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Police recruit who lost both legs in ‘barbaric hazing ritual’ sues Denver, paramedics and officers

DENVER (AP) — A police recruit who had to have both of his legs amputated after losing consciousness and repeatedly collapsing during fight training at Denver’s police academy is suing those who allegedly forced him to continue the “barbaric hazing ritual” after paramedics ignored warning signs.

Victor Moses, 29, alleges in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that aggressive officers knocked him down multiple times in the second round of “fight day” last year, with one of them shoving him off the mat and causing him to hit his head on the floor. He said he was pressured to continue, with officers picking him up and setting him back on his feet, before paramedics standing by were asked to check him out, the lawsuit said.

Moses told them he had the sickle cell trait, which puts him at an increased risk of medical complications from high-intensity exercise. He also said he had very low blood pressure and complained that his legs were cramping, according to the lawsuit. The symptoms are danger signs for people with his condition.

Nevertheless, paramedics cleared Moses to return to training, which the suit alleges was a decision made to support the police.

Guy_Fieris_Hair ,

Fuck it, I’ll say it… if you have a medical trait that makes it risky to do high intensity exercises, don’t take up a career that requires high intensity exercise. The law suit should be directed at the person that did his pre-employment physical and OK’d him to work. Firefighters get physicals and have physical agility tests, cops get physicals and have physical agility tests, as do paramedics (to an extent). The jobs require it in emergency situations so they shake you out in controlled situations. It is what it is. Don’t let your hatred of cops make you gloss over that fact. If they targeted him in any way it is a valid complaint and if their agility test isn’t certified they can get in trouble, but it exists for a reason. If he couldn’t hang, they should have removed him.

eestileib ,

Have you seen a cop? Their job does not require high intensity exercise.

Guy_Fieris_Hair ,

I would venture to say that a cop that can’t out fight a criminal is more likely to reach for his gun… but I have zero data to back that up, just common sense.

ryven ,
@ryven@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

The lawsuit claims paramedics cleared Moses to continue the training on Jan. 6, 2023 even though he was not able to stand or walk to the next round — wrestling. Instead, a trainer came to Moses and got on top of him. The recruit soon said he could not breathe, became unresponsive and was taken to the hospital, according to the lawsuit.

I have to assume this wasn’t actually attempted murder because they did take him to the hospital after he became unresponsive… but I can’t imagine any other reason to “wrestle” someone who can’t stand. Haven’t we seen over and over that this leads to suffocation and death?

Cypher ,

Person wants to join the bastards, is shocked to be abused by bastards.

Chakravanti ,

This is what you get for joining a gang.

Cadeillac ,
@Cadeillac@lemmy.world avatar

This is my first reaction, but it isn’t the right one, and it won’t fix anything. I’m not saying that all cops are not bastards. They fucking are. Does that mean a new recruit doesn’t deserve a second chance? That we should write him off entirely and not give him an oppurtunity to repent? Off with his fucking legs I guess.

I know someone (that I do not care for) that joined the force to ‘be one of the good ones!’ He is in IT now. I’m doing my best to believe he meant well, realized how in over his head he was, and got the fuck out. It isn’t easy, but we won’t solve this with ‘told you so’

dynamic_generals , (edited )

I don’t have much thought experience in this realm so I’m happy to be shown I’m wrong. I put all the blame on the paramedics who foolishly, probably, gave deference to non-medical folks who wouldn’t know better.

But on the surface I see a benefit to that being a rite of passage in becoming a cop. If I’m a cadet expecting to, in a couple of months, have a non-zero chance to encounter someone trying to kill me at, say, a domestic violence call, I’d want to know what such an encounter would be like before it happens outside a controlled environment. No?

*I am distinguishing this from the bullshit fake fear that gets Black Americans murdered by cops seemingly every day.

Edit: We’ll you guys, I wanted to learn the flaw in my thinking if there is one, else we don’t grow but division does.

Sparhawk87 ,

I’m an electrician and although there’s a risk I may get an electric shock at work my training did not include being electrocuted because that’s just stupid. This hazing is pretty much the same.

dynamic_generals , (edited )

Hi, thanks for that. Im not an electrician but I work for the IBEW! In the given example, electricians in my state have years of training and on the job experience*. To a non-electrician like me, my thinking is that they can control their environment- cut off power, and have an idea of what they’re going into at a given time. You don’t know what is behind the door at a domestic violence call.

ETA: *before earning a license. And FWIW, I’m not the one downvote; I was the second upvote. People be out hear voting their opinions, not discussions.

scottywh ,

Everyone has a “non-zero chance” of encountering someone trying to kill them literally all the time.

