Commentary: When I watched that York police K-9 video, I saw gratuitous violence
Two weeks ago, the dashcam video of Stephen Brennan's 2019 arrest was released to the public in response to Freedom of Access Act requests by the media.
The video was accompanied by a press release that included statements by both York Police Department Acting Chief Owen Davis and York Town Manager Steve Burns.
Neither Davis nor Burns spoke on behalf of the select board, and they certainly didn't speak on behalf of me. So, just as they took the opportunity to speak as individuals, I too will take the opportunity to speak as an individual.
The video is appalling. It inspires revulsion and a churning in the gut. It reminds the viewer that what's pleasant to think can't happen here, can happen here.
In his statement to the press, Davis said, "The officer attempted to deescalate the situation."
He did not.
Instead, the officer disintegrated into a profane rage. That is not de-escalation.
He pointed his gun. That is not de-escalation.
He commanded his dog to attack. That is not de-escalation.
An old man was pulled over, and why? Because he had flashed his headlights at an oncoming car? (Something I myself have done many times, simply because I can't keep track of whether my lights are on bright or dim to begin with.)
Then, perhaps having heard one too many "officer friendly" public service announcements, the driver gets out of his car.
We all saw what happened next: the raging officer, the biting dog, the punch to the face.
Finally, as Brennan lies handcuffed and bleeding by the side of the road, the officer angrily accuses him of "chargin' at me."
Sgt. Brian Curtin: York police K-9 traffic stop was ugly but justified. I stand by what I said.
I could not find the part of the video where Brennan supposedly charged.
Don't forget that Brennan was charged with resisting arrest. But for the existence of the dashcam, it would have been the officer's word against his, and Brennan would likely now have a criminal record.
Davis asserted that "our police officer followed all department operating procedures." Does this include misrepresenting every shambling citizen interaction as "charging"?
Remember too that Brennan's arrest took place in September of 2019. More than two years ago. Back before George Floyd was killed by police, and before debate about law enforcement tactics and practices burst into the mainstream.
Yet the acting chief and the town manager offer nothing but platitudes about keeping the community safe, and technocratic pronouncements that the arrest of Brennan was procedurally correct.
Have the currents roiling the country over the last year and a half not led to so much as a moment's reflection about those procedures?
Moreover, police department operating procedures are not a zoning ordinance. An officer does not have an unquestionable right to go up to a boundary spelled out in a manual, as though use of lethal force is a lotline setback, and anything inside that setback is hunky-dory.
Burns said in his statement that "police officers are kind and caring." Yes, that is usually true. But it was not true the night Brennan was pulled over.
Burns said police officers "keep our community safe." Yes, that is usually true. But it was not true the night Brennan was pulled over.
In fact, I have never felt less safe in York than I did after watching that video.
The video, as I said, is appalling. Whether it meets some bureaucratic standard of acceptability is immaterial to me. It is ethically unacceptable, both the gratuitous violence, and the subsequent attempt by the officer to frame the victim as the aggressor.
Again, I am speaking for myself alone, just as Davis and Burns spoke for themselves. The police department's continuing employment of Officer Jonathan Rogers is a stain on the town of York.
Kinley Gregg is a member of the York Board of Selectmen.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kinley Gregg: York ME police K-9 video shows gratuitous violence
