Property Is Robbery
1st April 2011, 19:08
When this man was in the hospital one of the attacking officers visited him and said “We didn’t know what to do because you’re a big Black guy and we didn’t know you were nice.”
http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/lbpd-victim-speaks-out.html
Liberation conducted this interview with Shannon Bell, the owner/operator of Bell Trucking Company, who was brutalized by the Long Beach Police Department in 2009 at his home in the Belmont Shore neighborhood.
Liberation: First, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Shannon Bell: My name is Shannon Bell and I’m 37 years old. I was born June 8, 1973, and I grew up in Wilmington, Calif., just a couple miles away from Long Beach. I’m an owner/operator who used to be contracted to do work hauling loads in and out of the Long Beach port. I have two kids; a 16-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter.
Liberation: What were your thoughts of the police when you were growing up?
SB: The earliest memory I have of the cops was them arresting my uncle. Growing up, before I had gotten the good job that I have now, I was involved in gangs and I remember seeing how crooked the police were because frequently they would rob people of their money or beat people in the street. When I changed my life around, I thought that I wouldn’t ever encounter any of that type of stuff anymore.
Liberation: How then did you feel about the police immediately before the incident, after you had become successful as a truck driver?
SB: My father-in-law was an LAPD sergeant. I embraced him personally and I had let go of my past. I was assured by my ex-wife that I was a business owner and the police were no longer out to get me. I felt good. I didn’t worry too much about the police.
Liberation: Have you ever had an incident with the Long Beach Police Department prior to the attack in January of 2009?
SB: Yes. Once I went to get some cans of corn and I was going back home when I was pulled over by an undercover. The cop acted as though I was a criminal immediately. He told me to get my ID out and I informed him that I was in a bucket seat and couldn’t reach my wallet and that I had to get out to give him the ID. The cop pulled me out of the car and told me to “Sit on the curb.”
I replied, “If I was a white guy would you be putting me on the curb?” Then the cop responded, “Do you want to go to jail?” Luckily, my neighbors had witnessed what was happening and notified my ex-wife who was only about a block away in our house. The cop ran my ID and started talking to me about my past, implying that I was a criminal. That is when my ex-wife walked up and explained that I lived around the corner, and the officer wrote the ticket after searching my car.
Liberation: Can you please tell us what happened on the day of the incident?
SB: It was January 4, 2009, and me and my now ex-wife were arguing loudly with each other. A next-door neighbor heard us yelling at one another and thought something more was happening so she called the police. The next thing I remember is a loud pounding on the door, and we both knew it was the police. When I opened the door, I opened it to a sea of police officers, several of whom already had their tasers drawn.
I was told to come out with my hands up, and I complied. I was told to get on the ground by one of the officers, and I asked, “What for?” Then an officer who was hidden behind my opened door stepped out and threw me down the porch steps onto my car, which was parked in the driveway. When I was against the car, I was told repeatedly that I was resisting after they shot me with a taser in the chest and began poking me with another prod-like taser.
They continued beating me as I fell forward down the front of the lawn into some garden planters and trees. They were screaming at me to put my hands behind my back as they tased me a couple more times but I couldn’t and I was pinned up against a tree and couldn’t roll over. Then they dragged me by the ankles into the street gutter and cuffed me. I asked, “Officer, why was I tased?”
The officer responded, “Shut up” and tased me again while in handcuffs in the gutter. My ex-wife caught this portion on tape with her cell phone. They arrested me for “obstructing justice” but never filed any charges. The officers came to the hospital and one of them told me, “We didn’t know what to do because you’re a big Black guy and we didn’t know you were nice.”
Liberation: Have you had any other problems with LBPD since the incident?
SB: Yes. I was harassed at one of my court appearances for a ticket by one of the officers who had participated in the jumping. I also got pulled over in north Long Beach on the way to a club with a friend who had just been released on parole. We were pulled over right in front of the club.
The same thing happened, I told the cop I couldn’t reach my ID and I had to get out and give it to them. They checked me and my friend’s records. I was told to “Sit on the curb” again but I refused because the ground was wet from it being a very rainy night and they cuffed me and threw me in the back. The officers then tore my car to pieces searching for nothing. The case was dropped when the cops refused to show up in court.
Liberation: What do you think about the LBPD now?
SB: I’d say the majority of LBPD officers are rotten to the bone. They are not good people. When I’m walking around downtown Long Beach and I see cops moving toward me, I leave. I would say I’m definitely avoiding the LBPD now.
Liberation: What would you say to other victims of police violence here in Long Beach or anywhere else for that matter?
SB: It’s important to not just accept it. Somebody has to stand up for it to change. This has been happening for a long time. I’ve lived in the area for nearly 20 years and have always heard about LBPD violence. I’ve heard about them tasing, shooting, beating unarmed people minding their own business just because they may have said something the officer didn’t like. I don’t understand why the City Council or the mayor aren’t doing anything about it. They must not understand how the police unleash force on our communities all the time.
Liberation: How do you feel to be a part of the ANSWER Coalition [Act Now to Stop War and End Racism] and Party for Socialism and Liberation’s city-wide movement to end police violence?
