Cop Caught On Camera Beating Special Education Student Marshawn Pitts (WATCH)

A south suburban Chicago police officer was caught on a security camera beating up a high school special education student, CBS2 reports.

Marshawn Pitts, 15, was walking down his school hallway when he says a Dolton, Ill. police officer went from berating him for his untucked shirt to slamming him to the ground and beating him.

"The officer was in his face because he didn't have his shirt tucked in," Pitts' attorney told CBS 2's Davis Savini. "That's the officer put in that school to protect these kids, and instead of doing that, this officer is literally assaulting this kid."

Neither school nor Dolton officials responded to CBS 2 about the story.

Watch video of the beating:

Comments

[RimlandFanWA]

this is not an isolated event, & it's not just cops beating & abusing our kids. Teachers & aides who get frustrated at our kids with autism- are slapping, beating, screaming, intimidating, and otherwise harming and humiliating our children. My son was terrorized in 2nd/3rd grade- to the point he would cry and plead to not go to school. He now has panic attacks when we get anywhere near his old school. When we moved, ( to get the he!! out of there) his new school assisgned a teaching assistant who SLAPPED him because he couldn't read the assignment as she escalated and demanded,. His "crime" was doing avoidance behaviors- (to get out of the assignment) - he was waving hands, talking outloud, etc- because he wasn't able to explain to the aide that he could not see the letters on the page- and she would not give him a break. He couldn't read the assignment because of a very well documented vision issue. He is not a violent child - never bites, harms, or runs away- and he's not a child who is harmful to staff. We are talking about a NICE boy with learning disabilities, easy to get along with, smiley, verbal kid who is adored by everyone- including his current teaching staff.
IMHO, Parents must demand access to school classrooms & question when school s try to limit visits. We need surveillance in all self contained classrooms, group homes, etc. If surveilance tapes were available, there would

[Tartaros]

That kid's parents should be able to beat that cop with a baseball bat; can't trust a cop!

[Lakeview Greg]

The Dolton cop in question is now in jail for rape in a different case. He also shot some poor idiot 24 times in "self defense." This guy never should have been given a badge.

"The Dolton cop recently exposed for assaulting a special needs student on videotape has a troubled past -- including killing a man in a disputed case of self-defense -- and also happens to be in jail on unaffiliated rape charges.

Christopher Lloyd, 38, was identified Thursday by his father Charles Lloyd and Dolton Mayor Ronnie Lewis as the officer who was recorded by a school security camera scuffling with 15-year-old, 140-pound Marshawn Pitts at the Academy for Learning in Dolton, according to the Chicago Tribune."

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/dolton-cop-rape-63850887.html

[proudloudlib]

I'm only going to say one thing. A parent should be able to send their special education student to school without worrying that they will be beat down by someone who is supposed to protect them. End of story.

[specialneedseducator]

This is the way it is supposed to be. No matter what that child said, this is violence and child abuse. A special needs student has the right to be safe and secure in their environment. A shirt not tucked in is not that big of a deal. Some counties and schools are cutting it a little too close.

[jennylynn]

What is the cops story?

[westreal]

The kid probably deserved it. First off he should have had his shirt tucked when he walked in the school. Secondly he probably said something smart alacky to the cop. I was on the train yesterday and these bunch of kids were raising all heck and when a CTA worker confronted them about their mouths and rudeness of the other riders they called him a "rent-a-cop" and told him to "F-off". In my mind I was waiting for the CTA guy to deck one of them because they would have deserved it.

[grata2ude]

So an untucked shirt warrants a broken nose and a beating. I question your parenting skills.

[proudloudlib]

I question his humanity.

[jennylynn]

I saw something similar at the mall here in DC.

[emncaity]

You, sir, have no clue what a cop's job really is. You don't "deck" a kid for mouthing off, no matter how punkish or outrageous he gets. If he is legitimately disturbing the peace, you can arrest him. If he's refusing a legitimate directive that endangers or disturbs the public safety in some way, you can arrest him. But if he's merely saying things to you that are offensive and obscene, you can neither arrest him nor get violent with him. And if you do arrest him for disturbance, you have to use the minimum amount of force necessary for the arrest, no matter what he's saying to you or how offensive he gets. It's almost inhuman how objective a cop is supposed to be in this sort of situation, but that's the job.

If this videotape shows what it appears to show--if there was no credible and immediate threat of a weapon from the kid that we can't hear--there is almost certainly nothing that would justify what this officer did, no matter how mouthy or offensive the kid might have been getting.

