Two State Troopers Charged After Beating Fleeing Suspect

Before 18-year old Paul O’Neal was chased by Chicago police officers and killed by a gunshot in the back, there was another car chase on the East Coast.

It happened on May 11, 2016.  The car chase lasted for about an hour and stretched from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. At times it exceeded 100 mph. The driver was 50-year old Richard Simone of Worchester, MA.  He had warrants for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, larceny, and failure to stop for officers. The failure to stop for officers charge was because 3 days before May 11, 2016, Richard Simone led the police on another chase and rammed his truck into an officer’s vehicle.

On May 11, 2016, Simone’s truck struck a police vehicle during the chase, and at one point, officers put out sticks causing Simone to hit a telephone pole.  He drove down a dead-end street where he finally stopped.  Richard got out of his truck with his hands up, and laid face down on the ground.  Officers then proceeded to beat Richard.    The chase was shown live by several news helicopters, including the beating. 

 

Richard Simone. Mugshot taken after beating.

“The force used at the time the suspect appeared to be surrendering was significant,” Gilles Bissonnette, legal director for the New Hampshire chapter of the ACLU, told the Union Leader. “We expect that there will be a thorough independent investigation to determine whether the force used was reasonable and proportional.”

Governors for both New Hampshire and Massachusetts showed concern over the beating and they reached out to others to start an investigation.

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan said in a statement, “The footage from yesterday raises serious concerns.  All New Hampshire public safety officials are held to the highest standards and it is important and appropriate that the Attorney General’s office has opened an investigation into the incident.”
On July 19, 2016, two State Troopers were arrested for the beating of Richard Simone.

Joseph Flynn of the Massachusetts State Police has been charged with two counts of simple assault.  He has been suspended with pay.

Andrew Monaco of the New Hampshire State Police is charged with three counts of simple assault. He was immediately relieved from duty without pay

Both have been released on their own recognizance and are scheduled to be arraigned in September.

New Hampshire State Police Director Robert Quinn told reporters;

“I want the public and law enforcement personnel to know that the division of state police does not condone the unjustified use of force, and it will not be tolerated.”

New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan said in a statement that the incident is being treated “with the utmost seriousness without disparaging all of the hard-working police officers who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe.”

The concern, actions taken by authorities, and professionalism shown by the Governors and New Hampshire State Police Director are honorable.  They did not denigrate Richard Simone for being a criminal that deserved to be beaten.   Richard survived.  He has been charged and his future is in the hands of the criminal justice system.

Paul O’Neal, bleeding from gunshot wound to the back while being placed in handcuffs.

It is quite opposite of what we have read regarding the killing of Paul O’Neal.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told NBC 5 that, even after the preliminary review, “I am left with more questions than answers. As it appears right now, departmental policies may have been violated during the incident. When officers engage in intentional misconduct or inappropriate behavior, they have to be held accountable.”

 

In spite of Superintendent Johnson’s statement, social media and Youtube have taken to litigating the Chicago case, justifying Paul’s death for failure to comply, and for being Black.  Some are taking the position that Paul tried running over police officers, using the car as a weapon, giving them justification to shoot.  However, Paul was not in the car when he was shot.

No one is on social media saying these things about Richard Simone. The racist remarks are thick, ugly, and give more credibility to the issues of the Black Lives Matter Movement regarding inequalities and double standards.

Richard Simone and Paul O’Neal were both wrong.  Richard had warrants.  Paul was suspected of stealing a car.  Both fled from the police.   But, the officers’ response in both cases after the suspects were out of their vehicles are also wrong, and two wrongs do not ever make a right.

The family of unarmed 18-year-old Paul O’Neal has filed a lawsuit, naming the Chicago Police Department and the officers involving in the shooting.  The lawsuit alleges wrongful death and that Paul’s constitutional rights were violated.  Family spokesman Ja’Mal Green stated;

“If he was in a stolen vehicle and he committed a crime that is for the court system to decide what his sentence should be, not the police officers executing this boy, shooting him in the back.”

https://youtu.be/kOzIhxFY8_I

Sources: NBC Chicago

The Washington Post

Union Leader

Heavy.com

CNN