A video that appears to show a Cleveland police officer pounding the abdomen of a subdued man that has already been handcuffed during a December 30, 2011 traffic stop is one more reminder of the kind of problems Cleveland has had for over twenty years.
The Cleveland Advocate posted a video on their website Thursday January the 26th showing Officer Paul Lowrey on a Cleveland Police Department dash cam hitting a handcuffed man in his midsection with a flashlight and then hollering at him to “do what he is (f**king) told to do.” Vanesa Brashier, the editor of paper, broke this story and reported that this case is currently under review. This story is worth reading and details of her story can be found at http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cleveland/.
It is important for the traditional media to report stories like this rather than stay silent like the police chiefs and sheriff might hope… even if some might misinterpret it and rather than recognize them doing their job try and label them as anti-law enforcement. It clearly is part of their duty as professional journalists to report the good, the bad, and the ugly. There is plenty of good professional law enforcement and, if the facts of this case are what they seem to be, this is an opportunity to help purge the Cleveland Police Department of one of the few people that needs to find another line of work and to let the public know that high standards of behavior are being upheld.
The Cleveland Police Department and the community of Cleveland have been in bad need of positive change for many many years. The community’s faith and respect for law enforcement can only be healthy when they see unbiased investigation and appropriate action in matters like this. Though the Cleveland community is made up of many of the kind of wonderful people southeast Texas is famous for, their southern hospitality and neighborly country living is often overshadowed by a reputation for uncontrollable crime and scandals. The good people of Cleveland should not rest until changes are made and Cleveland’s potential is reached.
The most recent scandal was made more widely infamous by both local and Houston news media and federal agents. Former Cleveland PD Assistant Police Chief and current Liberty County Sheriff Henry Patterson and his sidekick in the Cleveland PD, Harry Kelly, both had keys to the room where evidence was kept in the CPD. Months and months of investigation in search of the facts surrounding hundreds of missing guns from that evidence room were the subject of many news stories and many rumors all around the county. When this case went to criminal court Patterson had already defeated Greg Arthur in the sheriff’s race; and Kelly had already been serving as one of his captains. Kelly is now serving time in the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. With federal agents not being able to prove Patterson’s role in court, if he had any, he continues to serve as Liberty County Sheriff.
And Cleveland continues to have the same reputation. A community full of wonderful people, located in the beautiful pines near all of the things the big city offers, but still having the advantages of country living. Our hats are off to Vanesa Brashier for reporting this story, and our hopes are that the Cleveland PD, outside of any potential lawsuits, will start holding their officers to the highest of standards and fearlessly helping create a culture worthy of its citizens. It is a dangerous job that there is never enough compensation or enough praise and we salute the men and women who do it and perhaps sometimes feel the sting of criticism aimed at a few. You are our modern day heroes. Our goal is to support you and to give you the best leadership and the tools you need to have to do your job safely and with excellence.
36 comments:
Sad. This officer may have just had a bad day or he may have anger issues. Either way he must be fired. Since Sheriff Patterson seems to like to hire people with recent problems, I encoursge him to apply to be a Captain at the LCSO.
Thiis kind of behavior has the potential to cost Liberty County taxpayers alot of money.
The person commenting on the cost of lawsuits by officers who do not follow procedures is so right. Think of how much money in lawsuits we may have to fork over if Patterson has people in the shadows running "investigations" that violate people's civil rights. Probable cause for records to be requested by commissioners ....
This cop thinks he is the biggest and baddest. I like most cops here, but this guy has the big head.
Very well written. Read some of the comments on facebook etc...who cares how the video & barbaric behavior got exposed. I'm just glad it is. Heck, I'd be afraid to take it up the chain of command myself up at that place. If the chief will cover this kind of behavior up for several weeks, he may swat the officers with a flashlight himself for not doing what he says. Reminds me of the Gestapo.
...he has a big head with an enormous protruding chin. And short little legs. I used to work with him in Montgomery County, he is defiant of authority. Got him in trouble there too.
Men who are 5'2 should not be cops. I'm sorry they just shouldn't. They end up having Napoleon syndrome and feel the need to prove how tough they are. But truly only a complete pansy would strike a man who's handcuffed and on his knees.
Has the FBI or attorney general seen this yet ?
Lowrey and Bradshaw are sad sacks..
Can the police chief get in trouble for hiding it, vicarious liability I suppose. This just sickens me. What's up with this new city council Cleveland supposedly got. This is not the John Wayne days.
The motto at Cleveland PD is "the beatings will continue till morale improves". hehe
Someone ought to look at this guys TCLEOSE history. Hell ask Royce Wheeler. He got fired at Wheeler's office way back when.
Thank you Vanesa for having the courage to expose Patterson and Bradshaw.
