Hero Iraq vet tossed from wheelchair and attacked by cops

[ECH1969]

A nationally acclaimed Marine paralyzed in the Iraq War was tossed from his wheelchair and an undercover cop knocked out cold with a broken jaw during a mad melee early yesterday morning at a Revere Beach bar. “I said, ‘I’m a Marine. What are you doing?’ ” James Crosby, 21, told the Herald he pleaded for his life as he was allegedly being hoisted off the ground by his windbreaker and slammed back down by Revere police officers. “They said, ‘If you’re a Marine then you know how to shut the (expletive) up.’ ”

Brennan said that’s when he tried to intervene on Chambers’ behalf and found himself staring down the barrel of one cop’s gun. “He pointed the gun right in my face and said, ‘Get the (expletive) on the ground! ” Brennan, who was not injured, recalled. “They were yelling to each other, ‘I’m going to put a bullet in one of their heads!’ They were crazy. ”

LeBlanc, according to Crosby and Brennan, was handcuffed, grabbed by the ears and repeatedly slammed face first into a brick wall. LeBlanc suffered a bruised and swollen left eye socket.

Crosby said when he tried to help LeBlanc, a cop punched him in the face and sent him flying onto the pavement.


http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=136379&format=&page=1

[rawtribe]

1. And now he knows what he

was fighting for. Welcome to American freedom.

[Mythsaje]

2. Always remember...

cops are the "good" guys.

<sigh>

Until something is done about the militarization of the police, this is only going to get worse.

[Breeze54]

3. That's Revere for ya!

Saturday Night at the Fights!

Crosby said when he tried to help LeBlanc, a cop punched him in the face
and sent him flying onto the pavement.
“Nobody punched James Crosby,” Jerry Goodwin said.
“He grabbed me by the arm and was yanking and pulling and yes, his wheelchair tipped over.
The kid’s a war hero. We respect that. But he was fighting and resisting and out of control.”

Sounds like a crazy night! Guess it'll all play out in court....

[mark11727]

4. Important Safety Tip for all you undercover guys...

...when you go into a bar, leave your weapons 'n' tempers OUTSIDE.

And to bar patrons everywhere, PLEASE don't give the bouncer any shit, 'cause you never know who's got his back.

[Jazz2006]

5. I'm not one to leap to the defence of the police...

(ever) and I would not be at all surprised if the police officers are lying about how the events unfolded but the story of Crosby and friends appears just as implausible.

"LeBlanc, according to Crosby and Brennan, was handcuffed, grabbed by the ears and repeatedly slammed face first into a brick wall. LeBlanc suffered a bruised and swollen left eye socket."

If he'd been repeatedly slammed face first into a brick wall, I can't imagine how he'd have only the black eye shown in that photo a day later.

And, to his credit, Crosby admits that he thought that his buddy (who attacked the first cop) had killed the man.

I can see how the police officer's friends might have reacted strongly to that.

I rarely comment on threads like this because I have a very strong aversion to cases being tried in the media and I think they should be tried in court instead, so that's all I'll likely say about this one, too.