Michael Heise | FilmingCops.com
PITTSBURGH, PA – This past Tuesday, two separate men were awarded large cash settlements for being victimized at the hands of PPD to the tune of over $100,000.
First up, Paul Parrish. After the cops cornered Paul’s vehicle, dash cam footage shows him with his hands up and out of the car’s window.
Cops then pull Paul from the car, pistol whip him, and then resume beating him after he is on the ground. He was just awarded $40,000 to settle an excessive force lawsuit that he had launched against the police.
Then we have Taylor Condacure. Taylor had walked into a bar with his fiance when security guards had told him to leave. He told them that he had done nothing wrong and wanted to know why he was asked to leave.
One of these security guards was police officer Dave Honick who was in uniform but working off duty detail for the bar. Condacure was then held from behind while Honick cold clocked him in the face, breaking 3 bones and requiring surgery.
This was the second time in three years that Honick had been accused of excessive force while working off duty.
Condacure was charged with aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass in 2011 but was unfortunately found not guilty. Condacure was just given a settlement of $75,000.
On top of that, you have the case of Thomas Doswell, who was accused by police of “rape” and other charges in 1986. Fast forward to 2005 and DNA evidence had conclusively proven that Doswell could not have possibly been the man to commit the rape. He was let out of prison and awarded $3.7 Million.
The damage had already been done to Doswell though.
All told almost $5 Million have been racked up over 28 cases and there’s no telling how many more injustices that have happened that were never heard in front of a court or were never reported on and in which restitution was never made.
Reforms such as leadership programs, and newer more rigorous standards and training have been implemented by Mayor Bill Peduto, but how effective they have been at curbing police brutality remains to be seen.
Even he admits that police brutality won’t end, stating “Will it be foolproof? No. There will always be a situation that will occur. Our goal is to never see the amount of cases we saw over the past seven years ever happen again.”
WPXI has a video news report you can see below: