Cops Went on a Drunken Rampage, Men Say

PHILADELPHIA (CN) - In broad daylight and in front of several witnesses, a drunken cop fired his gun out his car window, shouted racial slurs and threatened to blow the heads off of two black men, they claim in court.

Ken Jacobs and Timothy Williams, of Chester, Pa., just outside Philadelphia, say their strange encounter occurred on Oct. 13, 2012, in the parking lot of a local baseball field

It was about 3 p.m., and Jacobs and Williams were allegedly watching people in the park riding motorcycles when a teal-green pick-up truck pulled up, and one of the car's occupants "began repeatedly shooting his firearm out of his truck window."

The two men exited the vehicle, "with the overwhelming smell of alcohol on their breaths," pointed their guns at Jacobs and Williams, and yelled, "Get down on the ground you fucking niggers," according to the complaint.

Jacobs and Williams identify the men in the complaint as CID Detective M. Palmer and "unknown CID officer." CID is an abbreviation for Delaware County's Criminal Investigation Division.

When the two men asked why they were being shot at, Palmer allegedly said, "Get down on the ground or I'm gonna blow your heads off."

"Palmer then walked over to plaintiff Jacobs, with his gun pointed at his head, and said 'You niggers are gonna, pay, where the fuck are the stolen four wheelers," according to the complaint (punctuation in original).

Jacobs said he replied that he had no knowledge of the four wheelers in question, to which Palmer responded that both Jacobs and Williams were "lying nigger pieces of shit," the complaint says.

Jacobs said he offered to call his aunt, a corporal in the Chester police department, at which Palmer allegedly replied, "I don't give a fuck who your aunt is, I'm CID and shut your nigger mouth before I blow your head off."

Palmer eventually told Jacobs and Williams, "Get the fuck out of here and if I catch you motherfuckers down here again I'm gonna kick your fucking asses."

Jacobs and Williams allegedly got the truck's license plate number, and that Chester police chased after the truck as it drove away.

Police also interviewed several witnesses at the scene, according to the complaint. Jacobs and Williams say that when "Capt. C. Fell" interviewed Detective Palmer at the scene, they officers "conspired ... to suppress the investigation."

Fell conspired similarly with Police commissioner Joseph Bail and "Detective Worrilow," according to the complaint.

Jacobs and Williams seek punitive damages for excessive force; failure to train, supervise and discipline the detectives; assault and battery; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and conspiracy to obstruct an investigation. They are represented by Joseph Oxman.

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