If I was a better writer I would compose a long, eloquent diatribe about how a recent story regarding a woman from Sudan miscarrying her baby after she repeatedly asked for medical assistance during a police stop and officers refused to listen to her is A PERFECT EXAMPLE of how the KCPD has failed to listen to the minority community in this town and that's why they haven't received much cooperation in solving or preventing the regular spate of murders on the Eastside.
However, in a remarkable story reported by Tess Koppelman on Fox News 4 . . . The dash camera video pretty much speaks for itself and Koppelman reports that the woman asked for help more than a dozen times on her way to jail where her pleas remained unanswered. I'm not going to even attribute the quotes from the video because the random sound bytes clearly tell a story that is all too familiar for anybody who has ever been guilty of driving while Black, brown or poor.
Here is what I heard:
"I have a problem, I'm bleeding and I want to go to a hospital."
"She says she's bleeding"
"I want to go to the hospital"
"I have a baby in my stomach and I'm bleeding"
"How is that my problem?"
"Do you see? Do you see the blood?"
"It's called a menstrual cycle. I understand because I am a woman."
"I want to go to the hospital."
"Well that can be something you can take care of when we get done with you."
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"Don't cop an attitude with me"
"Stop moving. Spread your feet apart."
"She's trying to be a slick one."
Honestly, it's been a long time (high school maybe) since I've seen two people care less about a person's fate then in this video. And it should be noted that Sophia Salva probably did have fake tags and she also had warrants for her arrest but neither of those facts granted the officers permission to deny her basic human rights and medical care . . . You have to be an insurance company to do that.
And while previously, the KCPD neglecting to provide medical attention to a dying man after Tasering him repeatedly earned harsh, stoic calls from law and order types basically contending that because the man had drugs in his system, he deserved to die . . . That same kind of cavalier attitude doesn't really hold up when it's a pregnant woman under discussion . . . While the principals are basically the same, the reality is nobody is silly enough to believe that we're all equal under the law and it's also not worth pointing out that it's doubtful this same kind of situation would have taken place if it was a half way decent looking white woman begging for help.
I have no idea what the aftermath of this story might be . . . But clearly this is evidence that KCPD's lack of effort to reach out and listen to the minority community (read: The Black Community and not its mostly corrupt representatives) in Kansas City has manifested itself in every facet of the department and that negligence has resulted in not only little cooperation in order to prevent crime but also, tragically in this instance, a dead baby.
Sources:
It was NOT a baby!'
ReplyDeleteIt was a fetus! Its not even human until birth.
MORONS.
damn. whether its kc or the nyc, there is a major communication issue btw the cops and the communities they serve.
ReplyDeletehow is the police benevolence association gonna explain THIS one?
PEACE
It does not matter what you call it. Just the bleeding alone should have been a reason o send her to the hospital. Even if she was not pregnant. The more I hear about these cases, the more I hate to have been a law enforcement officer.
ReplyDeleteI can't blame the officers on the scene quite as readily as the rest of you. I was a bit skeptical before seeing the video. The woman was a scofflaw at best. Her command of the English language did not sound terribly coherent. Its not as though people make excuses all the time to get out of a ticket or jail time. If she had taken care of her legal obligations such as warrants and unpaid traffic tickets and proper car liscensing she would have been more likely to get the treatment she deserved. Her reputaqtion betrayed her and she had control of that. We should not ignore how the police contributed to this tragedy yet we must not ignore the "victims" own behavior leading up to this incident.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily blame the arresting officers but when they had to keep giving her new pairs of pants during her 12 hours in custody because she kept bleeding through them that should have been a clue that maybe she was telling the truth.
ReplyDeleteHaving city warrants is no reason to deny her proper medical treatment.
ReplyDeleteMost police departments have a policy that if someone asks for an ambulance, they have to call one no matter what. (You see that on "Cops" all the time... some idiot thinks going to the hospital will get him out of jail... they don't realize the cops will be there to arrest the moron.)
Point is... she needed help... they ignored her.... now her baby is dead.
I never said she should have been treated in such a way. We may never know if the baby would hav e survived one way or another so lets not place too much of a political and emotional burden on what was a treagic incident. The police did not cause her to hemorrhage.
ReplyDeleteNational news has picked this up. They're discussing it on MSNBC.
ReplyDeleteSo far this is a lot tamer than the comment thread over at the Star, where some of the commenters are positively bloodthirsty towards either the woman or the cops.
ReplyDeletere: Ms Salva, it seems the position that people like to take is that since she had warrants (some of which related to child abuse, ironically) and fake tags, she either is SOL, or it's tragic but she's SOL. Maybe: but other than the strict geeky legalism of the internet--MAYBE the cops would have liked to avoid the *appearance* of savage barbarism? even if they were ABSOLUTELY justified and did *nothing* wrong? maybe just maybe joe and jane lily-white commenter aren't the ONLY constituency the KCPD should answer to?
i dunno. i'm white myself, so i won't ever know what this feels like, but it sure stinks to me. the cops may have a tough job, but i am pretty sure--given indeed the evidence i see on COPS etc.--an ambulance was in order. i don't know what should happen here, but at the very least the lady needs $25,000. god knows what her medical bills are like, and you know she isn't insured.
