Last night I had an interaction with Josh English and Mike Goodchild, Keene police department employees who acted in opposite of the mission they claim to uphold.
The mission of the Keene Police Department is to protect life and property and to maintain order within the City while assuring fair and respectful treatment of everyone.
Just after 10pm I spied some flashing blue lights on West Street in Keene. As I neared the scene – one Keene cruiser with the license plate G0244 and an Explorer stopped along the curb facing east – I opened Bambuser to start streaming live content, and, just in case, I made more accessible my handheld marine band radio – used to communicate with others in the area who may have their ears on.
I expected the road pirate activity to pass uneventfully. Yet the interaction had with English and Goodchild was less than satisfactory. From the former, I received threats. From the latter, I was treated as if I didn’t exist. It’s clear neither fit the “respectful” demeanor claimed in their mission…
Quick and dirty breakdown of exchange seen in video
0:00 I positioned myself at the front of the scene to be visible to all present and to be better positioned to create an objective record of the incident
0:44 woman visible
1:40 identification given
2:54 update
3:08 why I choose to film the police
4:00 second Keene police employee arrives at scene
4:39 contact attempted with second Keene police employee
4:54 second Keene police employee refuses to respond, even to share his name/badge
5:05 second Keene police employee identified as [Mike] Goodchild
5:30 Goodchiild asked thoughts about filming – remains mute
5:50 Goodchild asked if actions align with mission [in case you’re curious, the tenants put-forth by Keene police include “professionalism, objectivity, loyalty, integrity, courtesy, enthusiasm”]
6:15 first Keene police employee returns to woman in Explorer
6:40 second individual on scene filming police [Garret Ean]
7:00 road pirate activity, initiated by the first Keene police employee, concludes
7:09 first Keene police employee asked “Can I get your name and badge number sir?”
7:18 first Keene police employee exits his vehicle and approaches while verbalizing “Step away from my car, you’re antagonizing my dog, that’s a criminal action”
8:11 first Keene police employee asked again for his name
8:15 first Keene police employee again exits vehicle and says “If you step in front of my car again I will arrest you”
8:30 first Keene police employee identified as [Josh] English
8:38 English and Goodchild drive away from scene
8:47 I remind English and Goodchild that “This isn’t what Keene is supposed to be about!”
9:00 recap of exchange had with Ean
_____________________
Keene Police Department
400 Marlboro Street
Keene, NH 03431
Phone: (603) 357-9813
Josh English – Keene police employee who initiated the traffic stop, and who twice threatened to kidnap/cage
Mike Goodchild – Keene police employee who arrived at traffic stop later, and who remained non-conversational
Over the last several days the video and story about Keene High’s “school resource officer” Joshua English attacking and tackling a student for allegedly vaping in the school’s bathroom, has gone viral. However, there’s more to the story than cop-attacks-teen, though this incident alone is bad enough. In case you haven’t heard about this incident, according to other students the young man who was viciously attacked by English was vaping in the bathroom and English confronted him. The student heroically refused to identify himself to the armed, intimidating, uniformed man and walked out of the bathroom. Moments later, English bursted out of the bathroom and tackled the peaceful student, subduing him with a shocking level of force.
Thankfully, another brave student pulled out their phone upon hearing a commotion from inside the bathroom and captured the entire tackling on video:
Understandably many are outraged at the officer’s use of force over a simple vaping incident, but that’s not really what caused English to fly into a violent rage. The young victim’s real crime was disobedience. The youth had the gall to act as though he were a free man, walking away from a threatening, potentially violent anti-nicotine nuisance and attempting to go about his day. English has his “authority” to worry about and can’t possibly be seen by others as someone who one could just walk away from without consequence, so he used violence to dominate the young man in front of a crowd of people.
Keene Police have been making headlines nationwide for proclaiming that English was fully within police guidelines for his use of force against the “subject” – yes, that’s actually how they refer to the rest of us non-gang members. Keene police chief Steve Russo exonerated English in a recent release, saying his agent had not violated any department guidelines or state statutes, but Russo said further that English was worried the young man was a potential trespasser, claiming to the Union Leader, “At that point, he didn’t even know he was a student”.
Keene Police Officer Joshua English
Perhaps English needs to have his memory tested. While it would certainly be hard to remember previously seeing one random male in a school with over one thousand students, how could English forget that he’d written the same young man a ticket for “possessing tobacco products” two weeks prior? The student’s father showed the proof of this claim to WHDH-TV in Boston.
While Keene Police are trying to make English look like a hero protecting the school from a potential intruder, the reality is much different. In KPD’s official release, they claim the Keene Police and the school district are, “committed to maintaining the safety and security of the students…which may regrettably include when necessary, the use of force to secure that safety.” There were no allegations the young victim was doing anything violent. He was allegedly vaping in the bathroom. No one was threatened by the young man. The only dangerous, violent threat in Keene High School that day was Keene Police’s Joshua English. Who is he?
Don’t expect the mainstream media to do a modicum of digging about English. Otherwise you might have already discovered English shot a man to death in Keene back in 2010. Free Keene blogger and former police officer Brad Jardis covered the story here when English was found to be within the state’s use-of-force guidelines in the shooting incident. In that case, the man who was shot by English was holding a knife to a woman’s throat, so our blogger Jardis agreed with the shooting as necessary. However, is it really the best decision to assign one of the only officers at KPD who has violently taken another human being’s life the duty of being the high school’s cop? (more…)
![police-[1]](https://i0.wp.com/keenecopblock.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2013/07/police-1.jpg)
