Video of Erie, PA Cop Mocking Homicide Victim Appears on YouTube. Erie PD Launches Investigation . . . To Find the Identity of the Person Who Posted It

A video of Erie, Pennsylvania police officer James Cousins II mocking a homicide victim and the reaction of the victim's mother upon her arrival at the crime scene recently appeared on YouTube. Cousins was off-duty and drinking at a bar when the video was taken.

It's pretty tasteless. But to be honest, I'm not sure it's really much to get upset about. Cops do have stressful jobs, and I'm not about to begrudge them the right to blow off steam around friends when they're off-duty, though Cousins' boasting about punching and Tasering a suspect in another case, also depicted in the video, is more problematic.

That said, it was pretty dumb of him to go as he did on while he was being recorded. And like anyone else who gets caught saying something stupid on camera, he should have to pay the personal and professional consequences for what he said.

But Cousins is a police officer, and he and his colleagues have the power to intimidate people who expose their mistakes. The real outrage in this story is what happened next.

Once the video was posted to YouTube, internal affairs investigator Jim DeDionisio went to confront the man who posted the video, and brought Cousins with him. Thinking they had found the man, they confronted him at his job on a construction site (it turns out that the guy's brother actually posted the video). The man says DeDionisio then threatened to prosecute him for violating federal wiretapping laws. If true, that's a preposterous attempt at intimidation. Erie police officials then apparently tried to get the local district attorney to order YouTube to remove the video. To the prosecutor's credit, he refused.

So you have a police officer making inappropriate, insensitive comments about a murder victim and his mother in a video that eventually gets posted to YouTube. The immediate reaction from the Erie Police Department is to launch an investigation, but not into the officer's conduct, but to find the identity of the person who posted the video. Their next step is to bring the officer depicted in the video to intimidate the man they believe posted it. And they top it off with a bogus threat and failed effort to have the video removed from the Internet.

Pretty deplorable behavior all around.

Comments

[Janet Reno]

James Cousins II is a true hero and the people responsible for the wiretap should be declared enemy combatants.

[Peter Falk]

THE COPS IN THIS TOWN ARE RETARDED!

[Xeones]

Yo, fuck James Cousins II.

[Episiarch]

Cops do have stressful jobs, and I'm not about to begrudge them the right to blow off steam around friends when they're off-duty

It's the way they do it that's so repulsive. They have that cop...smugness (I'm trying to think of the right word)...when talking about beating up a suspect or mocking a victim. It's very distinctive, only cops do it in this particular way, and anyone who has ever listened to a cop tell a story about an arrest or an interrogation should know what I'm talking about.

Personally, it makes my skin crawl. There's something very inhuman about it.

[R C Dean]

Their next step is to bring the officer depicted in the video to intimidate the man they believe posted it. And they top it off with a bogus threat and failed effort to have the video removed from the Internet.

Can anyone explain to me how this isn't a civil rights violation, that should result in personal liability on the part of all the cops involved?

Oh, and props to the DA who told them to stuff it. I'm guessing he won't last long.

[LarryA]

I've worked in such high-stress environments. Rape crisis and domestic violence hotlines are interesting. The jokes get pretty bad.

Clean SFW example: "This city does nothing for the homeless." "Hogwash. We just built a new bridge, didn't we."

But we always made damn sure no one could overhear.

[SpongePaul]

The harrasment by an individual in a public place recording, which he had every right to do make me cringe, they should be fired for that. But morbid as the comments may be, the stress of a job like that, leads to comments like he made. it is just the way it is. cops talk like that to blow off the stress of the job, if you think surgeons and ER docs dont tell widly inappropriat tales all the time, for the same reasons,you are mistaken. It is the human reaction to make the morbid comments jokingly, or else it would get to you and you would put a gun to your head. I am not defending the cop if he did anything wrong. but his comments were perfectly natural and human.

[ChicagoTom]

It's pretty tasteless. But to be honest, I'm not sure it's really much to get upset about

It *IS* something to get upset about. The reality is that police officers need their communities to trust them and to work with them. How do you foster that kind of trust when you openly mock the victims that you are supposed to be protecting and serving.

