![Robert Evidon](https://city-countyobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Robert-Evidon-150x150.jpg)
At approximately 12:15am on Sunday morning, Officer Todd Mattingly was dispatched to Haynie’s Corner for a complaint of loud music coming from the Sculpt EVV live concert. Officer Mattingly arrived and spoke to Robert Evidon, who was working the soundboard, about the noise. Officer Mattingly asked Evidon if he could turn the volume down because of the neighbors complaining. Evidon told Officer Mattingly that the band was playing one last song and that the concert would be over after that. Officer Mattingly returned to his patrol car and allowed the band to continue, even though the event permit expired at midnight.
While waiting in his car for the music to end, dispatch told Officer Mattingly that another caller was very irate that the music was still going on. Officer Mattingly walked up to Evidon and second time and told him about the latest 911 call about the noise and asked again for him to turn down the volume.
This time, Evidon was told that if he did not turn down the volume, he could be cited under the disorderly conduct law. Evidon, who by his own admission had been awake for two straight days and under the influence of alcohol, told Officer Mattingly “You need to chill the Fuck Outâ€. Officer Mattingly again told Evidon he would be issued a citation if he did not turn down the music. Evidon replied “Then write me the fucking ticket and go the fuck somewhere elseâ€.
Due to Evidon being intoxicated and disorderly, Officer Mattingly told him he was under arrest. He told him to turn around and put his hands behind his back. Evidon did not comply with Mattingly’ instructions. He told Officer Mattingly to “chill the fuck out†and continued to ignore the instruction to turn around and put his hands behind his back. When Officer Mattingly grabbed Evidon’s arm to gain compliance, Evidon told him to “get the fuck off himâ€. Evidon then physically resisted arrest and tried to pull away from Mattingly. Mattingly first tried to gain compliance while standing up. When Evidon continued to resist, Officer Mattingly used an arm bar take down to get Evidon to the ground. Once on the ground, Evidon continued to resist arrest. Officer Mattingly used his body weight to control Evidon’s movement. After a brief struggle on the ground, Officer Mattingly was able to gain control of Evidon and get him in handcuffs.
At no time, did Officer Mattingly strike Evidon with an impact weapon, his fist, his hands, his knees, his feet, or any other object. In his Facebook post, Evidon claims officer Mattingly punched him in the face legs and back. Evidon claimed Officer Mattingly punched him in the head 30 times and continually banged his head into the pavement. Evidon claims the arrest left him with extensive head and shoulder injuries.
Evidon was taken to the hospital at his request to be examined. He was treated for a small abrasion on his shoulder that would be consistent with a person resisting arrest on a paved surface while not wearing a shirt. He was released and taken to jail.
While being booked into the jail, he had his picture taken as part of the process. Those pictures show him from the front and the side. There are not any marks, bruises, abrasions, or other injuries consistent with his claims of being punched in the face, or being punched 30 times in the head or having his head continually banged against the pavement.
Evidon also claims that Officer Mattingly and his brother, who was riding with him, took pictures of him while he was handcuffed to the hospital bed. Officer Mattingly and his brother both deny taking any pictures and have asked that any devices they had with them in the hospital be put through a forensic examination to prove that the claim is false.
Evidon has asked for anyone with video or pictures of his arrest to make those images available. We join him in his request. We spoke to a witness to the arrest minutes after it happened. That witness showed the on-duty supervisor the pictures. The pictures showed Officer Mattingly on the ground trying to gain compliance from Evidon. It does not show any of the things that Evidon claims to have happened.
We have not found anything in our investigation that supports Evidon’s claims. On the contrary, we believe the facts available at this time support the information listed Officer Mattingly’s sworn Affidavit of Probable cause and his Use of Force report.
Editors
Very nice presentation of the facts of the issue. Thanks for putting this out there
This is the police statement, not an independently reported story.
From Opal Fly’s FB page:
“Thank you all for the amazing support on FB, emails and at the courthouse today. Team Fly, Opal & Fox cannot not say anything more about the incident on record per our lawyers instructions. the city is going to fight this to the end and Fox is being charged with 3 misdemeanors which hold extensive jail time and huge fines. Next court Hearing is scheduled for July 18th 8:30am.
