An LAPD officer who writes under the psuedonym of Jack Dunphy is questioning the injuries claimed by Venice skateboarder Ronald Weekley, Jr. in a take-down by Los Angeles cops that was captured on video.

Dunphy writes a fresh critique of news coverage of the controversy, singling out KTLA News for what he describes as “disregard for honest journalism,” on the conservative blog PJ Media:

In his analysis the author concludes that Weekley could not have sustained the claimed injuries, a broken nose, a broken cheekbone, and a concussion:

… If Weekley had indeed suffered the injuries he claimed, he would have been admitted into the hospital rather than being cleared for booking into jail. And nowhere in Mr. Nash's report was it questioned how anyone with injuries like those claimed by Weekley could be as unmarred as he appeared to be in his many post-arrest interviews.

Dunphy also says that the video does not support claims from Weekley's supporters that he was handcuffed as four officers piled on him (and one clearly punched him):

… The unedited video does not support this. The officer's punch comes at around the 0:22 mark in the tape, at a time when it appears Weekley is still struggling. Not until the 0:50 mark can an officer be seen reaching for his handcuffs. The action is momentarily blocked as the camera moves from one side of a police officer to the other, but by the 1:00 mark it appears Mr. Weekley is restrained, after which it's all over but the shouting. And there was lots and lots of shouting, but again not by the police.

Fair points, although we find it strange that an LAPD booster is using video to exonerate the cops involved while the L.A. police union says the video doesn't tell the whole story. Which is it?

Weekley was tackled by cops on the afternoon of Aug. 18 at Sunset and Sixth avenues in Venice as he allegedly skateboarded on the wrong side of the street near his residence and refused their orders to stop and have a talk with them.

Officers involved still need to answer why they would have targeted Weekley for such a penny ante violation, though he did turn out to have outstanding warrants. And the cop who punched him will also have some 'splainin' to do.

But we noted that Weekley probably could have avoided all this by simply complying, as all citizens must, from the get-go.

Dumphy has no criticism for the officers involved and seems to paint the neighborhood and the victim with racial undertones, as if race and the socioeconomic status in Venice's ghetto provide law enforcement with a lower bar for humanity and the rule of law.

Would a white skateboarder outside the Venice Whole Foods have been treated differently? That's the true heart of the matter as far as we're concerned.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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