Funny how Bill and Allen are silent on everything but hitting their enemies.
The historical father of modern policing, August Vollmer, said way back in the late 1880s: “You can strike a handcuffed man, but be prepared to turn your badge and gun in when you do.”
Henry Patterson set the tone for the way people in Cleveland were treated by the CPD and his legacy still exist, Chief Bradshaw stepped right into Patterson's shoes and the human rights violations continue.
It's no accident that this video is released to the press on the same week that the disgruntled, suspended officer returns to duty. She's out for REVENGE and wants a body count of her tormentors!!! Now, she's at her most dangerous, as she isn't broadcasting any of her plans or moves! It's "all surprise attacks, all secret ambushes, all the time", from here on...
Everybody, hang on! It's gonna be a ROUGH RIDE...
I'm former CPD from few yrs back and I have got to come to the defense atleast a little for the officers. They have some good officers over there, pay, equipment & cars suck but the men & women are good. I read the comments on the Advocate & these citizens have no idea. Not once in my career it my few years at CPD have I ever seen an officer hit someone, especially on their freakn knees already hemmed up with a flashlight! And No, we never would gave gotten away with that under the administration of Ike or Henry. If anything, in a small community you best learn to kiss the citizen a*# even when they're obnoxious. Everybody knows everybody. Whereas officers in larger areas you don't face this as much. So to say CPD has a history of abuse, not true. Maybe way back in the Terror on 59 days but its been shaking hands & kissing babies feet for a long time now. The past 2 years or so the city has deteriorated at such a rampant pace. From talking to '7' CPD officers, either still there or recently got the heck out of there, I'd be surprised if the new chief even knows his officers' 1st names or anything about them as people. They lost a good officer recently who's happy as all get out at a different agency who said if you weren't in his small minion click, he would burn you in a heartbeat. So I disagree with some saying CPD officers have been known for abuse...I know better! Just a few.
Bradshaw, either you or one if your cronies posted that comment. I know her personally and what does that video have to do with her very strong case against you? Nothing. You're barking up the wrong tree. There is enough already turned into the proper sources the correct, ethical way on just you alone. What's sad is yes she was suspended by the same person the eeoc has a complaint on, for no wrong doing on her part. Yet in this case, youre not concerned with what your guy here did, just who had the nerve to tell on him. Her case is strong with not one lie in it. I guess its all a conspiracy & she made Lowrey whack that guy..I think not. Stop blaming. He did it. Other than the guy who got hit, we all feel for the good officers on scene who are being judged for something one person did. With all the citizens & officers that he has burned, does it surprise you someone exposed him. And any employee up there knows that if they'd reported this to you, you'd done exactly what you're doing now..blaming & covering instead of facing what's really in front of you with morals & integrity. But no, she didn't plot or conspire for Lowrey to come on scene, not even on duty & hit that guy. So you can quit trying to divert the attention. She's doing things the right way. The community doesn't know all the evidence proving what you've done & its not important right now. Again, this has no relevance to her case against you..none.
I'm sorry..hehe! Isn't she the shorter female officer who's been there for years? Dangerous..ambushes..surprise attacks?!?! Lmao! Don't know her but I am in LE & you made me & my wife laugh, thank you. Little lady, don't frighten these men too much ok. Yep, I knew that was her maneuvering those puppet strings on that Lowrey guys arms, making him swing that flashlight, lol.
Anyway it is what it is. From being a supervisor myself you must remove your personal feelings from it to be able to step back & make a clear judgement call is what I'm saying.
good old "posturepedic", she's always good for a laugh. Hope the new city manager can "just say 'No'"! LMAO
""it's gonna be a rough ride""??
Now, ya'll quit talking and insinuating about bed springs. We've got enough sex scandals in town, as it is. Just let it drop (oops, bad pun again)!
My, oh my. Somebody sure struck a nerve... Must have told a little too much of the truth! Busted.ROFL
oh, come ON, Sealy, that rant was only TWENTY FIVE lines long (and how do you REALLY feel)??? lmao
Surely, you can produce more
!@!@**%^#! animosity than that...
Now, ONCE MORE, with FEELING! rofl
(she's BAAAAAACK!)
LD: hold the front page, this is friggin HILARIOUS! Great comments.
I feel bad for her for having to work around some obnoxious pricks. You're a posturpedic whore if your of a higher calibre in morals, yet if your have a penis, you can be an out of control raging nut & yall high five him. I'm a woman officer myself & I'm so thankful my guys I work with have enough confidence in themselves as men that they aren't like this. God bless.
