thing that we do know is that whatever happened spanned a very short period of time. Was there some hot blooded racial epitaphs hurled during those emotionally charged moments? Very possible, perhaps even probable. Bennett should know first hand from his experiences on the football field how often slurs, threats, and all sorts of otherwise very unacceptable language is used during those brief periods when the adrenaline is flowing. That doesn't necessarily mean that his fellow players, or the cops that detained him, are racists.

As far as the headlines being quite different, you're right, they would be. But that's the press's job. They have a duty to report the facts, and if the shooter was black or Muslim, I want to know. If the motivation was related to Islamic State (IS did claim responsibility), then they have an obligation to tell us those facts. Knowledge is power, and it's essential in figuring out what happened and how to prevent it from happening again. It's up to us as individuals to process that information, and that's where the rub comes: Weak minded individuals will project those facts to bias their view of others, and that's our fault as individuals and as a society, not the fault of the press.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 5:08 am
by RiverDog
idhawkman wrote:I don't know much about the body cams but one of the questions I have is how long does the battery last on those things? Do they plug them in when they go off duty?


That's a good question. My guess is that they'd have to conserve use or exchange batteries to make it through an entire shift.

The whole issue about cop's wearing body cams is a thorny one. Cops see a whole lot of stuff, about 99% of which is completely irrelevant to their task. Additionally, there are some genuine invasion of privacy issues that they encounter that shouldn't be recorded. I don't think it unusual at all if a cop didn't have a body cam in use at the time of an arrest or detainment.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 5:35 am
by Hawktawk
Body cams generally don't run continuously or they would record every inane detail of a shift. Cops turn them on unless I am mistaken. If there's an active shooter situation isn't it conceivable the guy just forgot to activate it?

I dunno about Mike Bennett and his beef with law enforcement in Vegas. He has the right to feel however he likes about being detained but not to make up stuff. Either way its a little out of character for my buddy RD to link this tragedy with Mikes situation.


Frankly I think we might all need to take a knee for America, just not during our anthem.

Shes a hurting unit in so many ways.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 6:56 am
by RiverDog
Hawktawk wrote:Body cams generally don't run continuously or they would record every inane detail of a shift. Cops turn them on unless I am mistaken. If there's an active shooter situation isn't it conceivable the guy just forgot to activate it?

I dunno about Mike Bennett and his beef with law enforcement in Vegas. He has the right to feel however he likes about being detained but not to make up stuff. Either way its a little out of character for my buddy RD to link this tragedy with Mikes situation.


Frankly I think we might all need to take a knee for America, just not during our anthem.

Shes a hurting unit in so many ways.


The link is already there, I didn't make it up: Las Vegas, police, active shooter. They are common threads in both situations and worth a discussion. If it wasn't relevant or if it was just some rambling musings by an old man, there wouldn't have been so many posters that threw in their 2 cents worth.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 7:08 am
by idhawkman
One of my businesses is manufacturing home security cameras. When they are recording, they pull much more power than when they are in monitoring mode. Since these cops cameras are always recording they would drain a battery much quicker than most passive cameras. Also, since they are battery powered, the batteries charge life will decrease depending on the type of battery and if they are fully drained (or not), fully charged (or not), etc.

I think body cams are good but I also think the technology around them is in its infancy still. There will be growing pains with it.

Re: How's the lawsuit against the LV cops going?

PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:59 pm
by Hawk Sista
Just keep in mind that it is very possible that his perception could be a polar opposite perception of that of the cop(s) that detained him.


I think I made that very point. They are polar opposite perceptions...instead of claiming to know what occurred, we need to understand that what occurred is just different to each person there, depending on life experiences. Understanding context and each other seems like a goal most people don't have an interest in achieving....not just in the Bennett case, but in every case. I am not a cop hater. My posts could lead you to believe I am. I think they are human and like each of us, there are good ones and bad ones.

And........I was implying (though clearly not very well) during my point about the headlines being different that the hypothetical monster was not a racially, religiously or politically motivated non-white male. There would be story lines generated by the media and story lines generated in here, on social media and by the water cooler that would be very different. It is something to think about.