'Don't Say a Fuckin Word or You're Going to the Hospital': Corrupt White KC Cops Assault Handcuffed Latino Man

Starts at 5:30. From [HERE] Last October, white cops in Kansas City, Missouri arrested Manuel Palacio and in the process these public servants terrorized, threatened and assaulted him. The incident was captured on dash-cam video.

In the footage, KCPD officers Shannon Hansen and Jacob Harris pull up onto an Independence Avenue sidewalk and nudge Palacio with the front bumper of their squad car. (The cops claimed Palacio matched the description of a suspect in a nearby armed robbery. However, they did not explain how he matched the description. In the video he is walking with a black hoodie over his head.) The white officers jump out of the cruiser and scream at Palacio to get on the ground. He immediately complies, raising his hands in the air as he crouches onto the concrete. Hansen then punches Palacio repeatedly in the rib cage while Palacio is being cuffed. (In the video above, this starts at the 5:30 mark.)

The cops begin immediately searching through his pants pockets. Finding that Palacio has the stolen credit card, Hansen points to the man whom the credit card allegedly belongs to (who is by then present at the scene) and says, to Palacio, “You’re not only gonna get an ass-whuppin’ from us — you’re gonna get an ass-whuppin’ from him.” Hansen then says: “I’m giving him your address and your mom’s fuckin’ address and everybody’s address that you know, and I hope his family comes over and takes a fuckin’ ball bat to your head, motherfucker.” 

Harris later chimes in: “You don’t say another fuckin’ word. You sit there and you don’t open your mouth. You understand? Otherwise, you’re going to the hospital.” 

At no point during the arrest does Palacio resist.  Palacio subsequently filed a lawsuit against the KCPD, alleging that the officers had used excessive force. Last month, the department settled the case for $300,000. 

But another lawsuit, settled by the KCPD last week and reported here for the first time, reveals that the Palacio arrest wasn’t the first time that morning when officers Hansen and Harris had behaved violently toward a suspect. 

A mere hour before, the officers had pulled over Michael Simmons and a female passenger on an Interstate 435 on-ramp near Independence. Both are white. This encounter, too, was captured by the cops’ squad-car dash cam. 

In this video, Hansen approaches the car and without preamble yanks Simmons out by his arm and throws him to the ground. He drags him over the concrete and threatens to break Simmons’ arm off. Hansen calls the passengers “fucking meth-head motherfuckers” and, upon finding a needle on Simmons, says, “I’m going to take a knife and cut your throat from ear to fucking ear.” (In the video above, this starts at the 9:30 mark.) That is a "felony threat" in most states. 

On video, the officers search their car inside and out. The cops then acknowledge "neither one of them got shit" and "they are clean as a whistle," "they don't have any warrants" and the car "has valid plates that are legally licensed to the car" (at about 19:30)  The officers then figure out how to justify the illegal stop, search and arrest. The cops state they will arrest for "disorderly conduct" and create "two tickets." The cops then impound the car.

As the scene unfolds, Hansen repeatedly ridicules the passenger for allegedly being high on meth, taunting her with a tweaker-like impression. The other officers on the scene laugh. 

Such behavior comes at a small price: a $75,000 settlement to Simmons for enduring the abuse. White supremacy[degeneracy]/racism is big business.