Just noticing: Observations Of A Blogger
Posted by Michelle Moquin on October 6th, 2013
Good morning!
“Just noticing…”
…Good things can happen when people take the time to care about each other.”
The Chicago Police Devastated This Man’s Life, And Now They Owe Him $1 Million
Seven years ago John Collins was charged with aggravated battery of a police officer, a felony in Illinois. He was sent to a Cook County jail and bond was set at $75,000, which he could not pay. The jail was overcrowded, so Collins slept on the floor. He remained there for 385 days, during which time he missed the birth of his first child, a baby boy. His fiancé brought his infant son to visit but he was not allowed to hold him, separated by a pane of glass. Sometimes, those visits were canceled “when the jail was put on lock-down for stabbings and murders.” Eventually, his fiancé left him, saying his time in the jail had changed him — he wasn’t the same person anymore.
Today Collins is a free man, acquitted of all charges, and the Chicago Police owe him $1 million. His seven-year odyssey may have finally ended this week, when a jury unanimously found the two officers involved guilty of malicious prosecution for fabricating the case against him.
Court documents and interviews reveal a remarkable story of a barber who blew the whistle on two veteran police officers and was vindicated. But the details of Collins’ case also underscore just how difficult it is for an ordinary citizen to prove misconduct by the police. Innocence, of course, is helpful. But luck is essential.
It all started on January 3, 2006, when two Chicago police officers claim they saw Collins drinking from what they suspected was a bottle of alcohol in the street. The officers, Michael Garza and Jeffrey Mayer, pulled over to investigate. At the 2007 criminal trial, Garza and Mayer describe Collins that day as angry, uncooperative, violent, drunk, and nearly constantly shouting expletives. They soon arrested him at gunpoint for drinking from an open container, handcuffed him, and put him in the back seat of their police cruiser.
At that point, according to Garza and Mayer’s testimony, Collins continued cursing and began spitting at them from the backseat. Eventually, according to the officers, Collins started banging his head against the metal and glass barrier separating the front and back of the police car. Mayer claims they pulled over because they were worried he was “going to hurt himself” and Garza opened the back door to get him out.
That’s when Garza and Mayer claim that Collins, who was handcuffed, committed felony assault.
Garza said that when he leaned into the vehicle, Collins started headbutting and spitting on him. He then got Mayer’s help to remove Collins from the police car, lifting him, they said, by his biceps. Once Collins was out of the car he charged at them and continued to try to kick them. At that point, Mayer conducted an “emergency takedown,” which involved several “open handed strikes” to subdue him. Even on the ground, according to the officers’ testimony, Collins continued to try to kick them.
Reading through the direct testimony of the officers it is hard to imagine how Collins avoided being convicted, much less awarded a large sum for malicious prosecution. But Collins caught an enormous break — there were three independent witnesses to the altercation. And what they saw diverged greatly from the police officers’ account.
Patricia Watkins lives in a townhouse directly across from where the police car pulled over. She testified that, from her front window, she saw Garza get out of the driver’s seat, open the back door and immediately start punching the person in back, “bending down, punching, like it was a punching bag.” She testified Garza continued to punch the person in the back seat for at least two minutes. Watkins testified that, while Garza was administering the beating, Mayer was urging him to “get back in” the vehicle. Watkins said that eventually Collins was able to get out of the car and Garza started to kick him. She then disputed every key element of the police officers’ story:
Two other women, Lidya Taylor and Johnita Powell, also witnessed the entire incident and gave nearly identical accounts. Powell testified that Collins was pulled out of the car by his hair. She called 911 and told them “the cops are out here beating someone up.”
Collins had something else working in his favor. Many of the critical details in the two officers’ testimony, particularly their account of their initial stop of Collins, were not reflected anywhere in the police report.
Collins was acquitted of the criminal charges against him in 2007, more than a year after his arrest.
Later, Collins filed a civil case against the officers for malicious prosecution. Defying stereotypes, a 12-person jury of 10 whites, an Asian-American and an African-American found in favor of Collins. They awarded him $1 million — $100,000 for emotional distress and $900,000 for the loss of a normal life.
Sara Garber, one of Collins’ attorneys, said the jury was swayed by the independent witnesses — who didn’t know Collins — and the discrepancies between the police officers’ testimony and the official police records of the incident. His ex-fiancé, who has since moved to Texas, testified about the impact the time in jail had on his life. And Collins also testified on his own behalf about the impact the ordeal had on his life.