If the John Rockers of the world can be suspended and released from their BASEBALL teams for saying derogatory things about the residents of NYC and train riders, I would expect Law Enforcement to hold their officers to a similar standard. Off-duty or not, you are still a representative of the police department and as such you should be held accountable for the way you act in public.

[SpongePaul]

Rocker said what he said in an interview on the record. Not that anything should have happened, he had the right to say it. see Avery for same opion on it. this man is just blowing off stress in a bar, off duty, which he has every right to do. and he is talking with friends, joking around, Using his first admement. and i was an officer for a short time, that talk happens everywhere. I also have friends in the medical field, and they can make the cops talk seem G rated, when talking about ER patients and such. ever seen an object up an ass on a x-ray. thoose things get quitely passed around all the time, and lord forbid you get shot by your wife or something...

[ChicagoTom]

, the stress of a job like that, leads to comments like he made.it is just the way it is. cops talk like that to blow off the stress of the job,

Bull shit.

Having a stressful job justifies him cruelly mocking murder victims and their mourning families when they are off duty and drinking? Really?

It's this type of belief that has allowed cops to not be accountable for their actions -- whether its intimidation, corruption, or killing innocent people when raiding their homes.

Your job is stressful?? Boo fucking HOO -- go see a therapist. That doesn't give you carte blanche to be a douche.

Everyone blows off steam, and cops have a right to do that too. But there is a line. And mocking victims of violent crime and their mourning families is crossing it.

The stressful job canard is nothing but a cop-out and a convenient justification for being an asshole.

[SpongePaul]

bottom line. It was his right to say it, it was the other guys right to tape it. It will help bring to light some things. I truly belive police need counslers. you can only see so many dead bodies, rape victims, domestic beatings, befor eyou either climb up on the clocktower, or take a dirt nap of your own making. That stress must be released, it must. beter to do it morbidly joking around, than take it out on your wife, or the public

[SpongePaul]

I dare you to take on all that stress and not make comments like that, or laugh at them. yeah its morbid, but its not assholish. IMO anyway. we may disagree, but we are both entiteled to our opions, Aint that what makes AMerica Great!

[SpongePaul]

ANd i would think any officer here, former officers, or medical pros in a high stress environ would back me up on what i have said, unless you go through it, it may not make sense. but get out on the front lines with the dregs or humanity and then get back to me CT

[SpongePaul]

er dregs of humanity... damn dyslexia

[ChicagoTom]

this man is just blowing off stress in a bar, off duty, which he has every right to do.

He has every right to do it. And he should be fired since it got documented.

No one is denying that cops don't have a right to "blow off stress" -- but that wouldn't justify him going off on a racist rant, would it? Are there to be no limits to what is tolerated under the guise of "blowing off steam" ?

This isn't about him using "bad language" or about the R-Ratedness of the words he chose. It's about his judgement and how his actions impact the department. What is the message this guy is sending to the community. What does it say about him and the department that apparently condones this type of behavior?

Is that really what Law Enforcement should condone? Mocking the people they are supposed to serve and protect?

You can argue what an appropriate punishment should be, but make no mistake...there should be some kind of punishment.

he can say what he wants....but he should also be ready to face the consequences of what he is saying. And in this instance, I think this dickhead should be fired. (And that's before the intimidation that he and his cohorts committed)

[robc]

It is his right to say it.
It is the other guys right to videotape and post it.
It is the police dept's right to fire him for being a douche.

It is not his right to attempt to intimidate the guy who posted it.

[Elemenope]

re: everyone saying that the cop, when drunk and off-hours, making fun of victims is a big deal...chill out. There has never been a job I have either worked or seen where people did not make fun of the conditions and people they are presented with. It's a coping mechanism, it's human, and so long as it doesn't happen when actually at work, actually *to* the customer, so to speak, it isn't a big deal. Nobody's a saint, and to have that level of expectations is to be universally disappointed.

Pretty deplorable behavior all around.

Except, as noted, the prosecutor who refused to play along. Kudos to him for not being a dick.

