Good old America. Even in the midst of a public health crisis it still finds a way to keep up with the tried and true bullshit.
AL.com reports that Blake Duke, a Mobile, Ala., police officer, will be put back on the streets. On February 17, Duke was caught on camera slamming 53-year-old Howard Green Jr.’s head into a cop car and putting Green into a chokehold. Green had already been put into handcuffs when Duke assaulted him. An investigation found Duke and a supervisor present at the scene had violated departmental policy.
“The Mobile Police Department has taken the appropriate actions to hold Officer Duke and the on-duty supervisor accountable for their actions,” according to a press release, AL.com reports.
Given that Duke is being put back on the street little over a month after putting a man into a chokehold, I doubt that “appropriate actions” have been taken. He wasn’t even suspended without pay. Instead, he was put on desk duty for a month. The department won’t detail what those appropriate actions were because one of the officers is appealing.
I’m not surprised, but it’s still frustrating. The messaging of it is probably the most baffling part. It’s basically “yeah he messed up but it is what it is.” At least give the dude a suspension, a month without pay—hell, he could really use some mandatory anger management classes if we’re keeping it a buck.