Again, we please ask anyone who witnessed the incident and/or took video or photo’s to email them to opal@opalfly.com. Include your name, address & phone number so our lawyer may contact you to get a full statement and let you know when the court hearing will be to testify.
We will be setting up a bank account fund to raise money for our large attorney fee’s and medical expenses this week. Please stay tuned for details on where to send donations.
Love & Respect,
Team Fly.”
I would like to see the medical records detailing the injuries that he sustained. That should be easy if he was hit more than 30 times and had his head continuously beat into the pavement.
AMEN to that!
Eyewitness testimony is trickling in on Opal Fly’s FB page. This is from Karen Tannenbaum: (quotes reproduced in full and without edit by me)
“My name is Karen J. Tannenbaum, and I witnessed an incident that I wished I had not seen. My fiance Max wilkinson and I were enjoying the beautiful weather and listening to the music of Phoenix Down when a police car pulled right in front of us, (I would est. 50′ from us). Confused, I turned to Max and questioned why a police car suddenly showed up. I saw the officer tell Fox Fly that the music needed to be cut off. Next thing I know the officer punched Fox, threw him on the ground and continued the blows and cufed him. I couldn’t figure out why the policeman was punching a man who was obviously not resisting. Fox was saying “no resistance.” He also was obviously writhing (in pain) and limp like a dishrag when he went down. I have never seen anything like this. Sad and traumatic. Beyond a reasonable doubt, this in truth what I witnessed. I have always been a firm supporter of our EPD and the men and women who keep us safe in the community. Many of my friends are on the force, as well as relatives who have upheld the honorable office of the law. Please do not let the actions of one officer put disrespect on the rest of the department.”
then give a eye witness testimony to the lawyer
The lawyer has it.
Again, this is a quote from Opal Fly on her FB page. For those who don’t know, she and the alleged victim are husband and wife and they also play in a band together and perform as fire performers. Here she responds to the use of the mug shot to prove “no visible injuries”, claiming Fox’s (Robert’s) injuries are primarily to the shoulder and back of the head.
“This is Opal- ThankU for reading and thankU for all of you helping us. It has been a bizarre 36 hrs in my life so far…a beautiful festival that could have ended perfectly had this officer handled the situation a bit differently. I feel lucky that there were at least a few witnesses to see the hits. The EPD just held a press conference claiming that the officer did NOT hit Fox or use excessive force. They used the mug shot to justify “no visible injuries”. All of his head injuries are under his hair in the back of the head. His shoulder scar is visible and we have taken pictures. Also, his knee and ribs feel very sore. He was in complete shock. He could not believe the officer was doing this. The EPD is claiming we are lying about officer Mattingly’s excessive force, and they are standing behind his story of the events.”
The Jail takes pictures of ANY and ALL injuries to a person when they are arrested.
These read like two completely different stories, huh?
And on a totally unrelated note, what’s up with the “reader poll” about Weinzapfel? It’s trash. Why bother asking for an opinion when all the answers have to be the same?
This is a normal poll from the CCO editors. They slant it so the only choice are ones they think will “prove” something to their rhetoric. The polls on here are biased to support their usual spin. And I dare them to say otherwise!
There could have been another answer that stated “he knows it isn’t true but is trying to scrub his record” but we were generous enough with answer #2 to offer a choice that did not involve a lie.
Then have the guts to put a poll answer that “I believe what the former Mayor has stated”. Anything else is clearly a slant job. The ball is in your court, Mr. Editor. Maybe if you have polls that have an answer where people can state they believe the news rather than trying to “spin” the poll you might have some credibility. I know you hate to admit it, but there are people that believe the press release.
In most cases I would agree with you and offer such an option. The clear facts as supported by the SBOA are that the books were not reconciled for all of 2011. That and the fact that there is no hotel in place or under construction right now negates the silly little quip about brokering a hotel deal. The press release was so distorted with respect to accepted facts in the public record that this poll did not merit such an answer except to gauge the percentage of readers who are incapable of simple logic. I know you hate to admit it, but anyone who believes that press release in full is either completely out of touch, suffering from dementia, or just plain dumb.
