Man On Life Support After Minneapolis SWAT Cop Punches Him for Talking Too Loud.

[Kotin]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/06/...minneapolis-cop-punches-him-for-talking-loud/


*
Sgt. David Clifford, a member of the Minneapolis SWAT team, turned himself in to authorities on Sunday after a father of four who he reportedly “sucker punched” for talking too loud spent Father’s Day in intensive care.

Mike Archambault told KMSP-TV that his longtime friend, Brian Vander Lee, was at a restaurant in Andover on Saturday when a stranger at another table asked him to be quiet.

“He did a Superman punch,” Archambault recalled. “Brian went back, feet up in the air, and the guy landed on top of him and his head bounced off the concrete.”


Archambault said the suspected fled the scene and Vander Lee was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors performed emergency surgery for bleeding on his brain.

Witnesses identified the assailant as Sgt. David Clifford but police did not find the officer at his home. Commander Paul Sommer said that Clifford finally turned himself in at about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday after retaining a lawyer. He is expected to be charged with third-degree assault.

“I think he realized now, I don’t think he realized how serious it was last night,” Archambault explained. “And now that word got out — that Brian is in the condition he’s in — that he better do what’s right.”

An online biography indicated that Clifford had served with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division as team leader of Personal Security Detachments in Kosovo and Iraq.

After two brain surgeries, Vander Lee was still on life support Sunday. Doctors are hopeful that he will recover.

Watch this video from KMSP-TV, broadcast June 18, 2012.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=zNjjGiDGj_k

 

[sparebulb]

It looks as if this brave American hero is going to get a couple of weeks of well deserved vacation, followed by a promotion. I'm sure that the prosecutor will realize that there is no merit to the charges against this fine officer.

 

[kcchiefs6465]

Third degree assault, huh? He deserves the full five years/$10,000 fine+medical costs. I wonder if the just-us system is capable of producing such a result. (For one of their own) I would also like to point out, had he been in uniform, he wouldn't have been charged with a damn thing. Rather, the man whose skull he had cracked would have been charged with a fourth degree assault. (Among a host of other charges)

 

[satchelmcqueen]

the guy should have been at a whisper. this cop was in a bad situation to where he could have had permanent hearing damage if he didnt quiet the 2000 decibel talker nearby. he saved the whole town actually. imagine if this "loud talker" had went further in his speech and went outside!

 

[QuickZ06]

Good for the cop, I hate loud people as well as I always punch them and put them in hospitals. He defiantly is a cut about the rest of us, glad the "strong arm of the law" took care of that perp.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

what a complete dipshit.

 

[thoughtomator]

Doctors are hopeful that he will recover.

Not as hopeful as the perp, who will be facing a 2nd-degree murder charge if the man dies.

He should be charged with attempted murder in any case, a powerful punch to a man's head is a kill shot.

 

[John F Kennedy III]

We need a WHAT THE FUCK! smiley.

 

[PaulConventionWV]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/06/...minneapolis-cop-punches-him-for-talking-loud/


*
Sgt. David Clifford, a member of the Minneapolis SWAT team, turned himself in to authorities on Sunday after a father of four who he reportedly “sucker punched” for talking too loud spent Father’s Day in intensive care.

Mike Archambault told KMSP-TV that his longtime friend, Brian Vander Lee, was at a restaurant in Andover on Saturday when a stranger at another table asked him to be quiet.

“He did a Superman punch,” Archambault recalled. “Brian went back, feet up in the air, and the guy landed on top of him and his head bounced off the concrete.”


Archambault said the suspected fled the scene and Vander Lee was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors performed emergency surgery for bleeding on his brain.

Witnesses identified the assailant as Sgt. David Clifford but police did not find the officer at his home. Commander Paul Sommer said that Clifford finally turned himself in at about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday after retaining a lawyer. He is expected to be charged with third-degree assault.

“I think he realized now, I don’t think he realized how serious it was last night,” Archambault explained. “And now that word got out — that Brian is in the condition he’s in — that he better do what’s right.”

An online biography indicated that Clifford had served with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division as team leader of Personal Security Detachments in Kosovo and Iraq.

After two brain surgeries, Vander Lee was still on life support Sunday. Doctors are hopeful that he will recover.

Watch this video from KMSP-TV, broadcast June 18, 2012.

Yeah, a guy who just goes around punching people for talking too loud thought he'd better "do the right thing." That just tickles me.

 

[1000-points-of-fright]

We need a WHAT THE FUCK! smiley.

