It keeps getting more horrific. More unbelievable, even thought it’s right there in front of our eyes.
Apparently some people really can commit murder in front of thousands of witnesses and still get away with it.
The Daily Beast reported on a despicable incident that occurred on April 4 in Oklahoma. A man named Darius Robinson was arrested for failing to pay child support.
Three days later, Robinson began to act out in his cell. His family attorney described his erratic behavior as a “manic episode.” Robinson had reportedly told jailers that he was taking prescription medication and might suffer severe symptoms of withdrawal without it. The family says that authorities ignored the warning.
In a video provided to the family by the jail, we see Robinson tearing up papers, waving a blanket and pacing in his cell.
The video, obtained by the Daily Beast, is very difficult to watch. It is grainy and choppy, taken by the surveillance camera in the cell. It is soundless, which adds to horror of what we are seeing.
On the video, two jailers enter the cell and begin interacting with Robinson. He takes a seat on a bench and leans forward with his elbows on his knees.
Robinson moves toward the male officer, Michael Allen Smith, who responds by pressing his forearm against Robinson’s neck. The female officer, Vicki Lynn Richardson, pepper sprays him right in the face and the two men fall to the ground.
As the struggle goes on for well over a minute, Smith has both hands pressed firmly against Robinson’s throat. Eventually the inmate falls unconscious, is handcuffed, and first aid is attempted.
It fails. Robinson dies, right there on the video.
This time it isn’t only activists and bleeding heart liberals who think this was murder.
In fact, the state medical examiner labelled the death a homicide. The autopsy report was very clear. Darius Robinson died of asphyxiation due to manual compression of the neck. A bone in his throat was crushed so badly that paramedics were unable to insert a breathing tube to try to save his life.
Let’s add a few more details to this story.
When paramedics arrived on the scene, neither of the violent jailers mentioned the fact that the victim had been in a choke-hold for over a minute. While they watched the medical team desperately try, five times, to insert a breathing tube, they stayed silent. We can be pretty sure from that silence that they knew exactly what they had done.
There’s more.
The Caddo County District Attorney, Jason Hicks, has not filed any charges against either of the officers involved. Both of them are on paid administrative leave while the wheels of justice stay firmly in place.
Watch the video below, but be warned that it is raw and graphic. Then try to explain how it could possibly be that nearly three months after this murder, no charges have been filed against the people who committed it right there on camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjQkaoldhCw
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