Okay, we posted a poll as you requested. The results should be interesting to us both.
The “spin” of which this user speaks is usually about the misuse of City funds and the ineptness of local government to sold our problems and address issues in an effective and transparent manner. This is what one might characterize as a libertarian-leaning local new site with a long history of holding leaders of both political parties responsible for their failings.
The poll is inconsistent with anything that would ever be taught in journalism classes. And I’d like to know who is behind that awful and cheesy guy on the logo. This is the first time I’ve visited the site and since it appears to be totally in the tank, this will be my last. I’d say best wishes, but I really hope this site is dead before the end of the year. This is nothing more than conspiracy theory and a weak attempt at news writing.
Sorry to flood the comments, but here is a statement by Fox (Robert) this morning. (Taken from Opal Fly’s FB page without edit by me.)
“Foxfire here checking in, Thank you everyone for the amazing support, we are in shock by this unity in community over this outrageous abuse of power by officer Mattingly. I woke up extremely sore with bruises all over the back of my head and I am unable to lift my right arm above my head and my knee I had surgery on years ago is swollen and I am unable to walk without a cane or wheelchair. Just a reminder this happened to me, Fox Fly, NOT Opal like some people had posted.
Court hearing is Today at 1:30pm Circuit/superior court.
News stations and reporters will be at the courthouse to hold a press conference after the hearing. All are welcome to come show their support.
It takes a tribe to raise a village and without you there is no WE.
Team Fly’s mission statement “Helping keep Evansville FUNky”
Love & Respect,
Team Fly – Opal & Fox.
P.s. thank you again everyone for your valuable time in using this sad event to make some positive change in our community!”
The EPD cowboys keep costing us money in settlements and they all keep their jobs. Thanks for nothing.
complete and utter bs, the epd has long been out of control here and this case is one of hundreds possibly thousands of abuse of powers by the epd. i think the citizens of evansville should band together and demand an independent outside investigation of the entire police force.
Well cops certainly lie a lot of the time. some folks think they are honest which is not the case at all.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
You may not want to hear this but… When the police tell you to put your hands behind your back any movement other then putting your hands behind your back is considered resisting arrest. The conversation is over. The arresting officer has the legal right at that time to use what ever force he needs to make you comply. As hard as it is for some people to believe, some times even as a adult; you have to do as your told.
Says the sheep who has never been harassed. You’re technically correct, but there’s a level of decorum they should maintain when dealing with the public. Intimidation and harassment are hallmarks of a bully police state in which everyone is to stay in their homes and never question authority. Such a submissive public leads to tyranny. What if the officer really was out of line? There are just as many witnesses that claim he was.
Grumpy Olman, You make the case against the officer when you appear to be trying to support his actions. As you say, it’s “what ever force he needs”, but that is not the same as whatever force he wants. The eyewitness reports I’ve seen indicate that the force used was significantly more than what was needed. If so, it’s abuse.
Does anybody but EPD get to “forensically examine” the cop’s or his brother’s phone?
I have been harassed and arrested in my life. No one who knows me would call me a sheep. But I know not to fight battles I wont win. You are a fool to think you will win a fight with a arresting officer. When you do not comply with his orders you are the fool. And he will hurt you legally. Once your friend decided not to put his hands behind his back he was the one out of line.
I fully support EPD Officer Todd Mattingly in this matter.
I didn’t say to fight the police, just for the record. I simply said police need to be held accountable for their actions. Apparently this officer has a less than favorable history but surprise, he still has a job.
Really John Doe????? Anyone who reads the CCO knows what a so called cop basher you are. WHENEVER there is an article about police officers, you are on here bashing them. What is it? When you were a child and played cops and robbers, would the other boys in the neighborhood make you the robber all the time????? Why hating on the police? ALWAYS?
I heard through the grapevine this officer has a couple prior incidents on his record like this. I wonder if the EPD can deny these claims and release this officer’s history.
A couple more prior incidents????
Officer Todd Mattingly is in the business to arrest people who break the law including people who are intoxicated and refusing to be follow instructions of the police officer.Very simple–you resist–you loose.
