Over the weekend I spent some more time thinking about the alleged beating of Dr. Vincent Moss of New York City by APD Officer Allen Hancock. The known chain of events as of this writing are as follows:
Vincent Moss, an Army Reserve Major and heart surgeon on sabbatical from his practice in New York City had come to New Mexico to perform work for Native New Mexicans in the Gallup area...oh and Vincent Moss is black.
Early last week, according to articles published in the AbqJournal, Moss was arrested outside of Maloney's Tavern in downtown Albuquerque by APD officer Allen Hancock for refusing to obey an officer and disorderly conduct. The following account of events was reported in T.J. Wilham's article of July 20th, 2005
While at the tavern, Moss said he tried for 30 minutes to get served but that all of the bartenders ignored him. At one point he reached over the bar and touched the bartender's arm to get his attention, he said.
The bartender got angry, and eventually Moss went outside to talk to Buehring.
While the two were arguing over Moss' treatment, Albuquerque police officers saw the dispute and stood next to the bar manager.
Once the dispute calmed down, Moss said Buehring went back inside to see if Moss had left his credit card at the bar.
The manager took his identification. Moss said he started to follow the manager inside but was stopped by APD officers who grabbed the back of his shirt.
Moss said he introduced himself as a physician and the officer yelled at him to back up.
Moss said the officer pushed him in the chest as though the officer was being attacked, and then forced him to the ground and cuffed him.
When he was taken down, his shoulder separated and he started screaming for help.
During his arrest, Mr. Moss said that APD officers called him "boy" and "At one point...mocked him, saying "I'm not a heart surgeon, but I stayed at a holiday inn last night."
In an account that appeared in the same article excerpted above, the General Manager of Maloney's Tavern, David Buehring, reportedly stated that the arresting officers had acted professionally given that Moss had been aggressive with his staff and resisted arrest.
Buehring told the Journal on Tuesday that he disagreed with Moss' version of the story. He said Moss was aggressive toward him and his bartenders. He said that after talking with Moss outside the tavern he told him not to come back into the bar, and that is why police officers intervened.
Buehring also showed the Journal video from a surveillance camera, which recorded only a small portion of the incident.
Buehring appears to be backing up while talking to Moss. The tape shows Moss being grabbed by Albuquerque police, but after being taken away from the tavern's entrance, Moss and the officers go off camera.
"As assertive and aggressive he was, what happened would have happened regardless if APD was there or not," said Buehring, who walked back outside with Moss's identification just in time to see the incident. "The officers acted appropriately and professionally."
Buehring said Moss was fighting with officers during the arrest and that his injuries were due to him "resisting."
After being cuffed, Buehring said Moss acted like a "hypochondriac" and "everything started to hurt." -T.J.'s July 20th article.
On Friday July 22nd, 2005 the AbqJournal published an AP piece stating that one of the arresting officers, Allen Hancock, was also named in a 1998 federal lawsuit that alleged Hancock crushed a man's hand with his foot during a traffic stop and that that man was black as well. The AP piece, which essentially reported on an article that originally ran in the Tribune, continued stating that:
Hancock was named in another 1998 federal lawsuit alleging he refused to let a Hispanic man tend his wife after her head was cut when she was knocked down by another officer. The lawsuit alleges Hancock made the man take four blood-alcohol tests that all were within the legal limit, so Hancock broke the device and charged the man with DWI.
The man was found not guilty, and the lawsuit was settled and dismissed in 1999. The Tribune said attorneys in the case could not confirm what the city paid.
In a follow up piece that appeared in the Journal on Saturday, Journal Staff Writer Jeff Proctor reported that during traffic stop that ultimately led to the federal lawsuit,
Hancock "continued to crush the plaintiff's hand even after hearing that police dispatch confirmed that plaintiff was not a criminal suspect," according to the suit.
The case, which named another APD officer, was settled out of court. Philip Davis, who represented the plaintiff, said the monetary settlement was substantial.
"My client felt justice was served," he said.
The second suit stems from a January 1998 incident in which Hancock allegedly refused to allow a man to help his injured wife, who another officer had punched in the face.
Hancock is named as one of 15 police officers accused of using excessive force during an anti-war protest at the University of New Mexico in March 2003.
The fourth suit names Hancock, 18 other APD officers and four Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety officers in a June 2003 incident.
That suit claims the officers threw plastic grenades into the South Valley home of an elderly woman and her daughter.
The officers ordered the women to the ground and injured both of them, the suit states. Nothing illegal was found in the home.
"Any crisis event you are assigned to could find its way into the judicial system," said John Walsh, an APD spokesman.
