Police official defends officers’ group photo with captured fugitive

Police official defends officers’ group photo with captured fugitive

Cavalcante was positioned within the entrance, with an officer holding his arms. One officer holding a 22-calibre rifle went down to 1 knee and held the weapon up. The Ok-9 canine concerned within the search stepped towards the entrance. And different officers within the again unfold out to get a transparent view.

Together, all of them appeared in a single course – at an officer holding up a telephone to take a photograph.

Police posed for a photo with the captured fugitive after his capture.
Police posed for a photograph with the captured fugitive after his seize. (CNN)

The group photograph, captured in overhead video from CNN affiliate KYW, got here after an almost two-week lengthy manhunt for Cavalcante, a convicted assassin who escaped August 31 from a jail in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

At a news convention about an hour after his seize, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens stated he had no drawback with the image.

“Those men and women worked amazingly hard through some very trying circumstances,” he stated. “They’re proud of their work. I’m not bothered at all by the fact that they took a photograph with him in custody. Again they’re proud of their work. They kept the community safe. I say thanks to them and good job.”

In all, about 500 legislation enforcement officers – together with members of the Pennsylvania State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and US Marshals – participated within the manhunt that took them by means of hilly, rugged terrain in a rural space about 30 miles from Philadelphia.

Cavalcante was captured Wednesday morning by a tactical workforce from the State Police and the US Border Patrol. A police canine subdued the fugitive earlier than officers took him and his stolen .22-calibre rifle into custody, Bivens stated.

Danilo Cavalcante has been on the run after crab-walking out of prison.
Danilo Cavalcante has been on the run after crab-walking out of jail. (AP)

The group photograph was certainly one of quite a lot of police images taken of Cavalcante. Displayed subsequent to Bivens on the news convention was a photograph of the fugitive in handcuffs and carrying a Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt.

CNN chief legislation enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller stated he believed a photograph of the captured fugitive was essential to indicate the group that the specter of the previous two weeks was no extra.

“I think it has a legitimate public purpose rather just for their photo collection,” he stated.

Charles Ramsey, the previous Philadelphia Police Commissioner, expressed his disapproval of the group shot, referring to the picture as a “trophy photo.”

“I’m not a fan of that sort of thing. Be professional,” he stated. “You got him in custody. Do your job, and the rest of that stuff save for some other place.”

CNN legislation enforcement analyst and former FBI director Andrew McCabe stated there was nothing unlawful in regards to the photograph and praised the officers’ efforts whilst he acknowledged some criticism.

“Anything that we do that creates an impression of gratuitousness or kind of self-congratulatory feel, I think doesn’t help the public’s perception of law enforcement,” McCabe stated. “I think it’s unfortunate but pretty small compared to the massive accomplishment they achieved.”

Cavalcante stripped of garments

Further, earlier than Cavalcante was positioned into the armoured van, officers lower off his sweatshirt and revealed a big tattoo on his again, the overhead video exhibits. They then stripped him to his underwear, and an officer took a number of images of the back and front of his left leg.

Stripping a prisoner is commonplace process, Bivens stated. Cavalcante sustained a minor chunk wound on his scalp from a police canine, Bivens stated.

Miller stated these images had been probably to establish his markings or tattoos to verify they’ve the precise individual.

Danilo Cavalcante was captured after being sniffed out by a police dog.
Danilo Cavalcante was captured after being sniffed out by a police canine. (Pennsylvania State Police)

In addition, stripping a prisoner of their garments is a option to test that they haven’t any harmful objects on them, McCabe stated. Taking images at this level may also doc any accidents.

“He might be injured from his time out on the run, and you want to make sure you document his physical condition before you take custody of him inside of a car where he’s locked in essentially with only two officers,” McCabe stated.

“You want to make it very clear if he has been bruised or badgered or injured in some way, those things happened before he came into custody.”

Source: www.9news.com.au