The odds are he has arrested several people and there is very likely many others who have misbehaved. What is the big deal here. Officer Todd Mattingly was doing his job.
Police Officers risk there lives everyday. I am proud of our EPD. I thank them for doing their job.
This is the typical kind of reply one can expect when questioning an EPD officer these days. Honestly, it smacks wagon circling and cheerleading rather than a genuine quest for truth or justice.
Don’t you realize that one bad cop with an attitude problem can cause more issues for the Dept and the City and give all the good, hard working, fair-dealing cops a bad name, not to mention make their job more dangerous? I support the police too, but not if they are acting like the thugs they are supposed to be catching.
This guy was clearly not a threat to anyone. He wasn’t intoxicated or resisting according to every testimony I’ve uncovered but those of the arresting officer and his brother. Apparently the officer agreed because he never even saw fit to issue a breathalyzer or blood test to determine BAC. Not even when at the hospital did they see fit to test the guy. Only when filling out his report did this officer make the charge of intoxication (without any evidence other than his word, which is the very thing in question here).
I’ll ask again… Can the EPD categorically deny this officer had prior complaints of this nature on his record?
Lets see…moved away from Evansville (check), hear about all my old high school friends either being arrested or arresting people while arguing about who is right (check), reading inappropriate posts on Facebook that would lose a normal person their job regardless of what “side” you’re on (check)…You guys all realize how dumb you sound? Seriously get a fucking live. Nobody cares about bum-fuck Evansville and all the hillbilly cops vs. robbers stuff going on. How about everyone worries about not having a kid at 15, 16 and 17 years old. Call me crazy but the whole place needs to grow up. No wonder you are all just stuck there talking about a cop you knew or a guy that hit his girlfriend. It’s like an incest pool of dumb.
The guy is a drama queen. He just wants attention, like lots of the artsy types.
Really….shame on you.
Eyewitnesses are saying he didn’t resist arrest, and at least one corroborates the story of Officer Mattingly punching Evidon in the face.
The following is taken from a new Facebook profile setup to seek justice in this case.
Statement regarding events at the end of the evening of June 15th, 2013.
“I, Eric D. Braysmith, along with Hilary Braysmith were listening to the concert at Haynie’s corner as part of the Sculpt EVV festivities. I was sitting in a chair on the fountain side sidewalk facing the stage. The last song began about 5 minutes before midnight, Hilary left to go take care of some Sculpt EVV business. I remained and the music was still going on at about 12:10 or so when . . .
I saw a police car pull up behind the stage. I saw Robert go to meet with officer Mattingly that got out of the car. There was some discussion I could not hear, and I was vaguely aware of Robert having walked back and forth.
Realizing that it was now past midnight, and the music was supposed to stop by midnight, I surmised that this was what the conversation was about, and started to get up. I thought I might be able to help, so I was walking towards the stage to go around the left-hand side with the vague intention of supporting the officer and reminding Robert, whom I am acquainted with, that the music should be shut down now, since it was time.
As I approached the stage, I could see through a gap in the performers that Robert and officer Mattingly were about 2-3 feet apart. I could see both of them from the waist up, though the back edge of officer Mattingly was obscured. Robert was shirtless, wearing a colorful hat, and had only a phone with a glowing screen in his left hand. While I could not hear anything, it looked as if they were talking about something in louder tones. I thought little of this because with the music, everyone had been speaking loudly to be heard. Nothing looked dangerous or confrontational to me, but you could tell the two were disagreeing.
I then clearly saw officer Mattingly strike a violent fast blow to the right side of Robert’s head as Robert was speaking. It took me quite by surprise and almost appeared as if it was delivered with an elbow as Robert dropped immediately down out of sight and the back of officer Mattingly covered my view and then lowered from view.
I hastened my steps now around the left side (fountain side) of the stage and lost sight of the two men for about 3 to 5 quick steps. Once I rounded the stage, I stopped just off the sidewalk on the curb and had a clear view of the two men and the police car from about 10 – 15 feet away. Being behind the speakers, I could now hear the scuffle. I also saw a cruiser with a young man in a gray T-shirt and civilian clothes sitting in the front passenger seat of the police car.
