By Carlos Miller
He was 15 years old. A special needs student. And his shirt wasn’t tucked in.
For that, Marshawn Pitts was severely beaten by a police officer in the hallway of his school. And it was all caught on surveillance video.
The suburban Chicago police officer first shoved him against a wall. Then when the scrawny teen tried to stand back up, the officer began pummeling him with his fists.
Th brawny officer then sat on top of the teen, shoving his face into the floor in what is called a “face-down take-down,”a controversial hold that is illegal in eight states because it has resulted in at least 20 deaths, according to the CBS news report.
Pitts ended up with a broken nose, a swollen lip and cuts to his face.
All for an untucked shirt.
But it was in bad taste for CBS to title their news report “a painful lesson” because it insinuates the teen deserved the beating, which he did not.
The incident occurred in May 2009 at the Academy of Learning at Dolton, which is a school that specializes in special needs students. Pitts has a learning disability stemming from a previous head injury.
The name of the Dolton police officer, who works as a school resource officer, has not been published. I’m betting it is not the first time he’s done that.
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Fernandez, as I mentioned in a 
Respect my authoriteh!
I want him named.
I want that jerk named, too. If he had the cojones to do what he did then he ought not to mind giving us his name.
Is this not a news story being printed as well as blogged? I sure hope he is fired.
When are kids going to learn to dress properly and respect those that are better than them? This kid got what he deserved! If a few more kids got the crap beat out of them by cops who are just trying to make society better then we wouldn’t have so many problems.
/sarcasm
I’m sorry, I thought the practice was to not name VICTIMS.
There is nothing here that can’t be cured with a tall tree and a short rope.
Yes, you read that right, I am suggesting a mob go to this mans house and hang him.
I’ve little doubt that if anything comes from the PD, it will be along the lines of “The young man took a bladed stance”, or “the officer thought he was reaching for a weapon”.
If a teacher had pulled this stunt, it seems likely to me that he’d be facing assault charges, but a cop? He’ll get an ass chewing and a transfer, at most.
It was a painful lesson. People need to learn that if an officer tells them to do something, they should do it
if you watch the tape Pablo you would know that the kid was tucking in his shirt LOOK closer if you didnt see it the first time just because someone walks away from an officer doesnt give the PRICK the right to beat the SHIT out of a 15 year old
The lesson to be learned here is that the police are out of control and if the citizenry doesn’t demand that training, hiring standards and disciplinary procedures aren’t changed to stop this, tomorrow it’s going to be YOU or one of your children getting the beaten or possibly killed over some trivial matter.
It’s Oklahoma for pete’s sake, what do you expect?
That earlier comment was for another article. Sorry.
Good point about CBS’s ill chosen title. The old ‘if someone has a problem with the cops they must have done something’ mentality. I think we should call and write CBS and all the major networks and ask them why they don’t report even 1/1000 of the stuff these ‘protectors and servers’ of society do. I for one am really sick of the lack of media attention on this issue. Am I alone on this??
I think more children, especially minorities, should be beaten for getting out of line and not respecting their elders. Too bad I can’t legally beat some of the children in my private school math class.
The painful lesson is for school administrators who allow police on campus.
I hope the cop is fired and thrown in jail for that. That is excessive force. ANd the kid has a learning disability.
This unfortunately gives a new meaning to “fashion police”
The Village of Dolton, Il’s mayor, Ronnie Lewis. Email: rlewis@vodolton.org
It seems a bit weird that the Village Of Dolton’s police web page isn’t working…hmmmmm
Shoot Ronnie an email as I’ve done!
According to Officer.com, the still unnamed Dolton police officer has resigned. Pitts’ parents are considering suing. Pitts has left that school for another one.
Obviously it was a painful lesson for the LEO. Perhaps he should avoid excessive force if he ever becomes a cop again. The technique he used, the face-down take-down, is considered too dangerous in 8 states and is banned in those states, and should be considered excessive force in all states.
Pablo, if a LEO told your wife or daughter to drop her panties and show her genitals to him, that would be OK by you, right? Any order from a cop must be followed or you deserve a beating, right?
That cop is now in jail for rape
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-dolton-cop-09-oct09,0,527689.story
“The name of the Dolton police officer, who works as a school resource officer, has not been published. I’m betting it is not the first time he’s done that.”
Hell, even I didn’t think his previous history would be that bad. But I’m not surprised.