Every officer on the scene that night should be fired or written up and demoted for not exposing Lowery from the start. Lowery has that Little Man syndrome and got the big head when he was issued the Sergeant stripes. If anyone higher up was covering it up then they should be fired or demoted also including Bradshaw. I hear that the City Council is pretty pissed about not being made aware of the situation.
not to worry about the city council's temperature. They have more than enough on their plate, trying to ram through all the latest Barnett puppet schemes, with their multi-million dollar prices. Then, they have to defend the paying of $27,000 to a head hunter firm, who brought them a prime city manager candidate- another reject, that another small town needs to unload! In sum, they're all too busy ducking for cover, to wade into this fray.
I know all the officers at Cleveland Pd and I have lived in Cleveland since the day I was born. My husband is from Cleveland as well.
Some of the comments left about this female officer are so juvenile and full of lies. Truth is the pd has no idea how the news got the tape. The pd had a copy under lock and key as well as the DAs office. Hardly anybody in that department likes Lowery. In fact they hate him. Explain how a swrgeant makes more than the assistant chief! Everything being said about Lowery is true and can be easily verified or its documented. It seems that anytime you want to disrespect a female all you have to do is call her a whore and giggle and walk away . I doubt many of you would think it was funny if your mother, or wife, or daughter was having to go through half of the bs she is. She could have sued the department for millions during the whole "Garcia" fiasco when it turned out over 4 women came forward to allege sexual harassment and stalking . However she didn't . She simply wanted to do her job and be left alone. Well that didn't happen and here we are . Some of you men leaving these comments are poor pathetic excuses for human beings. Whether you believe it or not there is a God watching over all of us and one day each of us will have to account for the hurt and pain we have caused people. I seriously feel sorry for you for when that day comes.
sorry, if you think that only men are making these comments. Incorrect.
Well said Ashmore.
Whatever, prick!
beatings will continue until moral improves---thats right on the money! And it is comfirmed by their Nazi billboard at the edge of town. That crap needs to come down.
Can you believe that monster put her on administrative leave because she had a dispatcher print out the call sheet on that stop. He is again diverting the attention from Lowrey. What's sad is he is more concerned with paying ht back for standing up to him at any cost to the city itself & tax payers than he is about a human being was forcefully and unnecessarily struck with a flashlight. And to top it off..Lowrey still sits in his chair in his office, sporting his take home ride around with us paying for it! BS!
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cleveland/news/complaint-filed-against-city-for-alleged-use-of-force-during/article_7f02bb91-4657-5f68-91fd-050691d7009d.html#user-comment-area
I'm just waiting for the 'I heards' to blame the drug overdoses on the school, for bringing in a drug dog (after all, didn't they feel trapped, when locked down, and they couldn't get bathroom passes to flush the stuff)?
I noticed that as soon as the tv crews hit town, the superintendent's car was gone from headquarters... (found a sudden reason that he needed to visit his fishing hole, and be unavailable for comments)
"that 'monster' put her on administrative leave"??
Well, somebody's scared of a lawyered up control freak.
Back in my day, she'd be at the unemployment office, homeless shelters, food pantries, bread lines, and soup kitchens! (and none of that would save her from the endless delays, and motions for continuance, that caused her foreclosure and car repo's.)
In fact, I know people who closed their businesses and retired, just to get away from the employee crap.
(try to find a court, to force me to reopen, I've got the emancipation proclamation and a constitutional amendment-both proclaiming that slavery's ILLEGAL- LMAO)!!!
I know others who found that outsourcing to other countries, was smarter than hiring psycho Americans, trained by schools or workplaces like Cleveland! Yes, there's huge workforces, that still teach kow-towing... humility, and RESPECT for authority.
(I'd expect the city council to make like Shepherd, and decommission the entire PD- or like LC jail- and hire an outside service; that is, IF there's any intelligence on the council!!!
BTW: they already outsourced EMS.
Maybe, just maybe, the clock's already ticking... (indispensable, my A@@!)
In fact, the city could do well to outsource several of its departments, for the same reasons (public works, codes and inspections, IT,...) Yes, the good employees would pay the price for the kooks- but, at least, we'd be rid of the problem children.
Anybody see any large corporations, relocating into Cleveland, because they want/need that 'oh, so desirable' workforce?
and you WON'T..... anytime soon!
Just another example as to why is the pd focusing so much on bs..drama..and MONEY$..when the community is falling apart? I hear the officers are instructed not to focus on dwi or drug trafficking, but red light mess & ticket writing & riding bicycles around town just for "show"..but its overflowing into the schools now. If all those officers would unite together & go to a council meeting, maybe the city would get rid of him! But an officer told me that he'd be afraid to write a complaint cause they won't do anything to him & then they'd be put right back with his crazy butt! Kinda like when kids outcry to CPS for help, but only to be put back into the same environment to be abused, sometimes fatal.
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