[Episiarch]

Paul, you are correct that all kinds of jobs have morbid humor. And it's not that he doesn't have the right to engage in it. But at least for me, cops and their stories are always tinged with an element that the regular citizenry are subhuman, and it's highly disturbing. I don't get that from paramedics or doctors.

But what he should get fired for is the intimidation.

[ev]

In high school we took a field trip to the coroners office. She was absolutely hilarious in a very blue way. She was saying that she has to cut up babies occasionally and making light of it is pretty much the only healthy way to deal with it. If every autopsy brings you to tears you're probably not going to be a very good employee.

The one i remember was about a burn victim. The body came in in the wagon; she grabbed the guy's arm and apparently the whole arm just popped off. Her story about it really was funny.

I imagine it's the only way to do things.

[bill]

Cops are assholes. End of story.

[SpongePaul]

He should be fired, for the intemidation, i never said he was a great cop. but, He should not be fired for saying what he said. but hten again i think you can say anything you want. if someone does not like it,the have no force to stay and listen. and Elemenope says it best on this one

[SpongePaul]

I don't get that from paramedics or doctors.
_____________________________________________
go out drinking or partying with them, yeah they smoke too, after an 18 hour er shift and you will get that. lol the things that show up in an er, the things people do, lol

[TrickyVic]

"""Everyone blows off steam, and cops have a right to do that too. But there is a line. And mocking victims of violent crime and their mourning families is crossing it."""

Tasteless speech is still protected under the first admendment. I support the officer's right to mock someone as much as I support the right to mock officers.

But the cops crossed the line by visiting and threatening the guy that video taped it. Both the IAD cop and Cousins do not deserve to wear the badge if they think it comes with a license to intimidate anyone they want. They should be fired.

[ChicagoTom]

I dare you to take on all that stress and not make comments like that, or laugh at them.

And yet many police and fire personell don't make comments like that. Funny how that happens. In fact, many of the police that I know personally actually value life...even if it the life of the "dregs of humanity". They don't openly mock the misery and death of others.

You can justify it all you want, but that wont make it right. You can pretend that the stress of the job justifies this type of behavior but that wont make it so. "Stress" is a convenient excuse to hide behind when you need to justify piss poor behavior.

I expect the people who get to carry guns around and hold the lives of others in their hands to :

1. Have much better judgement
2. Be held to a higher standard than everyone else.

You see with extraordinary powers should come more responsibility. Much more.

but get out on the front lines with the dregs or humanity and then get back to me CT

Maybe looking at the community you serve as "the dregs of humanity" is part of the problem?

This story makes me think of a criminal case here in Chicago, there are two cops who are on trial now for beating up on some other patrons at a bar. The cops' defense: The guys that got beat up started the fight by mocking one of the cops who was at the bar crying over the death of his father
Apparently this cop was so pissed by this patron's mocking of his loss that he and 2 other officers decided to beat the fuck out of the mockers.

So to summarize, its ok for cops to mock the death of others, but if you mock a cops loss, there's a good chance the cops will beat the shit out of you.

[ChicagoTom]

Tasteless speech is still protected under the first admendment.

This isn't really a 1st amendment issue. No on is arguing that there should be a law forbidding mockery.

The question is, once this cop said what he said, should there be some form of punishment? A suspension?

Or does the 1st amendment guarantee that anything any cop says can never be grounds for punishment? If the cop went on a racist rant when he was drunk and blowing off steam, would that be actionable?

I think robc gets it right. he has a right to say it and the PD has the right to fire him for it.

The won't (at least the actions so far indicate that they wont) but they should have the right to. It reflects poorly on this cop and the police department. And by not taking action they are endorsing his actions and his views.

[Sven]

Reading the Erie Times News stories has me believing that Cousins made the mistake of being a drunken idiot on tape, and should get retrained as a LEO and put on probation.

For his attempted intimidation, DeDionisio should be retrained as a burger-flipper. Police Chief Franklin should also be out the door, for not understanding his role was to protect the public trust more than protecting his individual officers. Mayor Sinnott should probably be bounced next election, as well.

[J sub D]

I have no problem with a cop joking about the fucked up things he witnesses daily. I also think the guy who put it on YouTube without Cousins' permission is a jerk.

