Rough Ride (police Brutality)
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A rough ride is a form of
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
in which a handcuffed prisoner is placed in a
police van A police van (also known as a paddy wagon, meat wagon, divisional van, patrol van, patrol wagon, police wagon, Black Mariah/Maria, police carrier, pie wagon (in old-fashioned usage) or squadrol (a unique name for the Chicago Police Department ...
or other patrol vehicle without a
seatbelt A seat belt, also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt, is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduce ...
, and is thrown violently about as the vehicle is driven erratically. Rough rides have been implicated in a number of injuries sustained in police custody, and commentators have speculated that the practice contributed to the
death of Freddie Gray On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25-year-old African American, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possession of a knife. While in police custody, Gray sustained fatal injuries and was taken to the R Adams Cowley Sh ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, Maryland, in April 2015. Throughout the U.S., police have been accused of using aggressive driving tactics to "rough suspects up", resulting in numerous injuries, and millions of dollars of
damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...
awarded to victims and their families. Baltimore lawyer Phil Federico described the practice as "definitely intentional", saying "they're unbelted, the inside of these wagons are not padded, they can't protect themselves, and they get thrown from one side to the other, usually landing on their head, and fracturing their neck." The practice has been described as
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
by Philadelphia-based activist and academic
Marc Lamont Hill Marc Lamont Hill (born December 17, 1978) is an American academic, author, activist, and television personality. He is a professor of urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. He is the host of '' UpFront'' on Al Jazeera Eng ...
. University of South Carolina professor Geoffrey Alpert, an expert in police use of force, has asserted that the practice was common in the 1980s and 1990s, but has become less so with the increased presence of
video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...
recording equipment in police vehicles. There are no reliable records of the frequency of these incidents. Other terms for the practice include "nickel ride" (a reference to
carnival rides Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This could be due to ...
), "cowboy ride", "joyride", "bringing them up front" (referring to sudden braking), and "screen test" (as the prisoner may hit the protective screen behind the driver).


Alleged incidents


Baltimore

In 1980, 58-year-old John Wheatfall broke his neck and became
paralyzed Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...
during a ride to
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
's Southwestern District. Wheatfall was seated on a bench with his hands cuffed behind his back, when he was thrown to the floor and hit his head against the wall. Baltimore police vans did not have seatbelts at the time. The officer driving stated he had swerved to avoid an oncoming car, and an investigation did not find evidence of negligence. Wheatfall sued for $3 million, and was awarded $20,000 for his injury. In 2004, Jeffrey Alston was awarded $39 million after becoming paralyzed from the neck down as a result of a ride in a Baltimore police van. In 2005, Dondi Johnson Sr., a plumber, was arrested in Baltimore for public urination. Apparently uninjured at the time of his arrest, Johnson emerged from the police van paralyzed with a broken neck, and died two weeks later from pneumonia resulting from his injuries. Johnson stated he had been thrown face-first into the interior of the van during a sharp turn. His family sued the Baltimore police and were awarded $7.4 million, which was reduced to $219,000 under a cap imposed by Maryland state law. In 2012, Christine Abbott, a 27-year-old assistant librarian at
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
, was arrested at a party she was hosting at her home in Baltimore's
Hampden Hampden may refer to: Places Oceania * Hampden, New Zealand ** Hampden (New Zealand electorate) ** Murchison, New Zealand, known as Hampden until 1882 * Hampden, Queensland * Hampden, South Australia * County of Hampden, Victoria, Australia * Shir ...
neighborhood. She was handcuffed and put into a police van. Abbott later sued the officers in federal court, describing her ride as "like a roller coaster", and accusing the officers of braking short and taking "wide, fast turns" which slammed her into the walls. Police acknowledged that Abbott was not buckled in during her ride. Some media commentators have suggested that the "rough ride" practice was a factor in the 2015
death of Freddie Gray On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25-year-old African American, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possession of a knife. While in police custody, Gray sustained fatal injuries and was taken to the R Adams Cowley Sh ...
, although state prosecutors have not alleged that Gray was subjected to a rough ride. Gray was arrested on April 12, and was conscious and able to speak before being placed into a police van. Following a thirty-minute ride, Gray was
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...
tose and not breathing. He was treated at the
R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center (also referred to as Shock Trauma) is a Physical trauma, trauma hospital in Baltimore, Maryland and is part of the University of Maryland Medical System. Shock Trauma was founded by R Adams Cowley, considered th ...
of the University of Maryland Hospital, where his
spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal c ...
was found to be 80% severed, an injury consistent with a serious car accident. Gray died a week after his arrest. Medical experts say Gray may have sustained a neck injury during his arrest which could have been exacerbated during his transport. Police acknowledged that Gray was not buckled in, contrary to departmental policy. On September 9, 2015, the City of Baltimore approved a $6.4 million civil settlement with Gray's family. The first criminal case to be tried of the police officers involved with Gray's arrest resulted in a
mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...
.


