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Examining The Arrest And Brutalization Of U.S. Military Veteran Richard J. O'Donnell Does A Culture Of Excessive Force Exist Within The Daytona Beach PD? |
September 5, 2023 |
AS A JOURNALISTIC EDITORIAL,
NO LEGAL OPINION, OR AUTHORITY, SHOULD BE INFERRED
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Is There A Blood Lust Culture Within The K-9 Handlers Ranks? |
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Recently, several local media organizations published articles questioning whether the Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) used excessive force during their April 8, 2023 arrest of military veteran Richard J. O'Donnell. (see two below linked media examples)
August 24, 2023 Daytona Beach News Journal K-9 officer who released dog, beat man with racket, did not violate policy, review says August 24, 2023 ClickOrlando.Com Daytona Beach officer uses tennis racket against suspect beating dog The media's interest was motivated by officer body worn camera (BWC) videos of the O'Donnell arrest posted to social media sites. (videos have been incorporated into this article - see right of page -->>). These two BWC videos show the visual view points of the first two officers on scene - Officer Joshua Martin - the K-9 handler, and Officer Aurian Fletcher - the author of the arrest report. Court records indicate that Mr. O'Donnell is a U.S. military veteran. In addition - Mr. O'Donnell's past arrest history involving public nudity and erratic behavior seems to suggest that he suffers from some type of illness or disability. (vulnerable person?) It is of significance - that prior to engaging O'Donnell with the K-9 - Officer Fletcher can be heard radioing in that they are dealing with "O'Donnell". Obviously - due to O'Donnell's numerous arrests - on similar types of charges - he was well known to many members of the DBPD. This knowledge most certainly included his vulnerability status. In fact - within the BWC videos - such terms as "retarded" and "signal 20" - police code to describe mentally ill people are used by officers to describe O'Donnell. In apparent response to the media's interest regarding the level of force used on O'Donnell - DBPD posted a Facebook post (see right of page -->>) whereas they presented their "fairy tale" explanation - basically "doubling down" on their justification for the force used on O'Donnell - as they had earlier provided within the "Use of Force" investigative report (click here to review - or see below - right of page) . |
ARREST VIDEO AS PROVIDED BY THE DBPD
Taken From Officer Martin's BWC Many Thanks To James Madison Audits in securing these videos ARREST VIDEO AS PROVIDED BY THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE Taken From Officer Fletcher's BWC  |
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Incorporated within DBPD's Facebook post is their video collage (short snippets of video - strung together in no particular order) that this publication opines presents a misleading account of what actually transpired.
According to O'Donnell's arrest report - coupled with DBPD's Use Of Force investigative report - AND finally DBPD's recent Facebook post - DBPD Officer Joshua Martin struck O'Donnell several times about his face and head with a tennis racket - in response to O'Donnell allegedly attempting to beat a police K-9 with the same tennis racket - while simultaneously attempting to choke the K-9 out. (click above web links) In response - this publication (VolusiaExposed.Com) shall present our review of the BWC videos. Our initial observations appear to support that Officer Martin verbally commanded his K-9 to attack (bite) a downed and unarmed suspect - while simultaneously beating the suspect on or about his head with a tennis racket. Both actions - in apparent violations of DBPD's use of force policies. Did The BWC Video Memorialize The Police Brutalization Of O'Donnell? This publication opted to take a "deeper dive" into those BWC videos. We explored whether DBPD Officer Joshua Martin - was in direct violation of DBPD policy 1306.37 - which states "no K-9 handler will induce a dog bite to occur unless it is deemed necessary to ensure the safety of the handler or another officer". Click Here To Read Entire Policy 
Silence Like A Cancer Grows FULL DISCLOSURE: The DBPD policies presented within this article are dated by several years. On August 23, 2023 - while developing this article - we did our due diligence and emailed DBPD Police Chief Jakari Young requesting copies of any updated versions of these policies. As of the posting of this article - no response has been received from the DBPD. |
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This publication argues that a full review of the BWC videos (see ABOVE right of page) - ran in slow motion - and in a linear "moment by moment" manner - will show that O'Donnell was down on the ground - in a semi-fetal position - holding the tennis racket at arm's length in the direction of the K-9 - thereby successfully keeping the K-9 at bay - and from grabbing a hold on to his person. From our review of the video - O'Donnell was not kicking or choking the K-9 * - nor was he attempting to strike the K-9 with the tennis racket - as has been alleged by DBPD.