I apologize for making you read all this to get to the bottom line, which I suppose I could have delivered in the opening paragraph. And to my own surprise, the bottom line is not that I Hancock is guilty, even though his prior record suggests a propensity for behavior consistent with Dr. Moss's account. No, the bottom line is that the only people who actually know happened that night are Dr. Moss, the officers involved and David Buehring, General Manager of Maloney's Tavern. However we know that Mr. Buehring went back into the bar and did not see the events leading up to Mr. Moss's arrest and that the video tape Mr. Buehring showed T.J. Wilham didn't show what happened outside the camera's view.
None the less, Mr. Buehring feels confident enough to say "what happened would have happened regardless if APD was there or not," and that "the officers acted appropriately and professionally." The Bottom Line is that Buehring's comments are troubling. What the hell does he mean that what happened would have happened if APD had been there or not? Are we to infer that Mr. Buehring would have separated Mr. Moss's shoulder and given him a black eye? If not Mr. Buehring, one of his bouncers? On what grounds? Why couldn't a black man get a drink for over 30 minutes ? Why does he feel that such forceful action is a professional representation of APD officers. How often is Maloney's the scene of similar incidents ? Does Mr. Buehring know Hancock ?
If Buehring's statement reflect the sentiment and policy of Maloney's Tavern, then I'm not going to frequent that establishment. In fact, I'm boycotting Maloney's...until....hmmm. I don't know, indefinitely.
How about waiting until the verdict is out. A judge has not rules on the Doctor's guilt and the Police Oversight Commission has not ruled on the guilt of the officer.
What is wrong with waiting before making judgment based on news accounts?
Posted by: Rusty | Monday, August 08, 2005 at 12:11 AM
Rusty, I think if you read our most recent posting on the issue you'll see that it's not merely about guilt but the city's negligence in allowing an officer who has been named in four suits still be on patrol. Regardless, we're still not going to Maloney's.
Posted by: Darwin Rosevelt | Monday, August 08, 2005 at 10:41 PM
Your shouldn't make assumptions based on somethings you have read. Maloney's is a great place and the manager is always very professional. Besides, whenever I go to Maloney's on a Friday or Saturday night, it is always very packed and sometimes hard to get a drink, I think this guy is just blaming the world for the fact that he is black and that must be why he can't get a drink. That guy needs to get a life.
Posted by: JJ | Tuesday, August 23, 2005 at 03:27 PM
Your shouldn't make assumptions based on somethings you have read. Maloney's is a great place and the manager is always very professional. Besides, whenever I go to Maloney's on a Friday or Saturday night, it is always very packed and sometimes hard to get a drink, I think this guy is just blaming the world for the fact that he is black and that must be why he can't get a drink. That guy needs to get a life.
Posted by: JJ | Tuesday, August 23, 2005 at 03:29 PM
Your shouldn't make assumptions based on somethings you have read. Maloney's is a great place and the manager is always very professional. Besides, whenever I go to Maloney's on a Friday or Saturday night, it is always very packed and sometimes hard to get a drink, I think this guy is just blaming the world for the fact that he is black and that must be why he can't get a drink. That guy needs to get a life.
Posted by: JJ | Tuesday, August 23, 2005 at 03:29 PM
Your shouldn't make assumptions based on somethings you have read. Maloney's is a great place and the manager is always very professional. Besides, whenever I go to Maloney's on a Friday or Saturday night, it is always very packed and sometimes hard to get a drink, I think this guy is just blaming the world for the fact that he is black and that must be why he can't get a drink. That guy needs to get a life.
Posted by: JJ | Tuesday, August 23, 2005 at 03:30 PM
police should be required to always have on video cameras. this way it protects the good cops from lieng criminals and stops the bad cops from being lieing abusive criminals. also the citizens of albuquerque should be able to "vote" out cops they think are bad. An ordinary jury would do the trick.
about the post about waiting untill the verdict is in. it is pointless because the courts usually support the cops. the police oversite commision has huge problems also. The commision has 2 people who 100% always vote in favor of the cops.
and yes the mayor is responsible, though I haven't heard any candidates say they would do a better job. at least not yet.
Posted by: rockstarame | Wednesday, August 24, 2005 at 06:07 PM
looks like the verdict IS out. the police are guilty. suprise surprise. there are so many people who are always saying to wait for the verdict in these cases of police abuse but the fact is they always end up wrong. I can't think of one single case where a police misuse of power or all out abuse has happened and the police officer wasn't guilty. at a very minimum the findings are thet there wasn't enough evidence. I fully think the police should be required to wear a video camera at all times. no exceptions. maybe even 2 cameras so they can't accidentally break one of them. the good cops won't care because they are innocent and the bad cops will be caught.
Posted by: rockstarame | Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 12:51 PM