Los Angeles

On April 15, 1990, Fernando Martinez was arrested by the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
. In a 1991 class-action lawsuit filed by the
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is an American civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Although LDF ca ...
, it was alleged that a deputy drove recklessly while Martinez, a minor, was handcuffed in the back seat of a patrol car, causing his head to strike the partition separating the front and back seats, and that Martinez was further beaten, choked, and kicked on arriving at the police station. The case proceeded to trial, resulting in a $6 million award to the 54 plaintiffs, and a $1.5 million allocation for
use of force The use of force, in the context of law enforcement, may be defined as "the amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject." Multiple definitions exist according to context and purpose. In practical terms, use o ...
training of the Sheriff's Department. Following a traffic stop on October 19, 1997, a
Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
disciplinary panel concluded that officer Ray Logan had carried out a "screen test", among other abuses. Logan was subsequently fired.


Philadelphia

A 2001 investigation by ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' documented twenty people injured in rough rides in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Three suffered spinal injuries, and two were paralyzed. As of 2001, courts had awarded $2.3 million in legal settlements resulting from these cases, but no officer had ever been disciplined for the practice. The
Philadelphia Police Department The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD, Philly PD, or Philly Police) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the County and City of Philadelphia. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, f ...
began to introduce vans with padding and safety restraints in December 2000. On April 10, 1994, Gino Thompson was thrown from his seat when the police van carrying him stopped suddenly. Thompson sustained a spinal cord injury which paralyzed him from the waist down. Thompson was awarded $600,000. On March 31, 1995, John DeVivo was arrested, handcuffed, and placed in a police van. DeVivo reported that the driver slammed on the brakes, throwing him to the floor and fracturing his tailbone. The police claimed that a dog had run into the road, and denied wrongdoing. DeVivo sued and was awarded $11,000. On September 29, 1996, Bernadette Moore, age 34, sustained injuries to her shoulder and back after a police ride in which she reported that the driver was "swerving and slamming on the brakes". She was later awarded $15,000. In 1997, Calvin Saunders was thrown from his seat and slammed his head against the wall of a police van. He became paralyzed from the neck down, and was awarded $1.2 million. On April 15, 1998, Robert Schwartz Sr., age 44, broke a vertebra in his neck during what he described as a wild police wagon ride. He was awarded $110,000. On February 21, 1999, Carlice Harris, age 44, sustained injuries to her face, knees, and wrists during police transport. She was awarded $22,500. In 2011, James McKenna was arrested outside a Philadelphia bar. McKenna alleged that he heard an officer tell the driver of the van to "fuck him up." During a 20-minute ride including quick stops and sharp turns, he repeatedly slammed his head into the walls, ultimately breaking three vertebrae in his neck. McKenna was awarded $490,000.


Other incidents

In 1980,
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
plumber Freddie Franklin alleged in a federal lawsuit that he was wrongfully arrested by six members of the
Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...
and forced into the back of a police van in handcuffs. The van was allegedly driven recklessly, throwing Franklin around the van and causing him to bite off his lower lip. Franklin received $135,000 from the city in a settlement of the lawsuit. In 1999, a former police chaplain in
Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States. It is located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River west of Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, second-most populous city in Illinois, with a popul ...
, sued that city's police department, alleging that it was a common practice for police in Aurora to drive recklessly so as to attempt to injure handcuffed suspects. The department denied the allegations and the lawsuit was eventually settled. In November 2017, Andreu Van den Eynde, a lawyer for several ministers of the
Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia (, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and t ...
sentenced to prison in Spain, questioned how his clients "were contained mechanically" during transport from the
Audiencia Nacional The Audiencia Nacional (; ) is a high court in Spain with jurisdiction over all of the Spanish territory. It is specialised in certain kinds of crime, having original jurisdiction over major crimes such as those committed against the Crown and i ...
to a prison in
Estremera Estremera is a municipality of the autonomous community of Madrid in central Spain. It belongs to the comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former ...
, away. Spain's
Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...
did not confirm whether the prisoners were cuffed in the vans or not. Van den Eynde did not immediately file a complaint of mistreatment, pending medical reports. In November 2022, five members of the
New Haven Police Department The New Haven Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of New Haven, Connecticut. History Founding and early years The NHPD was formed with the signing of a bill on July 27, 1861. Its first elected Chief was ...
were charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and cruelty, after neglecting the injuries of a black suspect injured in their custody. In the June 2022 incident, the driver of a police van braked hard, allegedly to avoid a collision, causing Randy Cox, 36, to hit the metal partition headfirst, resulting in his paralysis. After being placed in a detention center, Cox's pleas for help were met with mockery, captured on surveillance and body-worn cameras. The five officers charged are next due in court on December 8. The city agreed with him on a payment of $45 million.


See also

* Law enforcement techniques and procedures * Saskatoon freezing deaths *
Gypsy cop In law enforcement in the United States, a wandering officer, referred to colloquially as a gypsy cop, is a police officer who frequently transfers between police departments, having a record of misconduct or unsuitable job performance. History ...


References

{{Philadelphia Police Department, state=expanded Police brutality in the United States Police brutality Philadelphia Police Department Baltimore Police Department