One photo of the Birmingham Police Department detective lying face down on the pavement carried a caption reading, “Pistol whipped his ass to sleep,” followed by laughing emoticons.
These reactions are causing outrage among many who believe relations between police and the communities they serve are diminishing to unprecedented lows.
The detective in the photos was hit until he was bloody and motionless by a man following a traffic stop on Friday.
Janard Shamar Cunningham, also known as Janaris Shamar Cunningham, has been charged with attempted murder in the beating.
Cunningham has a criminal history stretching back to 1999. He’s been convicted for several crimes including robbery and assault, and second-degree assault. During the same time period, he faced just as many charges which were eventually dismissed. These dismissed charges include attempted murder, robbery, and menacing.
Police have not released the name of the detective but say he was released from UAB Hospital on Friday evening and is now resting at home with his family.
His ordeal began Friday morning at about 11 a.m., when he stopped a maroon 2012 GMC Yukon in the 9100 block of Parkway East in Roebuck Plaza possibly in connection with burglaries in the area. The detective was in plainclothes and driving an unmarked vehicle. He told the driver to remain in the SUV while he waited for a marked unit for back up. Cunningham stepped out of the car and asked why he was being stopped. An altercation ensued and Cunningham reached for the officer’s gun before using it to bash the detective’s head.
The detective issued a plea for all available help in the area at about 11:15 a.m.
Police chased the SUV about a mile away to the Roebuck Springs area where the nearby W.J. Christian School was put on lockdown.
US Marshalls were on the scene where Cunningham was arrested and a second man was taken into custody. Police say the second man faced no charges.
"This incident underscores the danger that our officers and others experience every day,” said Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper. “I think about the recent murders of the Memphis and Shreveport police officers and recognize we too could have lost an officer today. We ask the community to keep this officer and his family in your thoughts and prayers."
Some officers believe community support for the police is at an unprecedented low. Boackle describes the situation as a time of war for police.
"You're only going to win a war if you have a good partnership, and right now the local police officers don't have that,'' Boackle said. "The boots-on-the-ground officers across this country are at war, and if we do not have the help of citizens and local governments to stand behind us, we'll never win."
He also points out that heightened scrutiny of police departments is causing many officers to over think dangerous situations putting their lives at risk.
"There is a saying that 'he who hesitates is lost' and that's why (the detective) lost, because he hesitated,'' Boackle said.” If the officers on the streets were not in fear of losing their jobs, it wouldn't have gotten to the point it did yesterday. Officers are second-guessing every move because they're afraid they're going to be judged, by the media and by the public."