This is simply gang initiation.

artichokecustard ,

Houston Tipping is an easy to remember name, what happened to this guy here, was not an isolated incident

flerp , (edited )

Train them for longer. Actually train them to fight. There are ways to bring someone down safely and if you know them you are less likely to hurt the person you are trying to subdue as well as yourself. Put them in a ring once they know how to fight and have them fight each other in a safe and sanctioned way. Once they graduate that level, have them spar against two partners to see what it’s like to be outnumbered. Train them to be honourable in combat ie. defensive and not out to hurt people as a priority.

And of course train them that civilians are not their enemies.

None of this requires barbaric hazing.

Oh and just as a matter of note: people don’t learn skills through chaos. You learn through repetition and once you have burned the action into your muscle memory through hours and hours and hours of practice, only then do you put your skills into chaos. Nobody gets into the ring in combat sports off the street. They practice until they can do what they need to do without thinking and only then will they be able to hopefully maintain the discipline to take the right actions under stress and chaos.

floofloof , (edited )

Minor injuries are common and occasionally recruits die

Just ordinary “new job” stuff then. Like any other employer.

The legal action alleges the practice is an unnecessarily violent rite of passage that recruits have to endure to be accepted into the police “fraternity.” It notes that other recruits suffered injuries before Moses started his drills, including one person whose nose was broken.

The lawsuit also claims that training teaches recruits that excessive force is “officially tolerated, and indeed culturally expected.”

Moses’ lawyers, John Holland and Darold Killmer, say that mindset has nurtured a violent police force and led to lawsuits costing Denver millions of dollars.

“Fight Day both encourages Denver police to engage in brutality and to be indifferent to the injuries they inflict,” Holland said.

A culture of violence, bullying, and not caring when they hurt or kill people? Surely not. What an utterly absurd accusation to level against the police.

ShepherdPie ,

Sure sounds a lot like a gang initiation too.

snausagesinablanket ,
@snausagesinablanket@lemmy.world avatar

That’s because it is.

abracaDavid ,

Biggest gang in America.

dogsnest ,
@dogsnest@lemmy.world avatar

B-B-But “Defund the Police” = Bad!!!

– weird

n2burns ,

Minor injuries are common and occasionally recruits die

Even worse, this quote comes from an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina. Also, the start of the quote states:

The type of training described in the lawsuit is common in the United States and helps prepare recruits for scenarios they could face on patrol [emphasis added]

Maybe I’m being misreading, but I read this as the professor is condoning this type of training. This type of training seems to support the whole “Warrior Ethos” and I know when I left the Canadian Army almost a decade ago, they were trying to eliminate this type of training as higher ups recognized how toxic it is.

elbucho ,
@elbucho@lemmy.world avatar

For a group that wants to distance itself from gangs, it sure doesn’t help their case when they jump in new recruits.

pearsaltchocolatebar ,

When have they wanted to distance themselves from gangs?

elbucho ,
@elbucho@lemmy.world avatar

I mean, every piece of copaganda is like: “look, see? We’re just your friendly, neighborhood guys! We like playing basketball with black kids! Isn’t that cool??”

I don’t know that they specifically had a campaign that said: “we’re not a gang”, but that’s kind of the subtext of all of the PR they do.

TheReturnOfPEB ,

As some point the USA needs to have a talk about police and their steroid usage.

Because it is a huge drug problem that the DEA refuses to act on for obvious reasons.

BlackLaZoR ,
@BlackLaZoR@kbin.run avatar

Minor injuries are common and occasionally recruits die, often because of an underlying medical condition.

What. The. Fuck.

Moses told them he had the sickle cell trait

How was he even cleared for police training in the first place? This is a serious medical condition.

This sounds like an entire chain of lethal fuckery going on

FoxyFerengi ,

I knew people in the military who had sickle cell. It was a really long time ago, but I can’t remember anyone being processed out because of it

Leate_Wonceslace ,
@Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Something something leopards and faces.

Seriously fucked, though.

morphballganon ,

Of course he’s black.

aodhsishaj ,

The man has Sickle Cell Anemia, if those medics were aware of that and didn’t pull him out the first time he complained of cramping, they’re just as shitty as the abusive aggressors.

No one should EVER be hazed like this, but I would absolutely sue any person who was aware of this practice if I were him. I cannot imagine the pain he felt or his loss he’s currently feeling. Fucking egregious. Throw those cops and medics under the courthouse.

jonne ,

What a coincidence.

magnetosphere , (edited )
@magnetosphere@fedia.io avatar

I thought “barbaric hazing ritual” might be a little clickbaity, but then I read the story. No, it’s completely accurate. Damn.

NegativeInf ,

If this is what they do to their own, imagine what they want to do to you.

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