But that pales compared to the disgust I feel when a cop would use his position to intimidate and threaten somebody for what is best described as bad manners. If Cousins had punced the guy in a social setting over this incident, I'd be pretty forgiving. Using his authority as an officer of the law to intimidate? Not so much.

[ed]

off-duty and drinking

Been there. Done that.

Off-duty and drinking...and commenting on The Blogz.

Again...

[Jennifer]

Cop was off-duty. still does not give him the right to talk shit about people that are died or dying or loved one. sick asshole! Hey cousins remember that shit on your judgment day

[Elemenope]

Cop was off-duty. still does not give him the right to talk shit about people that are died or dying or loved one. sick asshole! Hey cousins remember that shit on your judgment day

Is this the same Jennifer who I remember strenuously arguing the appropriateness of celebrating when a "bad" person dies?

[Paul]

The man says DeDionisio then threatened to prosecute him for violating federal wiretapping laws. If true, that's a preposterous attempt at intimidation.

Mmmmno, that would be the law.

Now, disclaimers: I think this cop and his "internal affairs" pencil neck should be fired and thrown in jail for intimidation.

But that's just the opinion of a lowly, terrorist prone, individual freedom loving libertarian.

Federal wiretapping laws seem to cover just this very thing and so I continue to contend: ignorance of the law is an excuse. However, the lore's the lore, and so if he taped them without their consent and then posted it, the poster may be in hot water.

[Elemenope]

No! This is not the same jennifer! sorry! "Good" or "Bad" people when in death should not made fun of or talked about in anyway! Life Is not a joke!Cop or No cop.Off-duty or On-duty

[libertymike]

Who has a problem with the guy posting the video on YouTube? The cop is in the public sector. His kind, parasites, do not have any right to prevent individuals from posting their videos of pigs acting like pigs, period!

What property right of the public sector neandethal has been abridged?

[libertymike]

J sub D-

How could you be pretty forgiving if the cop punched the YouTube poster in a social setting? Punching people is a sign of weakness and cowardice. If you wear one of Caesar's clown costumes it further confirms that you are spineless yellow bellied cretin.

[libertymike]

True heroism and courage are not displayed by those sporting the impramatur of the state and brandishing its weapons. That stuff is for the cowards, the weaklings, the types that think they are cool cause they wear a uniform sponsored by the state. You know the types, the cops, the soldiers, etc- the types that do not have the initiative to work their entire life free from state handouts. T

Talk about spiritual bankruptcy.

[libertymike]

Like most cops and soldiers, this guy is not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.

[TrickyVic]

"""The question is, once this cop said what he said, should there be some form of punishment? A suspension?""""

I've never been a fan of a job punishing you for what you did off the clock.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Federal wiretapping charges for a recording made of a public discussion? That's a new one.

If only Obama would have thought to get whoever recorded his "spread the wealth" comments hit with that, it might have saved him from almost having to answer some questions about that comment from the news media.

[Jennifer]

It wasn't the Classic Jennifer who's been posting on this damned site for way the hell too long, that's for damned sure.

That said: cops are wonderful hard-working people who are the Thin Blue Line between civilization and chaos and thus deserve shitloads of respect from the populace.

[Jennifer]

Juuuuuuuuust kidding.

[MNG]

We need citizen review boards.

Have you ever seen a conservative publication call for this?

[J sub D]

How could you be pretty forgiving if the cop punched the YouTube poster in a social setting? Punching people is a sign of weakness and cowardice. If you wear one of Caesar's clown costumes it further confirms that you are spineless yellow bellied cretin.

Must be my day to be insulted by ignorant jerks.

The cop takees off his badge, shows he's not armed and punches the obnoxious prick. Yep, that would be illegal. Yep, I'd secretly appauld him if that were what he did.

"It's not illegal so I can be a little prick" gets your faced punched in here in Motown.

You personally are invited to go to your nearest large city and try your obnoxious little prick routine in person sometimes. You'll find the results somewhat more educational than playing internet tough guy.

Those that lack manners sometiomes get the snot knocked out of them. They don't get much sympathy from me when it happens.

