HOPEFULLY, THE POLICE DEPT’S. “NICKEL RIDES” WILL BECOME OBSOLETE

…A Classic Police Van

US Police Departments have it tough enough without bringing problems on themselves.

America is finding out about a police function that up until recently, most of us were not even aware it existed.

The function I’m referring to is known by various names.  Depending on which municipal police district is involved, in Philadelphia it’s referred to as the “nickel ride”.  In Baltimore it’s called a “rough ride’.  In other precincts it’s referred to as a “cowboy ride”.  But the results of all of these “rides” are all the same.  And that’s called, “Battered Human Cargo”.

All of these names are references for when a man or a woman is arrested and handcuffed hands behind them.  They are then put into the back of a police van or paddy wagon, without being buckled in or secured. The vehicle is then driven recklessly, making sharp, dangerous turns and sudden movements in ways that throw the passenger violently around the vehicle.

All of these rides recently became national news when the young black man Freddie Gray was arrested in Baltimore.  He was actually only five city blocks away from the precinct jail. The drive to take him there should've only taken two minutes.  However, they instead took Mr. Gray on a 40 minute “rough ride”.  The latest evidence shows that Freddie Gray received a catastrophic spinal injury in the back of the van just 14 minutes into the ride.  Freddie Gray died one week later.

For other examples of “rough rides”, they have now come to light by the national press.

In another 2005 case in Baltimore, Dondi Johnson, 43, was picked up on a public urination charge. The officers had placed him in a police van without fastening his seat belt. Johnson complained about needing to use a bathroom, so he was driven to the closest police station. Upon arrival however, the officers found him on the floor of the van “complaining about how the van was driven.”  After fighting to survive for two weeks, Dondi Johnson died in the hospital on Dec. 7, 2005.

Also in Baltimore, Jeffrey Alston became paralyzed in 1997 after receiving a speeding ticket and being thrown into the back of a police van.  Mr. Alston was left paralyzed and in need of constant nursing care after his “rough ride”. He argued that the city police threw him head first into the police van.  He suffered a broken neck and the city settled his lawsuit for $6 million.

Philadelphia Police also have a deep and ugly history of these rough rides. This is where they call them “nickel rides”, and the Philadelphia Inquirer uncovered some serious problems.

In an investigation they called "Battered Cargo”, the Inquirer showed the costs of the police’s 'nickel ride'.   Inside those city patrol vans, those handcuffed and shackled suspects slammed into walls as they slide across the floor. Paying the real price were the injured and the taxpayers, not the Philadelphia police.  The Philadelphia Inquirer, all the way back to 2001, has called these rides an, "enduring tradition of the Philadelphia Police”.

That Inquirer investigation documented injuries to 20 people tossed around in wagons in recent years. Dondi Thompson was one of three who suffered spinal injuries, and one of two permanently paralyzed.

Most of the victims had clean police records. They were all arrested on minor charges after talking back to or arguing with police. Typically, the charges were later dismissed.

Terrible stories in Philadelphia have been documented with people receiving injuries that resemble tragic diving accidents or automobile crashes. Because people have their hands cuffed behind their back, their heads and necks are exposed to sudden crashes against the van’s walls and floor.

In spite of so many injuries in Philadelphia, not one single officer has been convicted of anything. In fact, none were even charged with crimes.  Yet these wagon injuries go undetected by the Police Internal Affairs, even those injuries that resulted in legal settlements.

Of the 20 cases documented by The Inquirer, 11 were never investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department. The police captain said he was not aware of the injuries until reporters had asked about them.

In one case, Gino Thompson had been arrested outside a North Philadelphia convenience store after a drunken argument with a girlfriend. Police put him in the back of a patrol van, his hands cuffed behind his back.  Thompson was put into the police van as an able-bodied man, but he emerged paralyzed from the waist down.

Of the nine cases that were scrutinized by Internal Affairs, the department took disciplinary action against the wagon officer in only one case, the Thompson case.  But the action was for infractions committed after the wagon ride, not for the injury itself.  The officer’s punishment: a three-day suspension for the driver, Officer Demetrius Beasley.  A year later, Beasley was promoted to sergeant.

And as it turns out, the Chicago police have also had their own “nickel ride” issues.

Hands cuffed behind his back and given a rough ride by the Chicago police, the plumber Freddie Franklin bit off his entire bottom lip.  A Chicago police chaplain has testified that he knew it was a common practice for Chicago area police officers to injure people in their “nickel rides”.

As of today, no known American police officer has been charged or convicted for one single rough ride.

Hopefully, the pursuit of real justice for Freddie Gray in Baltimore will change all of this.

Copyright G.Ater  2015