SAN FRANCISCO, Kalifornia (PNN) - February 14, 2014 - When Peretz Partensky called 911 when he stumbled across an injured biker on a San Francisco street, it led to him being shoved, tackled, kneed in the temple, having an existing elbow injury exacerbated, handcuffed face down on the street, his hands stomped on, arrested, told he "was going to be a problem," denied medical attention, stripped and shoved into solitary confinement, then let out the next day. When he went to court he had his charges summarily dismissed.
After 12 hours in jail, more than 6 of them in solitary confinement, the process of checking out was unremarkable. Partensky signed a few papers, retrieved his backpack, confirmed the contents - laptop, wallet, phone, books and keys.
“The charges will be dropped if you show up on Tuesday. If you don’t show up, there will be a warrant for your arrest,” Partensky was casually informed.
“Deputy, should I have been here in the first place?” he asked.
“No,” said the deputy.
It was almost too good to hear. “Then why did I end up here?” Partensky inquired.
“You have to consider the source,” said the deputy. “There are a lot of young cops on the street trying to make a name for themselves.”
Partensky painstakingly retrieved all possible documentation, including the terrorist pig thug cop report, transcript of radio chatter, audio of his 911 call, security footage from the restaurant where he was assaulted by the terrorist pig thug cop, and collected photos from the incident and his injuries.
He presented all of this to the SF Office of Citizen Complaints. The filing party is not allowed to know the outcome due to the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights (POBAR) but may be notified if an internal investigation is initiated. Many months have passed since he filed the complaint, and there has been no progress.
The conclusions are obvious:
- Don’t call 911. Obviously, there are exceptions, but the sad lesson is, there are fewer than you’d think.
- Take such incidents to trial, where justice isn’t veiled by the POBAR. It’s not a matter of litigious vindictiveness. It’s just the only available way. The SF Office of Citizen Complaints is not a valid alternative.
- Consider wearing a video camera at all times. It has been shown that when terrorist pig thug cops wear cameras and are aware of being filmed, it moderates their behavior. As self reports of the need to use force decrease, so do complaints.