Knee to the Neck is Inhumane, Deputy

How many law enforcement insist on excessive force, no matter the consequences.

Did law enforcement around the world not learn anything from the George Floyd’s murder as a result of having a knee on his neck or do they not care about humanity and insist on being above the law?

Here is another dread case of a handcuffed inmate having a deputy place his knee for three additional minutes on his neck. Then to make matters worse, there was a coverup in this situation. If law enforcement, just do the right thing by all people, then a coverup is not necessary.

The sad commentary here is this situation is all too common and often hidden from the public and officials. According to reports, the inmate had punched the deputy in the face, and that led to the knee-on-the-neck situation for three additional minutes. Due to the coverup, and the similarity to George Floyd’s case, charges may not be filed against the inmate.

This all happened under the microscope of the California attorney general’s investigation regarding the violation of people’s constitutional rights routinely by deputies, as much has hit the media of late. There had been too many incidents where excessive force had been used in communities of color.

Once this situation was uncovered and the investigation ensued, this deputy was relieved of duty. “Relieved?” What does that mean in reality? With pay, without pay? Where is the transparency here?

This incident occurred over a year ago, March 10, 2021, after George Floyd’s death at the knee of Derek Chauvin who was found guilty. These deputies’ action speaks volume in relation to what they did to an inmate and being aware of George Floyd’s murder as a result of a knee to his neck. How many people need to be murdered with a knee to neck for law enforcement to comprehend this is wrong in every sense? This bespeaks of a renegade mentality, not an officer whose job is to protect and serve.

The knee to the neck resulted from deputies conducting routine searches of a group of inmates at the San Fernando Courthouse where all were waiting for their court appearances. The deputies told two inmates to be quiet and they refused to stop talking and laughing. Shortly thereafter, the inmate, Enzo Escalante who was awaiting trial for multiple charges including murder, was ordered to stop and face the wall by Deputy Douglas Johnson.

During this incident, the video showed Johnson walking behind the inmate and the inmate turn to punch Johnson in the face. Thereafter, Escalante was then taken face-down with the aid of four deputies.

During this altercation, was the moment that Johnson’s knee was placed on Escalante’s head, another deputy handcuffed him, and Johnson held his knee on his neck 3 minutes longer.

Even in the face of no resistance from the inmate, Johnson continued his excessive force and he had to have known that he cut off this man’s breath, causing death. The world knows this tactic will kill someone. George Floyd died from Chauvin, a convicted killer and former officer, knee to the neck, taught the masses regarding this excessive and deadly force tactic.

Escalante was taken to the hospital and treated for minor bruising to his body. There was no permanent damage as a result of the deputy’s knee to his neck. When one’s air is cut off to the brain, there is a possibility of more severe damage could result.

How many people have suffered from a lack of oxygen to the brain, unrelated to law enforcement?

Johnson’s hands had prior been tainted in a photo-sharing scandal where photos of the late Kobe Bryant and the other eight victims of a helicopter crash were circulated among deputies.

Sheriff’s officials denounced the actions of Johnson, stating that his action was unnecessary force to the neck of the inmate who was not resisting while he kept his knee in place for an additional three minutes. Even the assisting deputies failed to intervene to stop this excessive force that could have resulted in death.

Someone talking when told to stop talking by a deputy does not warrant this type of treatment and worse yet, it all happened in the courthouse. There had to be other methods of containing such behavior from an inmate. Johnson escalated the matter when he and the other deputies should have engaged in de-escalation.

In conclusion, law enforcement higher officials need to stop all coverups, retrain deputies to protect and serve, implement more transparency and accountability, and the attorney general needs to keep an eye on the entire law enforcement department from the top to the bottom and their inner workings.

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