[westreal]

That's why these kids are running wild. The parents don't discipline them. The schools are forbidden from disciplining them. The people who can discipline them, the cops, get chastised by people like you for giving them a serious life lesson. Without getting too detailed I have dealt with similar kids for a number of years. The problem is not the system, but the fact that the kids know they can game the system and get away with it. They can act like little terr_ors and not expect any type of serious repercussion until it's too late. Usually, when they have their first encounter with a holding cell or judge. And by then it's just way to late to talk about discipline.

[proudloudlib]

So, Freedom of Speech is only for conservatives all jacked up about our President and socialism? Being a smart aleck to a police officer is not against the law, despite what the police would have you believe. And violations of dress code are hardly capital offenses.

[specialneedseducator]

Are you for real? It may be a school rule to have shirts tucked, and I understand why some schools have that policy, but for crying out loud! The child has an LD. Or do I have to explain that to you too. Just because some kids on a train were rude to you, you're going to judge them all. Even if he did open his "smart alacky" mouth as you say, this is outright abuse. If you can't see this, you need to get your glasses bud. That child has every right to forget to tuck his freaking shirt in, and has evey right to be safe and secure in his school. Hope you don't educate....ANYONE.

[westreal]

Dude, the kid has no respect for authority. See his blowing off of the cop in the video? His actions in the video prior to the take down speaks volumes. Does LDs come with disrespecting authority?

[dadw5boys]

Watch the other video's and see how the Police State running your country.

[dadw5boys]

What you mean you do not like this POLICE STATE that Bush and the Trilaterial Comission brought you ????

THEN GET UP AND STOP IT !!!!!!!!!!
DEMAND THE POLICE STATE ENDS RECLAIM THE 4TH ADMENDMENT !

Obama can not fight the Police State all by himself !!!!!
STAND UP AND GET TO WASHINGTON DEMAND A CHANGE !!!!!!!!

[AndyWright68]

Ever since the Rodney King beating was caught on video there has been a steady increase in police brutality. Now you can't even disagree with a cop without being verbally abused and/or tasered or worse. Then you get charged with disorderly conduct and/or resisting arrest. Then after the charges are dropped nothing is ever done to the cops who violated your rights. Cops are above the law.

Nowadays the cops don't discriminate. They will abuse anyone today. From 8 to 80 years old and any race are equally brutalized. There are even reports of children as young as 6 years old being tazered and arrested. Police brutality is a national pandemic and something has to be done about it.

(WATCH) http://www.youtube.com/user/CopsOutofControl

[emncaity]

What's your evidence that there's been "a steady increase in police brutality" to the point that it's a "pandemic," rather than an increase in the visibility of it?

[AndyWright68]

So the fact that it is all around us is not evidence?

Over 3,000,000 hits on Google search for police brutality?

Over 30,000 videos of police brutality on the internet?

Thousands of people being arrested for resisting arrest and no other charges?

This article? http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts224.html

These horrific videos? http://www.youtube.com/user/CopsOutofControl

Over flowing prisons?

USA being the #1 prison state in the world?

The cops barking orders instead of asking questions?

The militarization of cops?

80 year olds, mothers in front of their children and even 6 year olds being t.o.r.t.u.r.e.d with tasers for not following orders?

WAKE UP MAN! We live in a police state. Police brutality is a PANDEMIC!

[AnotherMcIntosh]

'roid rage?

Is this cop on any type of steroids?

Does his police department encourage or tolerate any type of steroid usage?

[godzthor1]

I hope everyone shows up at that school with their shirts untucked. For the rest of the year.

[PumpkinPieEqualsAwesome]

Truly unbelievable.

[Bartolo27]

I can't believe all these Liberal anti Police comments on here. The rule breaking child HAD HIS SHIRT UN-TUCKED FOR GOD SAKES.
Do I have to say it again UNTUCKED!

[emncaity]

So, assuming sarcasm, you're in favor of "F@# tha police" and "NWA had it right" and "target the police"?

[Bartolo27]

Huh? Whaaaz that u say? Sarcasm yes sir, you betcha.

Then You say -

"you're in favor of "F@# tha police" and "NWA had it right" and "target the police"?

is this your attempt to present an automatic polar opposite response intentionally framed in the sharpest dichotomy to insinuate extreme positional difference on my part?

Well then to you sir my answer would be "Well good golly gosh darn it. No.

GOOD DAY SIR!

[valhalladad]

If we allow every child in this country to run around with their shirts UNTUCKED the terrorists win. Should we vote now on what color the threat level should be raised to?

[tbone99]

Twenty deaths by these kind of take downs ? And the school never even reported it..?
I hope this kid gets this this cop put in jail and inherits every asset he and the school district has.

[IDIOTA]

The face-down take down hold seems frightening.