SB: I am honored to be working on the campaign. It feels great to be a part of it. When I was a kid and even when I was in the streets, I always followed what my grandmother told me: “Right is right and wrong is wrong.” I’ve paid for crimes I didn’t even commit in this injustice system. I’m hoping that LBPD will pay for their crimes. The community doesn’t deserve what they’re doing to us.
http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/lbpd-victim-speaks-out.html
Liberation conducted this interview with Shannon Bell, the owner/operator of Bell Trucking Company, who was brutalized by the Long Beach Police Department in 2009 at his home in the Belmont Shore neighborhood.
Liberation: First, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Shannon Bell: My name is Shannon Bell and I’m 37 years old. I was born June 8, 1973, and I grew up in Wilmington, Calif., just a couple miles away from Long Beach. I’m an owner/operator who used to be contracted to do work hauling loads in and out of the Long Beach port. I have two kids; a 16-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter.
Liberation: What were your thoughts of the police when you were growing up?
SB: The earliest memory I have of the cops was them arresting my uncle. Growing up, before I had gotten the good job that I have now, I was involved in gangs and I remember seeing how crooked the police were because frequently they would rob people of their money or beat people in the street. When I changed my life around, I thought that I wouldn’t ever encounter any of that type of stuff anymore.
Liberation: How then did you feel about the police immediately before the incident, after you had become successful as a truck driver?
SB: My father-in-law was an LAPD sergeant. I embraced him personally and I had let go of my past. I was assured by my ex-wife that I was a business owner and the police were no longer out to get me. I felt good. I didn’t worry too much about the police.
Liberation: Have you ever had an incident with the Long Beach Police Department prior to the attack in January of 2009?
SB: Yes. Once I went to get some cans of corn and I was going back home when I was pulled over by an undercover. The cop acted as though I was a criminal immediately. He told me to get my ID out and I informed him that I was in a bucket seat and couldn’t reach my wallet and that I had to get out to give him the ID. The cop pulled me out of the car and told me to “Sit on the curb.”
I replied, “If I was a white guy would you be putting me on the curb?” Then the cop responded, “Do you want to go to jail?” Luckily, my neighbors had witnessed what was happening and notified my ex-wife who was only about a block away in our house. The cop ran my ID and started talking to me about my past, implying that I was a criminal. That is when my ex-wife walked up and explained that I lived around the corner, and the officer wrote the ticket after searching my car.
Liberation: Can you please tell us what happened on the day of the incident?
SB: It was January 4, 2009, and me and my now ex-wife were arguing loudly with each other. A next-door neighbor heard us yelling at one another and thought something more was happening so she called the police. The next thing I remember is a loud pounding on the door, and we both knew it was the police. When I opened the door, I opened it to a sea of police officers, several of whom already had their tasers drawn.
I was told to come out with my hands up, and I complied. I was told to get on the ground by one of the officers, and I asked, “What for?” Then an officer who was hidden behind my opened door stepped out and threw me down the porch steps onto my car, which was parked in the driveway. When I was against the car, I was told repeatedly that I was resisting after they shot me with a taser in the chest and began poking me with another prod-like taser.
They continued beating me as I fell forward down the front of the lawn into some garden planters and trees. They were screaming at me to put my hands behind my back as they tased me a couple more times but I couldn’t and I was pinned up against a tree and couldn’t roll over. Then they dragged me by the ankles into the street gutter and cuffed me. I asked, “Officer, why was I tased?”
The officer responded, “Shut up” and tased me again while in handcuffs in the gutter. My ex-wife caught this portion on tape with her cell phone. They arrested me for “obstructing justice” but never filed any charges. The officers came to the hospital and one of them told me, “We didn’t know what to do because you’re a big Black guy and we didn’t know you were nice.”
Liberation: Have you had any other problems with LBPD since the incident?
SB: Yes. I was harassed at one of my court appearances for a ticket by one of the officers who had participated in the jumping. I also got pulled over in north Long Beach on the way to a club with a friend who had just been released on parole. We were pulled over right in front of the club.
The same thing happened, I told the cop I couldn’t reach my ID and I had to get out and give it to them. They checked me and my friend’s records. I was told to “Sit on the curb” again but I refused because the ground was wet from it being a very rainy night and they cuffed me and threw me in the back. The officers then tore my car to pieces searching for nothing. The case was dropped when the cops refused to show up in court.
Liberation: What do you think about the LBPD now?
SB: I’d say the majority of LBPD officers are rotten to the bone. They are not good people. When I’m walking around downtown Long Beach and I see cops moving toward me, I leave. I would say I’m definitely avoiding the LBPD now.
Liberation: What would you say to other victims of police violence here in Long Beach or anywhere else for that matter?
SB: It’s important to not just accept it. Somebody has to stand up for it to change. This has been happening for a long time. I’ve lived in the area for nearly 20 years and have always heard about LBPD violence. I’ve heard about them tasing, shooting, beating unarmed people minding their own business just because they may have said something the officer didn’t like. I don’t understand why the City Council or the mayor aren’t doing anything about it. They must not understand how the police unleash force on our communities all the time.
Liberation: How do you feel to be a part of the ANSWER Coalition [Act Now to Stop War and End Racism] and Party for Socialism and Liberation’s city-wide movement to end police violence?
SB: I am honored to be working on the campaign. It feels great to be a part of it. When I was a kid and even when I was in the streets, I always followed what my grandmother told me: “Right is right and wrong is wrong.” I’ve paid for crimes I didn’t even commit in this injustice system. I’m hoping that LBPD will pay for their crimes. The community doesn’t deserve what they’re doing to us.