* FULL DISCLOSURE: O'Donnell did attempt to kick the K-9 once - immediately after Officer Martin took the tennis racket from him - AND immediately verbally commanded the K-9 to attack O'Donnell (more on this shortly). We opine that O'Donnell never attempt to strike the K-9 with the tennis racket - nor was he choking the dog. From our review - Officer Martin then approaches O'Donnell - Martin removes the tennis racket from O'Donnell's hand - as Martin commands the K-9 to "packen" (bite) O'Donnell. The K-9 engages in a firm bite to one of O'Donnell's upper thighs - while Officer Martin immediately starts beating O'Donnell's face and head with the tennis racket. We encourage our readers to watch AND to carefully listen to the above linked BWC videos. Pay close attention from when Officer Martin releases the K-9 - until after he pulls the K-9 off of O'Donnell. This publication "opines" that Officer Martin "induced" (in violation of DBPD policy) the K-9 to bite O'Donnell by issuing the bite command "packen" several times - to include after O'Donnell was down on the ground - AND AFTER Martin had taken the tennis racket from O'Donnell. In our research for this article - we located - and have posted (see right of page -->>) a list of K-9 commands based on which country the K-9 was trained in. |
Screenshot - O'Donnell On Ground Keeping K9 At Bay Unlike What Is Alleged Within The Arrest Report (see below linked copy)- O'Donnell Was NOT Swinging The Tennis Racket At The K9 - Rather O'Donnell Was Keeping The Racket Between Himself And The K9. ONLY Officer Martin Can Be Observed Forcibly Swinging The Racket - With Impacts To O'Donnell's Head - In Apparent Violation Of DBPD's Use Of Force Policies (see above & below linked policies). 
K-9 Command's Click Here To Read Entire List Of Commands 
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"Packen" is the "bite" command for K-9s trained in Germany (see directly above).
We invite our readers to review the BWC videos - and to determine for themselves - whether the K-9 biting was "necessary to ensure the safety of the handler or another officer" (per DBPD policy) - after O'Donnell was down on the ground AND disarmed? We submit for your review and consideration - our BWC video observations - that immediately after Officer Martin disarmed O'Donnell - Martin re-issues the "packen" bite command and immediately starts to beat O'Donnell about his head and face with the tennis racket. We opine that with O'Donnell down in the fetal position - and now disarmed - Officer Martin should have never re-issued the "packen" (bite)" command to the K-9. Rather - Officer Martin should have secured the K-9 on a leash - allowing other on scene officers to secure O'Donnell in handcuffs. From our perspective the bite command was an excessive use of force against the person of Mr. O'Donnell - causing him to suffer significant injuries. Regarding the deployment of the K-9 - while we can clearly hear Officer Martin giving the "packen" (bite) command several times - we fail to hear the "Aus" (let go) command as Martin is pulling the K-9 away from O'Donnell - with the dog still having a firm bite on O'Donnell's inner thigh. We believe instead of issuing the "Aus" (let go) command - Officer Martin opted to praise the dog - listen closely - we suggest you watch both BWC videos (Officer Martin's & Officer Aurian Fletcher). Per DBPD Policy - Was Deadly Force Authorized? This publication further explored whether Officer Martin was also in direct violation of DBPD policy 1006.4 regarding the application of deadly force and impact weapons. Click Here To Read Entire Policy 
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According to DBPD's policies - there are two important facts to know about officers employing "deadly force".