At this point, officer Mattingly had forced Robert to the hood of the cruiser and was sliding him over the passenger side wheel well and began forcing Robert down the side of the patrol car. Robert was silent and looked stunned. I was on the curb I could hear the banging of arms and legs against the car. Officer Mattingly pushed Robert on his side to the ground and kneeled on Robert’s neck while doing other moves to wrestle him into a position. Robert seemed awkward and painfully positioned, but I saw no movement on his part except for eventually turning his head to look out in my direction.
Officer Mattingly then did some other wrestling moves to roll Robert onto his stomach and the officer then got completely on top of Robert with officer Mattingly’s knees over Robert’s shoulder blades. Somewhere in here I started yelling to officer Mattingly that “this is way too much,†and “what are you doing? He’s working here!†Officer Mattingly shouted at me to “stay back,†which I did, and then “step back,†so I moved to the edge of the sidewalk. Robert now yelled up in my direction that he “was not resisting†and that he had done nothing to officer Mattingly. I kept repeating thing like this to the officer since you could clearly see that Robert was making no attempt to struggle and was saying nothing confrontational. Officer Mattingly repeatedly told me to “move back†or “I will be next.†Officer Mattingly put Robert into the back seat of the police car.
By now, I was aware of others documenting the event, and officer Mattingly began arguing with the onlookers, telling them that Robert “had used profanity†in addressing him, and “to clear out of the park,†and said we were “not allowed to be here†since the sign says it closed at 11pm. Others were explaining to him that there was an event with a permit scheduled and the event was closing down. Occasionally, Robert would yell out the partially opened window that he “did not resist†officer Mattingly. The passenger in civilian clothes, who appeared to be recording with a phone, at some point got out of the car and remained on the far side of the police car.
Officer Mattingly’s complaints and description of the event to the small crowd and other officers that arrived never mentioned any kind of actions against him by Robert except for Robert’s use of profanity.
Officer Mattingly and the passenger eventually got back in the police car and drove off.
A Sargeant after interviewing officer Mattingly took names, addresses, and dates of birth from a few of us in the crowd who had seen the events”.
-Eric D. Braysmith
Eric Braysmith is a USI Professor.
Post Removed by Editor for Threatening to Disclose Personal Information about another poster
What is so sad about this is that man spent 12 hours in the hot sun supporting all the bands that played the festival and manned the sound boards. He works so hard to help make the Arts District downtown a better place, and this is the thanks he gets. My daughter spins fire to, and believe me, you do not do it if you have been drinking. It is very dangerous. The city wants to promote downtown…well….unless you get the bad cop off the streets, I am afraid you just took about ten steps back!
Your account doesn’t add up. “I was just limp and trying to follow directions as the officer continued to beat my head on the pavement and punch me in the back of the head at least 30 times†total exaggeration.
In addition, why is it that the “Bokeh crowd†won’t compromise with the people who live in the district? You just want us to make all the compromises. Some people don’t want to be kept awake by loud music until midnight. It’s not all about you. Living in a community together should mean more than just caring about “the funkyâ€. Not all of us are “funky†or need to be. Some of us are just regular people who want to have our rights respected too. I support the “Arts District†and want the district to become successful but I have a right to be able to sleep so I can work in the morning.
Ever heard of ear plugs? I’m a second shifter and use them all the time when the neighbors are mowing, trash is being picked up, you really aren’t that special! Deal with it!
I cannot speak for Evidon’s account or the accuracy of the “30 times” quote. My guess is, the guy had just been beaten up and taunted by a cop and “30” seemed like a reasonable estimate given how he felt about the situation, mentally and physically, and being a human being not taken to keep count while someone it pounding on your head with fists. Who knows? Either way, at least one other witness has come forward corroborating the initial punch to the face that started the melee. I have reproduced the account above. But while we’re on that note, how many blows to the head are too many for you? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Give me a number of blows you think is acceptable for an officer of the law to land on someone’s head.
Your complaints about noise are an entirely separate issue not in any way, shape or form justifying police brutality.
my understanding (according to the news14 segment as well) is that the witnesses are all friends of his. People have been claiming to have video detailing the attack but so far no one has come forward with it.
