My client, Communities United Against Police Brutality, settled a case with the City of Minneapolis last week. The complaint we filed said that among the things CUAPB requested were the complete investigatory files in sustained complaints against police officers, but that the City had not provided them in 2 years, despite multiple contacts.
As part of the case, we requested all those files in discovery. Volunteers at CUAPB have been reading through those files and creating summaries to post on the website in the officer database.
The following is one of those summaries, not the worst or best by far, but just the one that came across my desk last week. I think the moral of the story is that police accountability is really a result of readily available video cameras. Who watches the watchmen?
Officer Tapp was a School Resource Officer for Roosevelt High School. On the morning of April 20, 2010 at 9:43 am, Officer Tapp was called to assist school staff with two female students who were fighting. The officer and the school staff members escorted the two young women to the Dean’s Office. During that escort, Officer Tapp physically assaulted one of the students which led to an injury.
The officer proceeded to lie about the events that transpired, which were caught on security camera and witnessed by one of the school staff members.
What Officer Tapp reported: Officer Tapp reported that he was called to room 282 via the school radio system. En route, he could hear yelling and screaming from classroom 282. He observed two staff members attempting to remove two female students from the classroom. Officer Tapp reported that he believed their behavior to be disruptive enough that the young women should be escorted from the room. He accompanied two school staff members as they proceeded to the Dean’s Office with the young women. Tapp initially reported that while in escort, he stumbled and bumped into one of the girls, which set her off balance and into a handrail. He stated that he apologized, but she refused to accept the apology. He also stated that she never reported an injury to him.
In Tapp’s second report of the incident, he stated that the young woman he made physical contact with used foul language and was disrespectful to the other young woman, school staff and himself.
Tapp reported that the young woman turned to him, called him a coward, and stated that he had no courage without his “fucking” gun. Tapp reported that he was offended, walked up to the young woman and bumped his right hip into her left hip in order to prevent further offensive language.
Tapp reported that the young woman then lost balance and bumped her right hip into a guardrail. Tapp stated that he immediately checked on the young woman to make sure she was okay. Tapp reported that the young woman refused to speak to him. Once in the Dean’s office, Tapp reported that he once again asked if the young woman was okay, this time specifically asking if she was injured and the young woman said no.
What actually took place as evidenced by security footage and reported by school staff: On April 22nd, case investigator Sargent Mark Montgomery received a complaint of use of force by Tapp. That day, Montgomery viewed the security footage.
Security footage revealed that the young woman was not cursing, was not acting in a threatening in any way, and was not acting in a disrespectful manner toward Tapp, the other student, or staff. She briefly turned her head toward Tapp. Tapp turned his head toward the student, walked the distance between them - increasing his momentum as he approached - and body checked the young woman. This intentional body check forced the right side of her body into a wall and the attached handrail. Tapp did not immediately check on her well-being. He looked down at her briefly, then continued to walk down the corridor, never looking back to check on the student. In a case statement from hall monitor Walter Smith, Smith stated that he heard Tapp initiate the verbal exchange by stating, out of the blue, “Oh, you think you’re tough?” Smith turned around to see what was going on. At that point the young woman said, “I’m not afraid of that gun.” Tapp initially hesitated, then “body checked” the young woman into the wall and handrail. Smith then said to the young woman, “I don’t know why he did that, it’s not going to happen again.” The student started crying and stated that her side hurt. Smith reported that Tapp did not ask the student if she was hurt or needed medical attention. He walked toward the Dean’s office and never looked back. Smith reported that Tapp’s actions were not accidental, but intentional.
The MPD fired Officer Tapp and the firing stuck through the Union arbitration process. Who watches the watchmen? Sony. Memorex. And the hall monitor.
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