Despite the evidence impeaching the police officers’ version of the events, the City of Chicago seemed fairly confident the jury would rule against Collins. According to Collins’ lead attorney, Lawrence Jackowiak, the city “refused reasonable attempts at settlement.” A week before the trial, they offered Collins a settlement of $100,000. As the trial commenced, they lowered their offer to $36,000 and then withdrew it completely shortly before the verdict was delivered. The city is now considering an appeal.
After the verdict, Collins said that he sued because “I just wanted people to know that the police did wrong,” adding “It was frustrating, I was very sad, but I was just focused on justice.” Since being released, Collins, now 42, has returned to work full-time as a barber — he was certified shortly before his arrest. He’s moved outside of Chicago to get some distance between him and the incident that tore his life apart. He is still separated from his son, who lives in Texas with his mother, but Collins’ barber station is adorned with a bunch of pictures.
Several members of the jury, speaking with Collins’ lawyers after the trial, admitted that — despite the weight of the evidence favoring Collins — they still struggled mightily with the idea that police officers might not tell the truth. Which raises the larger question: What happens to people who are victims of police misconduct when there aren’t three disinterested witnesses to the event? Collins’ redemption is the exception that proves the rule. In many disputes between alleged criminals and the police, the police will win regardless of the facts.
According to data compiled by the CATO Institute, from April 2009 to December 2010 there were “8,300 credible reports involving allegations of police misconduct” but only 3,238 resulted in criminal charges. The conviction rate for law enforcement officers who were charged is just 37 percent, compared to a 70 percent conviction rate among members of the general public charged criminally. The CATO report notes that “prosecuting police misconduct in the US is very problematic with conviction rates, incarceration rates, and the amount of time law enforcement officers spend behind bars for criminal misconduct are all far lower than what happens when ordinary citizens face criminal charges.”
Even in Collins’ case complete accountability remains elusive. The police officers involved never faced criminal charges — only the civil law suit. According to Garber, Garza and Mayer also faced no internal discipline from the Chicago Police. They remain on the job to this day, patrolling the same neighborhood where they stopped John Collins.
******
Readers: This is what happens when people step forward and care about their fellow citizens by putting their noses in someone else’s business instead of looking the other way or just not caring enough to do something. And, in my opinion, 1 mil is not enough for what this man went through, and for the years that he lost.
What are you just noticing? Blog me.
Happy Sunday everyone! Thanks for being here with me!
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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October 7th, 2013 at 7:54 am
Hi Zen Lill: Did you think that I would forget to send my greetings to my dearest Blog Friend? . . . Hell No!
Lill, you have been and continue to be a loyal friend to Michelle and MM Blog. Your comments are one of the reasons that make this blog special and different than thousands of other blogs out there in cyberspace.
I cannot imagine MM Blog without your comments almost daily.
I appreciate the effort involved in commenting as often as you do. I find it difficult to keep commenting on this blog steadily. Your views are valid to this blog and many people gain from what you have to say . . . Keep it coming, ZL.
HOWIE
October 7th, 2013 at 8:41 am
Howie, I think many would say the same for your contributions also.
October 7th, 2013 at 9:46 am
The reason I like your blog Michelle is because you do stories on real issues facing the world, unlike the Main Stream Media which ignores many issues, and tries to mold opinion by withholding information.
October 7th, 2013 at 10:04 am
The Japanese believe they should defend aggressively any attempt by aliens to interfere with their pollution of the seas. Obama has agreed to allow the Japanese to take a greater role in its defense since it appears he cannot talk Prime Minister Shinzo Abe into listening to reason.
We suggest that when Obama has placed its new X-band U.S. missile-defense radar system at Kyogamisaki air base in Kyoto prefecture in western Japan and relocated the 5,000 U.S. Marines from Japan’s southernmost island of Okinawa to the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam the TAO allow us to show Shinzo Abe the error in his decision.
October 7th, 2013 at 10:05 am
Ditto Ted. Howie, I wish you would continue to lend you advice and experience to this blog.
