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Dennis Turner, the Orlando cop who arrested a six-year-old girl, has previous complaints for use of excessive force.
He was also once arrested & charged with aggravated child abuse for beating his own 7-year-old-son and investigated for assaulting his ex-wife's boyfriend.
He was also once arrested & charged with aggravated child abuse for beating his own 7-year-old-son and investigated for assaulting his ex-wife's boyfriend.
In a 2016 report, @orlandosentinel details an incident where Turner used a taser on a man five times. The last two jolts came after the man was unresponsive on the floor. In that case he was given a written warning for use of excessive force. orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-…
@orlandosentinel In 1998, Apopka Florida police arrested Turner on charges of aggravated child abuse in the beating of his 7-year-old son. The child had “welts and bruises” on his torso and arms. @orlandosentinel reported that Turner beat him for bringing home bad grades. orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-19…
@orlandosentinel In 2003, the Seminole County sheriff requested the State's Attorney's Office investigate Turner when he was accused of assaulting and threatening the ex-husband of the woman he was dating. (NB: In my first tweet I mistakenly said boyfriend of his ex-wife.) orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-20…
@orlandosentinel Turner has now been suspended pending investigation of these latest incidents where he arrested two children, six and eight, without supervisory approval in one day.
Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolan says he takes Turner's actions personally as a father and grandfather.
Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolan says he takes Turner's actions personally as a father and grandfather.
@orlandosentinel "As a grandparent of three children less than 11 years old this is very concerning to me. Our Department strives to deliver professional and courteous service. My staff and I are committed to exceeding those standards and expectations."
@orlandosentinel No. Just no. The problem is not a failure to deliver "professional and courteous" service. This wouldn't have been right if the cop had asked permission.
The problem is a system that even allows children as young as 6 or 10 or 14 to be arrested, where police are in schools.
The problem is a system that even allows children as young as 6 or 10 or 14 to be arrested, where police are in schools.
@orlandosentinel In writing this thread, I wanted to make clear I was not subscribing to the "few bad apples" theory of policing. Officer Turner's history of complaints of excessive force and off-duty incidents of domestic violence is completely normal. So so normal.
@orlandosentinel Should he be fired. Yes. Does this fix anything? No. The Orlando police chief needs to be concerned as the chief of police as much as he does a grandfather because he needs to fix a systemic problem in his department.
@orlandosentinel And then all of us across the country need to understand that this is an endemic problem and channel our outrage. Voting at the state and national level is hugely important. But in terms of criminal justice, voting in district attorney and sheriff elections is just as critical.
@orlandosentinel PS. To clarify any ambiguity, Officer Turner is on the left of this photo. The person on the right is current Orange County Florida Sheriff, John Mina.
@orlandosentinel PPS. People need to stop being shocked that a Black cop could be part of a racist criminal legal system that upholds White supremacy and oppresses Black and Brown people.
@orlandosentinel In NYC, 23% of cops are Black and a staggering 67% of corrections officers are Black. But 90% of people arraigned in criminal court are of color. Go figure.
