LAPD Officer arrested for beating handcuffed teenager in a holding cell on video

**Terminator** · 12-09-06, 10:24 PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A videotape shows an officer assaulting a handcuffed teenager inside a police station holding cell, but the images won't be made public, the police chief said.

Sean Joseph Meade, 41, was arrested Thursday for investigation of assault under color of authority. He was released on $10,000 bail, and a court appearance was scheduled for Monday.

Police Chief William J. Bratton said the confrontation was part of an internal investigation, so the videotape won't be released publicly.

The department is still wrestling with fallout from two recent and very public videotapes that appear to show officers using excessive force against suspects. Both of those were taken by amateurs on the streets.

Bratton said Meade assaulted the youth after he was arrested early Tuesday for a curfew violation. The teenager was in a juvenile holding cell with his hands cuffed behind his back and did not physically provoke the attack, the chief said.

Bratton declined to provide details of what happened in the cell, but said no weapon was involved. The officer was apparently not aware of the camera, which had been set up to identify a vandal who had been damaging nearby office chairs.

"My concern was that the officer was engaged in an assault, which I felt was inappropriate," Bratton said Thursday.

The teen was examined at a hospital but had no apparent injuries and remained at Juvenile Hall while police tried to locate his guardians, Bratton said.

Meade, a 13-year veteran of the force, was immediately suspended. It was unclear whether he had obtained legal counsel, which often is handled by the police union.

Los Angeles Police Protective League President Bob Baker said the union would be consulting with the officer, but wasn't yet able to evaluate the facts of the case.

**Jackalope** · 12-09-06, 11:55 PM

How can there be an assault without injuries?

**TheOldRhino** · 12-10-06, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by Jackalope

How can there be an assault without injuries?

Here's the Georgia Title for Simple Assault

Here's the Georgia Title for Aggravated Assault

Without taking you through a lesson in criminal law- which I could- assault is generally the promise of violence and battery is the actual carrying out of violence. Of course this is GA law, not CA. So YMMV.

**Jackalope** · 12-10-06, 01:25 AM

Interesting. In Oregon, the main component of Assault is an injury. To threaten violence is Menacing, but the suspect has to have the means to carry out the threat at the time he makes it.

**121Traffic** · 12-10-06, 01:29 AM

Originally Posted by Jackalope

Interesting. In Oregon, the main component of Assault is an injury. To threaten violence is Menacing, but the suspect has to have the means to carry out the threat at the time he makes it.

Same here in Colorado, BUT the degree of injury required for third degree assault here is "bodily injury" which basically comes down to anything the victim perceives as "pain". That's why we ask DV victims constantly..."When he pushed you into the wall...was it hard enough to cause pain? Did it hurt?" The pain is the dividing line between harassment (which is essentially strikes, shoves, kicks, threats, or statements meant to intimidate, annoy, or alarm) and actual assault.

**armygrnt502** · 12-10-06, 05:22 AM

Same here in KY. We have 4 degrees of assualt, with 1st being serious injury or death all the way to 4th which is minor injury or to cause pain.

If its neither of those, its harrasment, which to us is only a violation, not a misdemeanor.

**HardNoseBull** · 12-10-06, 08:14 AM

i cannot beleive in this day and age these guys are forgetting big brother is watching damn near all the time. I find it interesting how down inthe states you have a different laws and statutes for the diffrent states. In Canada we have one criminal code, so where ever you are in the country, criminal laws are always the same, assault in BC has to have all the same elements as assault in Nova Scotia, that was just a example.