October 7th, 2013 at 10:56 am
How to Help Your Depressed Loved One
Appeared originally as “What to Do If You Think a Loved One Is Depressed…”
It’s difficult for healthy people to fully understand what depression feels like. It’s more than feeling “down.” People with depression don’t experience normal emotions. They blame themselves for things that aren’t their fault…or get angry for trivial reasons…or misinterpret disagreement as rejection and increasingly withdraw from normal interactions.
Important:
Don’t expect someone with depression to “snap out of it.” It is a disease. You can’t solve depressed people’s problems, but you can help them get the help they need. What to do…
Don’t take it personally.
It’s easy for your feelings to be hurt when you’re dealing with someone who is depressed. His/her communication skills may be impaired, and he will find it difficult to give the expressions of support that are normal in healthy relationships.
Remind yourself that it’s not about you. When you are helping someone who is depressed, try to be objective and keep your emotions out of it.
Point out recent changes.
Denial is one of the main defense mechanisms of depressed people. They often don’t recognize—or choose not to recognize—that they’re depressed.
Without being judgmental, explain what you’ve noticed. Stick to the facts. Maybe he sleeps all the time or is less active than he used to be. He might have given up activities that he used to enjoy. He probably spends more time alone—watching TV, using the Internet, etc. He might be overly sensitive or get angry easily.
You can suggest (but not insist) that the changes might be due to depression. Encourage him to get professional help.
Important:
Don’t expect that one conversation will change things. You might have to bring it up repeatedly. Also, men and women tend to react differently when people bring up their depression. Men are more likely to get angry and defensive…while women tend to feel hurt.
Explain why he needs help. A depressed person is highly vulnerable to criticism. Try not to give the impression that you’re blaming or judging. Do help him understand that his behavior is affecting his loved ones.
Example:
You might point out that some behaviors, such as a hair-trigger temper, are frightening. Simply saying, “You’re different than you used to be,” might encourage him to get help.
Encourage exercise.
Studies have shown that people with mild-to-moderate depression who exercise three or more times a week for about 30 minutes each time improve about as much as those taking antidepressants. Those who continue to exercise are less likely to have future episodes of depression than those who rely on medications alone.
Any form of exercise is likely to be helpful, but aerobic exercise—swimming, biking, fast walking—is probably superior to other types of workouts. It increases brain levels of endorphins, the so-called “happy hormones.” It also boosts confidence.
Join him in social activities. Social isolation is one of the hallmarks of depression. But people with depression want human contact even when they’re too insecure or withdrawn to seek it out.
You can help him overcome his reluctance by introducing him to safe social settings without a lot of pressure. You could, for example, accept a dinner invitation from close friends, those with whom your loved one won’t feel as though he has to perform. Or you could go to an art opening or other social event where you will be around other people but your loved one won’t have to engage unless he wants to.
Keep at it. Start conversations. Ask about his day. Make plans to meet for lunch or dinner. You’ll probably get a lot of rejection, but keep trying.
Important:
Being around someone with depression is draining. Allow yourself to back away when you feel that you can’t cope with it anymore. Take a break, and take care of yourself. Then, when you’re feeling strong, reach out again.
Ask about suicide.
It’s an uncomfortable topic, but it is essential to talk about. Up to 15% of those with serious depression will end their lives by suicide.
If you’ve talked to your loved one about depression and he admits that it’s a problem, follow up by asking something such as, “Are you having thoughts of hurting yourself? Have you thought about suicide?”
Few people will admit to having these thoughts unless they’re asked—the majority of suicides come as a complete surprise to loved ones. People who are depressed are ashamed of having these thoughts, and they don’t want to put a burden on their loved ones.
Bringing up the subject gives him permission to talk about it. If he is having suicidal thoughts, you will know that the depression is serious and that it is urgent that he get immediate help.
Source: Richard O’Connor, PhD, a psychotherapist in private practice with offices in Canaan, Connecticut, and New York City. He is former executive director of the Northwest Center for Family Service and Mental Health and author of Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn’t Teach You and Medication Can’t Give You (Little, Brown). UndoingDepression.com
October 7th, 2013 at 11:18 am
I would add Social Butterfly, Anonz, Prism Princess, Mike, TM, Robert,RT and of course the beautiful Michelle to that list of essentials to this blog.
October 7th, 2013 at 11:59 am
I agree with both you and Howie, Aldofo, especially the part about how beautiful Michelle is.