Right, another video of some heavy-handed police work. I’ll spare you the rundown of past incidents as I don’t have the time and you’re not that ignorant.

Here’s the lead-up to the video above then, where a police car mows down 36-year-old Mario Valencia. This taken from Gawker:

At 6:45 a.m., Valencia robbed a 7-Eleven in Tucson with a metal object in his hand. Authorities said he was dressed only in his underwear.

He was charged with theft.

A little more than an hour later, police said, Valencia set a fire at a church for which he was charged with arson of an occupied structure.

Just after that he entered a home and stole a car, police said.

Authorities said he drove to a Walmart where he stole a .30-30 rifle and ammunition. He fled the store with Walmart employees in pursuit.

Right, so we have established he was something of a wanted man. So what reasoning was there for the cops straight up running him over?

Valencia pointed the rifle at officers, refused several requests to drop the weapon, and threatened to kill himself before Officer Michael Rapiejko stepped on the gas and slammed into him from behind.

The impact left Valencia in hospital in serious condition. He was released two days later and sent straight to jail.

The Tucson police chief, Terry Rozema, has defended the action of the officer driving the vehicle and said the drastic actions were taken to prevent any possible harm to innocent people. That sentiment sure sounds agreeable, but in the midst of the current media circus that is America’s law enforcement they would be well advised to exercise caution at all times.

[source:gawker]