I can't remember where I read it, but she wasn't far enough along in her pregnancy that this fetus would have been viable outside the womb. Chances are pretty good that she would have lost the baby regardless.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the cops still should have had her seen by a physician.
She should have called an ambulance.
ReplyDeleteAs far as being white.... Is she claiming she was treated badly b ecause of her race? I really have a hard time seeing this situation as a racial issue.
ReplyDeleteI had a miscarriage at around 11-12 weeks once -- and nearly died, and that was IN the hospital.
ReplyDeleteThe question I have for Tony is why he thinks it is appropriate (or even funny) to frame this story as a pro-life subject.
ReplyDelete(no homo)
I'm with the anonymous commenter from 2:33 p.m. today. I don't think this baby was going to survive whether they'd paid attention to her pleas for help or not. That's why I don't understand the wrongful death part of the suit.
ReplyDeleteI still think they should have allowed her to get medical care, though. That can't be a comfortable process to experience.
Also, I recall seeing a tidbit in the story that the Star put out about how one of her warrants was for mistreatment of children. Lovely. (Not that that's a reason to ignore her requests for assistance. But still...I won't let this segue into a comment about how I don't understand why people who don't want children have them anyway.)
Should be interesting to see how this all plays out.
I bet the cops wish dashcams didn't exist. They seem to catch the cops being bad more often than those who are stopped. As to the comment that she was faking it, how do you fake BLEEDING?
ReplyDeleteI hope she wins millions
ReplyDeleteWell it was only a matter of time before big bother video cam slapped them in there own faces! I hope she take KC PD to the bank
ReplyDeleteJust one more reason to not like cops
ReplyDeleteoh great now it's on the main page @FARK. How fucking embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to reality, jazo.
ReplyDeleteThis happend LAST YEAR! Why is it still under investigation?
ReplyDeleteI am ashamed to be a Kansas Citian right now, especially after reading the comments here. "I can't blame the officers", "It was not a baby! it was a fetus!", "I don't think this baby was going to survive whether they'd paid attention to her pleas for help or not".
ReplyDeleteYou make me sick. Literally sick to my stomach. This was about a woman bleeding who asked repeatedly to go to the hospital. I don't care if she couldn't speak English at all. Period or not they should have called an ambulance right away. This is a national embarrassment.
This is just another example of how the KC police treat citizens like dirt. I have experienced this first hand just walking down the street and being stopped and frisked and treated like crap (I'm sure they had a great laugh about it afterwards). It's no wonder why so many crimes in this town go unsolved, why would anyone want to co-operate with the police in this town? So many of them are abusive megalomaniac jerks!
By the way, I'm a 5th generation Missourian white male. This has nothing to do with my skin color, sex, or race.
I usually think the police get a bum rap but I have to admit this case sickens me. This is completely unacceptable and I saw the video on the news tonight. The evidence is pretty strong so I don't see how she doesn't win this lawsuit.
ReplyDelete>This happend LAST YEAR! Why is it still under investigation?
ReplyDelete"How is that my problem?"
I heard they were going to change the KCMO badges from "Serve and Protect" to "Capture and Watch Bleed"
ReplyDeleteShe doesn't win the lawsuit because she cannot proove that the police are the direct or even proximate cause of the death of her fetus.
ReplyDeleteshe can win a lawsuit against them for Depraved Indifference to Human Life. they repeatedly ingored her plea's for medical assistance and were mega huge assholes about it. they are required by law to provide any "prisoner" with medical attention i.e. calling a fucking ambulance. fucking cops!
ReplyDeleteI don't think much of cops myself these days. I feel really bad for the women because these two knuckleheads think more of a damm tag than a life but please stop with the race thing all the time it's really getting old and boring. These two clowns would have screwed with anybody
ReplyDeleteNot all KCMO Police are this way, but I have to say, these two are really an embarrassment to the force. I really want to see things change for the better. We need the thin blue line to take care of the bad guys... BELIEVE ME! The politicians have turned law enforcement in this town into meter maids with guns. Basically, because that's what pays the bills (sad but true). The local criminal justice system has become dependent on traffic violations the same way the military industrial complex is dependent on war. I'd love to hear any ideas on how to fix it. I'm tired of seeing cops risking there lives to bust somebody for expired tags or doing 41 in a 35. You might not want to hear this, but cameras can do a better job of that crap, much safer, lower cost, and less PETRO! (just the truth, sorry....)
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when you allow police to have a Union. Traditionally, law enforcement was done by County Sheriffs and Town Marshalls - both elected positions. Police Forces were created by corrupt politicians, mayors and governors, as their own untouchable "law enforcement" to use for their own ends.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise, police departments created out of corrupt governments became corrupt. Police officials should and need to be elected, not appointed, so that the People can control law enforcement, not untouchable bureaucrats. Same with judges. No more "independent" judiciary, they need to answer to "we the people." It's time to take America back from the Government!
The_Pilgrim