Mark Wilson, courierpress
A firefighter and youth pastor from Indiana filed a complaint with the Evansville Police Department this week, following an encounter with one of the department’s officers.
While taking an afternoon bicycle ride last Tuesday, 38-year-old George Madison Jr. was surprised when a police car quickly turned out in front of him, blocking his path.
“He did it real fast. I thought it was one of the guys I knew,” said Madison, who has met many local officers through work and charity fundraising.
Thinking he was in the company of friends, Madison waved at the officers in the car.
“The officer jumped out and says, ‘What are you doing throwing your hands up at us?’ He is talking to me as he is coming toward me. I tried to explain, but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise,” Madison explained to the Courier Press.
Madison, now fearing for his safety, picked up his cellphone to call his friend, Evansville Police Chief Billy Bolin. The officer then grabbed Madison’s arm while demanding he drop the phone. Madison, who was completely shocked, says he momentarily hesitated. The officer instantly pulled out his Taser and placed it inches from Madison’s face.
“I remember looking down the barrel of a Taser, because he was gritting his teeth and saying, ‘Don’t make me pull this trigger,” said Madison. “I immediately threw my hands in the air. I said ‘Please don’t hurt me.’ The next thing I know I’m laying down the ground and they cuffed me.”
The officer then began demanding to know Madison’s name, date of birth and where he worked. Once the officer discovered Madison was a firefighter, the officer’s attitude changed almost instantly.
As Madison attempted to explain his perspective to the officer as a young, black man, amazingly, the officer then asked Madison if he had “calmed down” yet despite Madison calmly trying to defuse the situation throughout the entire encounter.
Later that evening Madison was finally able to contact Evansville Police Chief Bolin before filing a complaint with the department’s internal affairs division. Police officials declined to release the officer’s name while the investigation is ongoing.
“I don’t want this man to lose his job or weeks of pay, but I have to look at it from the standpoint of I have a family to think about. I shouldn’t feel bad for standing up for my own rights,” said Madison.
Despite the ordeal, Madison has continued to stay positive and says he won’t let it change his outlook on life.
“The fact that I am a firefighter or preacher doesn’t make a difference. All anybody wants is to be treated like a human being. I refuse to allow a bad experience that I have with one person or officer to change my perception. I just refuse to allow this experience to make me feel any different.”
ltpar, Isolated incidences? Where do you live? I want to move there.
I live in Irvine, California, America’s Safest City (over 100K pop) and spent 27 years helping make it that way. Get your bags packed, you will be welcome, safe and free from Police misconduct.
The firefighter is wrong on one major count. That Police Officer should be fired from his job. There is absolutely no excuse for that kind of conduct from anyone wearing a badge. In addition such actions give a black eye to the 99% of dedicated Officers doing the job right. Will be interesting to see what happens in this case.
Don’t you mean the 1% doing the job right?
Oh, I would want the offending officer to be thrown out of his job immediately in case he tried that stunt on some other poor sucker.
Mr. Madison is likely an uninformed fool for refusing to acknowledge reality. We are now living in a Police State and the sooner he admits that, the safer he and his family will be. Taking action against the stupid cop is sure to make a permanent enemy with power to kill and get away with it.
Another example of inexcusable police brutality. Similar incidents and much worse are happening all across the country. At the very least, any & all police officers involved in incidents of brutality and the excessive use of force should be disarmed & psychologically evaluated and retrained in the proper job performance.
I agree – people in positions of power, often arbitrary power, should be very carefully veted and should get at least double the punishment others would get when they brutalise people.
Michael, where there may be isolated instances of Police misconduct across the country, you are out to lunch on your theory of a Police State. If you had ever lived in or visited a real Police State, you would comprehend the difference. In the history of our country, times have never been more violent with armed gangs running parts of major geographical areas? The only thing standing between you and them are the men and women in blue. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you are “Mister Macho” and can take care of yourself, or you will be visiting your local coroners office. Your attitude sounds a lot like sour grapes, perhaps from an personal encounter of the close kind with your local Cops. Moral of the story is, “don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.”
Well thank you for bringing us all up to date on the new “laws” in effect in the not police state. Now we know you can get assaulted and thrown into handcuffs for waving at a police officer. Thank goodness we don’t live in a police state otherwise we would probably have been shot instead of just being assaulted.
Your comments indicate that you are underinformed or have a comprehension problem. The firefighter did not commit any crime, nor have I. I did not say or suggest that the U.S. is descending into a police state. Reasonable people will agree that because the police are armed and most citizens are not, that alone places an extra burder on the police to exorcize their authority judiciously.