Which Donkey Of The Day has Charlamagne The God questioning humanity as a whole? Well, none other than Sheriff's Deputy Manuel Van Santen. Given the climate we're living in these days, we already know where this is headed.
Serving Pima County in the state Arizona was his responsibility, but Manuel seemed to not have gotten the memo while in cadet school that there are situations where excessive force isn't necessary. Especially with culprits who are handicapped.
It took an entire two months for a video of Van Santen tackling a 15-year-old teen with no legs or arms to surface. The Sheriff's department claimed they never saw the footage before reporters picked it up and showed them. An "immediate internal investigation" was eventually launched. So what caused the young man to be picked up and slammed by this full body-abled 11-year veteran? Well, we still don't know.
The quadruple amputee had the cops called on him in the group home where he resides with other teens. He allegedly kicked over a trash can and threatened the workers there. That's when Captain Donkey swooped in to save the day. The 8-minute recording picked up in the midst Van Santen wrestling the child we know as, Immanuel in a corner. He was also heard saying, "I'll raise my voice to you whenever the f*** I want, do you understand?" It was all tracked by another child resident, CJ, who also ended up being slammed into a wall and arrested. Why? Basically, for trying to stick up for Immanuel.
Pima County Public Defender Joel Feinman, who will be representing the teen in the child abuse case, argued:
"They don't have the love and affection that a lot of kids are fortunate enough to have," Feinman said. "Even more reason to treat them with special care, special patience and understanding – not traumatizing them all over again."
"(This case) needs to serve as a cautionary tale to other law enforcement officers who we entrust with our lives and safety," Feinman said. "If you act this way around children – around our most vulnerable citizens – then you don't deserve that badge and that gun, and you don't deserve our trust."
With as long as it took for this truth to be uncovered, we're going to go out on a limb (no pun indeed) and assume Manuel has no regrets about how he handled this situation.