First, deadly force should only be used "as a last resort". Second, the use of any "impact weapon" on the head and facial area of a suspect - is by DBPD policy definition - deadly force. Clearly - Officer Martin's use of the tennis racket as an impact weapon against O'Donnell's head and face - equates to the application of deadly force. According to DBPD (see incorporated documents) the force used on Mr. O'Donnell was within reasonable limits in order to save a K-9 allegedly being kicked and choked out. In our OPINION the force used against Mr. O'Donnell was "way over the top" excessive force - to include numerous taser deployments (not discussed in this article - but are viewable via the BWC videos) From our vantage point - the officers, nor the K-9 were in immediate danger. Officer Martin could have issued the "Aus" (let go) command and the K-9 would have disengaged. Here is what we suspect - as stated earlier - both Officer Martin and Fletcher knew they were dealing with "O'Donnell". O'Donnell being that vulnerable person we described earlier - we "suspect" that the officers took advantage of his vulnerability - thinking that they could have some "blood sport" at Mr. O'Donnell's expense - and no one of any significance - to include their own police administration would "give a rat's ass" about it. Sadly - in the end - they will probably be proven right. Unlike the DBPD - we have provided for your review - the documents - and the complete videos - as released by both the DBPD and the local State Attorney's Office (SAO). We invite each and everyone of you - our readers - to review it all - and come to your own conclusions. Mr. O'Donnell's case is pending in the Court. He is represented by the local public defender's office. Since we were unable to cover everything in this article - due to article length restrictions - we ask that you look for additional postings - involving such matters as taser deployments - delayed medical treatment - and O'Donnell's fluid Court docket. Stand by to stand by - there is surely more to come of this......until then - we welcome you to read on - into our EXTENDED article regarding the application of Force by the police. |
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Police Officer Safety & The Application Of Force There exist a sacred trust between America's citizenry and their law enforcement agencies. This trust was founded as the ink was still drying on the U.S. Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) . Americans granted their police forces - in general - the discretionary authority and over-sight regarding the application of force, including deadly force. Given, the rapidly developing nature of most law enforcement incidents - this rather broad policing authority appears to be both appropriate - and frankly necessary - in order, that our law enforcement officers can keep themselves safe from harm, while they are protecting our lives and property. Since the ratification of the U.S. Constitution (March 4, 1789) - American police officers have been required to swear an allegiance to "defend and protect" the Constitutional rights of individuals from enemies "both foreign and domestic" - even if those enemies are within their own police force. Long before the existence of the term - "the thin blue line" - honorable police officers realized that their true allegiance was to the U.S. Constitution and the American citizenry - and NOT to infiltrated elements within their police force, more interested in espousing the beliefs of a failed German dictator, than honoring American principles. May 13, 2021 ColumbusMonthly.Com THE THIN BLUE LINE PROBLEM The controversial version of the U.S. flag has been criticized as a symbol of white supremacy HOWEVER this long standing covenant between the citizenry and the police can NOT continue to go unchallenged when rogue police officers use subterfuge as a mask - to hide behind false claims of "officer safety" - to openly justify the brutalization of criminal defendants. These blood lust seeking officers - AND any police administrators that will provide them "cover" must be quickly identified. Once identified - these rogue elements must be forever removed from law enforcement. Failure to identify - and to remove - these fraudulent peacekeepers from our police forces will eventually erode the over-all veracity of the police - and incite citizenry backlashes. The above is not mere prophesying - rather, history has already taught us this lesson - several times over. Not An Uncommon Problem Within Law Enforcement In the United States - excessive use of force by the police has reached "pandemic" levels - then again - perhaps it has always been an open and untreated wound on the body politic of our criminal justice system. After-all the Watts riots of the 1960's was inspired by an alleged excessive use of police force. Social tensions between the American public and the police continued having their "boil overs" into the 1970's and 1980's. In 1992 - as America was preparing to enter the twenty-first century - these social tensions between the police and the citizenry exploded into what became known as the L.A. Riots. The L.A. Riots - sometimes referred to as the "Rodney King Riots" - experienced it's "cocked and loaded" moment when in March 1991 - several L.A. police