EPD references a witness that showed them photos but that the photos did not show the “attack” nor did they say that the witness corroborated Mr. Evidon’s statement.
Mr Evidon claimed injuries from being being punched and having his head repeatedly pounded into the pavement. These injuries should be in the medical records which EPD is stating they are not. If EPD’s statement is a lie then Mr. Evidon could easily prove this with the production of said medical records detailing the injuries consistent with his allegation.
Could it of happened as Mr. Evidon and a few of his friends claim, why yes it could. But right now unbiased evidence (like the medical records) do not support it.
Could it also be that it’s possible a cop got an attitude, hit a guy and had his brother cover for him? I’m sure you’ll admit that’s possible too. Do you think a jury of peers will convict Evidon on no evidence other than the word of one officer against eyewitnesses, particularly when all those eyewitnesses dispute both the intoxication claim and the resisting arrest claim of the officer? Speaking of medical records, the lack of any breathalyzer or blood sample evidence could prove damning here. It’s my understanding Evidon has documented his injuries. Do I think he was hit “30 times”? No. Personally I don’t. I think his “30 times” statement wasn’t meant as an official count. I think he was trying to say “I got hit by a freight train”. Problem is, if the jury sides with Evidon and finds that he was not resisting arrest, any injuries he documents could be found as clear evidence of an assault, however brief or protracted. I hear the next hearing is July 18th at 8:30am. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one. Could get interesting.
Yes it is possible and the statement attributed to Mr. Braysmith seems to be a bit closer to what actually happened and much more consistent with what they are saying the medical report states. Arrests involving a “take down” can look a lot worse than they actually are and it would seem the medical report supports this.
It doesn’t matter what Evidon himself “documented” if the examining physician’s report doesn’t reflect it. They physician’s report would be considered an unbiased 3rd party whereas the Police or Evidon’s would not be.
Breath or Blood alcohol is not required for P.I. though I think it should be as it can be a misused “catch all” charge (much like disorderly conduct). I am curious though to know if the examining physician noted any signs of intoxication.
I think Evidon exaggerated the situation and that is going to come back and bite him. It hurts his credibility (even the “prof” didn’t note seeing Mr. Evidon’s head beat into the pavement).
In my opinion it’s going to come down to if the arrest was proper to begin with and what might have prompted the decision to do a “take down” arrest.
I can agree with most of that and accept that a medical examiner’s testimony and related reports would be unbiased and instructive in this case. Prof. Braysmith’s testimony did have a gap in it between the fall of Evidon and the time it took Braysmith to get behind the stage to see what was happening on the ground. The beating Evidon describes could have occurred in that timeframe. I think that unless more eyewitnesses come forward, video is uncovered or the medical examiner corroborates Evidon’s injuries, the officer could be in the clear.
I do, however, believe that the PI and resisting charges will be dropped, or a jury will find not guilty based on the testimony and evidence I’ve seen.
At best, this was an incident of overzealous police work that could have been handled differently. At worst, it was a case of brutality not caught on camera.
What is occuring in Vanderburgh County and WArrick County is that the community is increasingly being victimized by inept cops. Cops that lack the mental aptitude and personality traits needed to be behind a badge. The public no longer trusts law enforcement. The public now knows that by complying to the demands of a rogue, questionable cop will ultimately send you down the slope of lying, conniving prosecutors, law enforcement which is beholden to no one and immune to any type of retribution for their actions and a local media that is owned by these same powers that be. What we see here, are cops, like Mattingly, that are hitting that point where those specialized skills that State Troopers possess to diffuse and control a situation are severely lacking in city/county cops. Their natural reaction is to “assault, bully, lie, then cover up,” kind of like they did when they were in high school. The problem is going to snowball, however, as long as cell phones and the internet continue to level the playing field. Word of caution, never hire an attorney in your own county, get a good one and get one outside of your county.
Where are these videos and pictures??????? WHERE? Sounds like to me that there were lots of so called witnesses. Not one video?
Cops are taught to wrap the victims arm around their face while face down on the ground and administer blows to the back of the head. That does not leave visible injuries. There will be blood on the ear drum however.