 

[John F Kennedy III]

That will work just fine

 

[James Madison]

No reason to spend the resources in a show-trial. The easiest way to deal with criminals like this is exile. You are no longer welcome in the United States. Have a good life in North Korea.

 

[Anti Federalist]

MN-Off duty SWAT cop beats man into a coma for talking too loud.

Stay far away from these lunatics.



Off-Duty Executive Officer for the Minneapolis SWAT Team Beats a Man Into a Coma

Thursday, June 21st, 2012

http://www.theagitator.com/2012/06/...inneapolis-swat-team-beats-a-man-into-a-coma/

According to witnesses, it was because the man was talking too loudly on his cell phone.

Sgt. David Clifford, 47, executive officer of the SWAT unit, was to appear in Anoka County court Tuesday morning on a charge of third-degree felony assault . . .

Brian Vander Lee, 43, of Ramsey, who works in the Star Tribune advertising department, was in stable condition at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids on Monday afternoon and was breathing on his own, said Steven Engelhart, Vander Lee’s boss. A family spokesman said Vander Lee was moving his hands and feet and was no longer on life support.

According to the criminal complaint, a surveillance video shows that Vander Lee was sitting on the patio at Tanner’s Station in Andover with his wife and brother on Saturday evening when Clifford, who was sitting at the next table, confronted him. Vander Lee was on his cellphone when Clifford leaned over and began talking in his ear, said Anoka County Sheriff’s Commander Paul Sommer. Witnesses described it as a “verbal confrontation,” according to the criminal complaint.

Then Clifford struck Vander Lee in the mouth with his right fist, Sommer said the video showed. Vander Lee fell backward, his head hitting the pavement.

“This was not a fight in any sense of the word,” Sommer said. “This is a one-sided assault. Vander Lee is starting to stand up. Before he reaches his feet, Clifford has hit him.”

More here. Vander Lee is now out of a coma, but still in critical condition. According to at least one witness, Clifford hit Vander Lee so hard that when he hit the ground, his head bounced off the concrete.

Clifford claims in the police report that Vander Lee was using offensive language, but according to the criminal complaint, no one else in the restaurant heard it. No one claims Vander Lee struck Clifford first, though Clifford apparently claimed he feared Vander Lee was about to. After striking Vander Lee, Clifford then fled on foot to a nearby parking lot as Vander Lee’s brother and friend chased him. His wife then swung by in her car to pick him up, and the two of them fled. He turned himself in the next day.

The Minneapolis Police Department initially went into defensive mode, noting that Clifford had received two medals of valor and “no sustained allegations on his disciplinary record.” A couple things, there. First, let’s keep in mind that this is the same Minneapolis Police Department that gave its SWAT team “medals of valor” for raiding the wrong house, resulting in a shootout with an innocent Hmong man. His wife and six children were in the house, which the police filled with at least 22 rounds. As for Clifford’s alleged clean record, the key word in that sentence is sustained. In this case, it merely means he hasn’t yet done anything so severe that even other cops and prosecutors were willing to hold him accountable.

That doesn’t necessarily mean his record is clean.

He was hired by the Minneapolis police in 1993. Two years later, suspecting he had confronted a prowler while on patrol, he allegedly pepper-sprayed the man and hit him several times in the head with a flashlight. Charges of fifth-degree assault against Clifford were dropped for lack of evidence.

The city of Minneapolis reached a settlement in a civil suit over the incident, paying alleged victim Harry Lazover $55,000.

I’ve received a couple emails over the last few days, both by reliable readers with ties to the Minneapolis law enforcement community, who say Clifford is known to have a short temper. Nevertheless, it doesn’t look like even this incident is enough to penetrate the Blue Wall. Here’s the headline after Clifford’s bail hearing:

 

[jj-]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showth...lis-SWAT-Cop-Punches-Him-for-Talking-Too-Loud.

 

[Kotin]

Fucking thug..

 

[jkr]

another

Fucking thug..

mr. fixeditz

 

[Anti Federalist]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showth...lis-SWAT-Cop-Punches-Him-for-Talking-Too-Loud.

Good find on Kotin's part, should have searched this story, Balko is almost always a few days behind.

Merge please.

 

[aGameOfThrones]

Bail $15k? Really? For this...

 

[jj-]

Bail $15k? Really? For this...

Hey, we are talking about your superior here. A cop. Show more respect.

 

[AGRP]

Hero Cop Punches Man Who Was Talking Too Loud at Bar. Man Now on Life Support.

Caught on tape. The overwhelming hate for police here is unjustified.