officers were video recorded brutalizing Rodney King - a black motorist. Similar to DBPD Police Chief Jakari Young - L.A. Police Chief Daryl Gates also initially chose to ignore concerns regarding his officers' questionable applications of force. An additional defining moment came - when California officials decided to criminally prosecute those police officers that had brutalized Mr. King. The "flash point" event that kicked off the six day long the L.A. Riots was delivered within the State Court acquittals of those police officers. "Within hours of the acquittals, the 1992 Los Angeles riots began, lasting six days. African-Americans were outraged by the verdicts and began rioting in the streets along with the Latino communities. By the time law enforcement, the California Army National Guard, the United States Army, and the United States Marine Corps restored order, the riots had resulted in 63 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damage to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses. Smaller riots occurred in other U.S. cities such as San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle, and as far east as Atlanta and New York City. A civil disturbance occurred on Yonge Street in Toronto, Canada when Canadians gathered to protest the acquittal in Los Angeles as well as a local police killing of a Black man in Toronto two days prior" (quoted from Wikipedia posting - click here). Our Founding Fathers sparked a revolution against England's King George III when his soldiers shot eleven (11) - killing five (5) citizens in colonial Boston - in an event remembered as the Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770). Our Founders came to the realization - that without justice - there could be no peace. On April 19, 1775 - the first shots of the American Revolution rang out. There would be no peace for over eight years. Modern day Americans seem to have even less of a tolerance for excessive force by policing authorities. Today - only one citizen's brutalization under the boots, bullets, or knees of rogue police officers is more than enough to spark a revolution in the streets. DBPD appears to be experiencing a problem operating within the mandates of the U.S. Constitution - even with supervisory over-sight, they seem to be having a rash of excessive use of force complaints - and now apparently a "false arrest" allegation. Please review the below video for additional details. The officer highlighted within the below video (Kevin Allen) - has a rather interesting history regarding "excessive use of force" click here to review We Recommend Reviewing And Subscribing To Their YouTube Channel June 2023 Daytona Beach Police Officers Violates Citizen's Second And Fourth Amendment Rights: False Arrest - Lies About A Man Reaching For A Gun & Making Retaliatory Claims To DCF. SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 NewsDaytonaBeach.Com DBPD Police Office (Kevin Allen) Suspended For Excessive Use Of Force In 1991 - the police brutality delivered on to Mr. King's person was captured by a bulky VHS video recorder. Thanks to the 2007 launch of smart phone technology - by the summer of 2020 - Ms. Darnella Frazier a seventeen (17) year-old school girl was able to video record Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin's murder of George Floyd - with her hand-held cellphone camera. Ms. Frazier's cellphone camera exposed much more than just the murder of Mr. Floyd - it kicked the corruption doors open - exposing the on-going cover-ups within the Minneapolis PD (MPD) - hiding the misconduct of several MPD police officers - including Officer Chauvin. JUNE 16, 2023 CBSNEWS.Com DOJ report finds Minneapolis police use "dangerous" excessive force and discriminatory conduct In addition to Floyd's murder - Chauvin pleaded guilty to violating a 14-year-old boy's civil rights in 2017 (unreasonable force). April 20, 2021 NYTIMES.Com Teenager’s video shaped the Chauvin trial Immediately after Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd - Chauvin initially received the support of the Minneapolis Police Department's administration regarding his killing of Mr. Floyd. APRIL 21, 2021 CNN.Com How Minneapolis Police first described the murder of George Floyd, and what we know now Justice Brings Peace Yes - passing counterfeit currency is a crime - but a law abiding and just society - can not allow a police officer to place his knee on the alleged handcuffed counterfeiter's neck and slowly (nearly ten minutes) drain the life out of him. Nor can that same society allow a police agency to cover-up a murdering officer's crime. Rest Easy & In Peace - George Floyd. Maybe - the Daytona Beach Police Department will only change their ways - in similar fashion as the Minneapolis Police Department was encouraged to change their ways - with a U.S. Department Of Justice review ! December 13, 2020 Justice.Gov How To File A Police Misconduct Complaint With The DOJ Addressing Police Misconduct Laws Enforced By The Department Of Justice Chief Young - you keep those BWC operating ..... Daytona Beach residents - always ensure your cell phones are charged and ready to go.....stand by to stand by ...there is surely more to come of this....... The River Of Dreams ~ Billy Joel Drop us a line to let us know what you think.  EMAIL US |