So I am SURE that if the officer was TAUGHT to wrap the violators arm around his own head, FOX would have road rash, bruises, or other marks all over that arm RIGHT? It amazes me that FOX made his claims and described in detail what the officer did to him and as soon as those claims were called into question, with photographic evidence, people like you try to change the story. Its like telephone tag…. every time the story gets told by FOX supporters, it gets bigger and better.
EPD is out of control and our local government clearly is not holding them accountable. We must vote out all the crony political hacks in this one horse town. This incident seems like the officer was probably showing off for his ride along brother as evidenced by the “I got to beat me a hippie” comments at the hospital. The intimidation of the USI professor is also very disturbing with the “you could be next” comment. It’s clear that after the Powell Ave terrifying abuse of power that EPD can get away with ANYTHING with no fear of repercussions. If that doesn’t anger you then there’s something wrong with you. You apologist cheerleaders are pathetic.
Geez dough boy! There again that is HIS account! Where is the hospital witness that says the officer said that ridiculous statement. Im really tired of hearing……. I heard this and I heard that. Ten different people can observe the same incident and have 10 different stories. The facts will be established and then we will see what the truth is.
Every person at this particular event likely had a cell phone, and every cell phone made in the last few years has video capability. The business probably also has cameras. If anything remotely like the egregious wrongdoing claimed by the alleged injured occurred, I suspect video recordings would have already been presented as evidence against Officer Mattingly. To my knowledge it hasn’t.
Honestly, wouldn’t YOUR friends snap a picture or video if they saw you getting roughed up by police? Mine would. Then again, I rarely tell cops to ‘fuck off’ when I’m hanging out at a bar at midnight, hammered.
A couple people got pictures at the tail end of the event. By then it was too late to capture the worst of it. According to witnesses and the FB complaint, the attack happened behind a stage where few could see the goings on and those who could see took too much time to get to the area or were too in shock to have the presence of mind to begin filming.
Again, you cannot claim that a lack of video evidence means the officer is automatically innocent of the accused violence. If that were the standard, I could say “there is no God” because no one has ever captured Him on film. It’s ridiculous, and I think you know it.
I’m just relaying my understanding of the accuser’s story as related to me by him and by various people through Facebook. I am, of course, no authority on the evening’s happenings, nor am I an eyewitness, but I think a reasonable person can easily see how dozens of people might not have the presence of mind to film what happened. That should not be the standard of proof for guilt of a cop in an assault case.
From the beginning the pictures were suppose to be the proof and then all these videos were suppose to show this brutal beating. The pictures verify the officers account and the videos are MIA. If you are going to accuse somebody of something, it is up to that you to prove that it happened. It is not up to the accused that it did not happen. To my knowledge Mr. Fox hasn’t provided any proof that it happened. As for the witnesses accounts, they all are very different from each other. Lots of….. I knew someone who was there and they said blah blah blah.
I only posit that it’s odd that there is zero photographic or video evidence of this alleged heinous incident (as reported by however many folks ‘eyewitnessed’ it and are testifying on their faceypages), not that it’s not possible without video evidence. Seriously Brad, many modern Americans spend their days taking pictures of such daily minutiae as what they ate for breakfast and feverishly posting it for the world to see. However, they are eyewitnesses to what might be the worst alleged LEO smackdown since Rodney King and NOBODY thought to click their phones on? I find that fishy in the extreme.
At any rate, if their was an inkling of proof available that Officer Mattingly acted inappropriately, there are dozens, maybe hundreds of ambulance-chasers in the area that would absolutely be foaming at the mouth to pick up Mr. Evidon’s story and run with it. This has been front-page news in the local media now for several days. No attorney has bitten on it? Hmmmm…
Finally, who raises their kids to think that telling a police officer to get fucked is A) appropriate or B) will somehow not end in disaster? You know this guy, correct? Does he regularly tell people to fuck off? Like when his waiter brings him his check does he tell them to get fucked? Or if his paper delivery boy accidently throws his paper in a puddle does he chase him down the street yelling at him to fuck off? Or does he only do that after he’s been on a two day bender?
Exactly Delta Bravo! Still waiting for ALL these videos, pictures, etc.etc.
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