West Virginia homeless man loses only photos of dead wife when cop throws backpack in river

[UglyGreed]

A West Virginia police officer reportedly was planning to resign after throwing a homeless man’s backpack into the Elk River in August.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by the The Charleston Gazette, Charleston Patrolman Brian Lightner confronted 26-year-old Andrew Joel Hunt on the Spring Street bridge on Aug. 18 over an argument that several homeless people were having while standing in the road.

Hunt admitted that he had been drinking. And when he refused to leave, Lightner arrested him.





After getting out of jail, Hunt complained that Lightner had tossed his backpack off the bridge, including a laptop with the only photos he owned of his dead wife.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/11/west-virginia-homeless-man-loses-only-photos-of-dead-wife-when-cop-throws-backpack-in-river/

[Warpy]

1. Fucking asshole cop

There is no excuse for this.

However, in more positive news, local cops managed to talk a would be suicide off one of the overpasses here instead of simply shooting him.

[malaise]

3. What a pig indeed

This madness most stop

[ncjustice80]

11. Maybe the cop should go jump off a bridge.

Fuckin pigs

[blackcrowflies]

2. I suspect there might be some chance

a technical person could recover some of those photos since the laptop was recovered. It would probably normally cost a mint.

[FSogol]

5. Maybe not. If the laptop wasn't turned on, you could remove the hardrive,

verify that it is dry or let it dry, and connect it via usb cabling to another computer. Whoever the tech person is at the local library could probably do it.

[avebury]

7. It would be nice if one of the local news medias

could find someone willing to donate their time and expertise to see if the pictures could be recovered. It could generate a lot of good will for the donating person/company, give them a chance to showcase their expertise and do a good deed for someone that could use a little good luck.

[silverweb]

4. Shameful, pointless cruelty.

[markpkessinger]

6. SOP for America's cops n/t

[silverweb]

8. More than cops.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]It's a pervasive trait of right-wing culture.

There are plenty of citizens who laugh at this kind of thing... the same ones who chant, "Let him die!" and shout down anyone trying to express anything other than their sanctioned dogma.

There seems to be no sense of community or empathy anymore, which makes me terribly sad. This kind of deliberate, gratuitous cruelty, though, absolutely enrages me.

[markpkessinger]

9. Good point . . .

. . . I have been saying for some time that this country has, in the course of my lifetime (I'm 53), become increasingly meaner and more cruel, to the point where I hardly recognize it as the country I grew up in.

[Kalidurga]

10. One day people will realize that the most efficient way to deal with the homeless

is to provide homes for them. It's more cost effective and humane. I think that is a win-win. This poor man, first his wife dies, then he has to deal with being homeless, not sure if losing his wife caused that or not, but likely there is a mental health issue. So, now when people are unable to cope they are deemed not worthy of our care anymore. They are worthy of being homeless only and a problem that takes a toll on the hard working cops and other people in the community.

This should be considered a national shame.