[Wayne]

While the cops comments are deplorable I doubt if they are illegal. However the proceeding investigation by the Police Chief reveals a culture unprofessional lawlessness that is a violoation in the public trust bestowed upon him. I have big time respect for the good cops that carry out their jobs (surprise I am African American) risking their lives for a public that does not financially compensate them adequately. My question to the good cops of Erie is how long will you stand silent and watch a few assholes demean and degrade the badge that many good men have died for. You should be ashamed for that. Stop from the top and purge the criminals from your ranks now!!

[Spotted Toad]

Cousins should be frog prepped.

[B]

"Cops are assholes. End of story."

Since you feel that way, I assume you have already told the cops in your area that you would prefer they didn't make any patrols or do anything else in your neighborhood that would generally make the area in which you live safer. I am also assuming that you have told them that if there is ever a crime committed in your residence, on your property or against you that they are not to render any aid at all and any necessary steps to end the threat against you should not be taken.

Yeah, I didn't think so.

[DBN]

And yet many police and fire personell don't make comments like that. Funny how that happens. In fact, many of the police that I know personally actually value life...even if it the life of the "dregs of humanity". They don't openly mock the misery and death of others.

Well, yeah, in front of you. I can't speak for other professions, but in medicine stories like this are all over the place, especially if you do emergency med or forensics. It is pretty damn funny, after all, when a guy comes in with an entire pool noodle up his posterior, or the investigators bring in a suicide note that ends with "nothing to do, nothing on TV, I guess this is the end."

[John C. Randolph]

DeDionisio and Cousins have committed a crime. They've attempted to deny someone's first-amendment rights under color of authority. I'll give half a point to the prosecutor who refused to issue an order to YouTube (which he has no authority to do, he's not a judge), but if he were really doing his job, he'd have both of those cops indicted.

-jcr

[John C. Randolph]

Cop was off-duty. still does not give him the right to talk shit about people that are died or dying or loved one.

Actually, the cop has the right to be an asshole as he chooses. What he doesn't have, is the right to remain employed by the taxpayers if he's shown to be an asshole. And of course, when he attempts to intimidate someone who exposes his bad behavior, he steps over the line and becomes a felon.

-jcr

[Dee]

There is no shortage of asshole dickhead cops out there. The moment they went to intimidate the poster of the video and try to get the video pulled they were over the line plain and simple. Sure they can joke and blow off steam. But in the end what did they do? They went our and flexed their WE are your OVERLORD muscles on the little citizen. This is why cops are dicks by and large, they have that whole superiority complex.

[Bob]

If I were running a bar, cameras and videocams would be banned. A man should be allowed to get drunk in peace.

But I do like the idea that a jerk cop is getting nailed by this video. Consider it a small payback for all of the rest of us getting those red light camera tickets.

[Bayrat]

I wonder if this blog would even exist if the man who was murdered, by another White man, was a White Anglo Saxon Protestant named Anderson. I think not!
There is currently a lynch mob mentality in Erie, PA, and it is being encouraged, indeed incited, by the local "African American Concerned Clergy of Greater Erie" and the NAACP.
The fact that one ignorant, insensitive, police officer makes uncalled for comments while in a drunken stupor, DOES NOT MAKE THIS A RACIAL ISSUE. If the officer is to be fired or disciplined, it should be for what he said about another human being, be he White, Black, Brown, Yellow, Red or any other color we care to call ourselves.
Wake up people! You are either part of the problem or part of the solution, and I certainly don't see any solutions to anything here.

[Art-P.O.G.]

Bayrat,

I think you were the first person to say anything about race.

[Shooter]

So why do the cops care if the video is posted? Are they under the illusion that the whole city isn't aware they're a bunch of dirtbags?

[Sonic_Nurse]

As for the cop "blowing off steam?" Okay, sure. Let him. But he needs to be reminded that asshole-ness comes with a price: accountability. Something that the authorities expect from John Q. Taxpayer but not themselves.

[Swimming Pool Maintenance Serv]

Complete pool service and repairs for residential and commercial pools in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Cave Creek. 100% customer's satisfaction services by Poolguys.

[jersey]

Consider it a small payback for all of the rest of us getting those red light camera tickets.