Portland Jailer Under Scrutiny for City of Heroes Forum Messages

Portland Jailer Under Scrutiny for City of Heroes Forum Messages

September 11, 2007
A corrections officers in Portland, Oregon is under investigation following a report that he bragged about beating and TASERing prisoners on the official message board of the popular City of Heroes MMO.

According to the Portland Tribune:
David B. Thompson, 30, recently wrote on an Internet message board that one of the more pleasurable parts of his job is when he gets to use his Taser, thus exposing people to the agonizing sensation of 50,000 volts of electricity pulsing through their bodies.

“Seeing someone get TASER’d is second only to being the guy pulling the trigger,” Thompson wrote on an Internet message board Aug. 25. “That is money. Puts a smile on your face.”

Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto was quick to respond:
I don’t want my profession represented like that. There’s simply no place for it.

The newspaper reports that Thompson posted his City of Heroes messages from a work computer:
On For instance, having described himself as a Taser trainer, Trafalgar wrote that “Big mouth skank = perfect TASER candidate.”

When another player remarked that Trafalgar is lucky to be able to Taser people, he responded, “Yes I am. My job is sweet sometimes.”

GP: If the allegations are proven true, it seems certain that Thompson will lose his job and perhaps even face prosecution. And he should.

The Tribune link has more, including the message board coversations.
Posted in

Comments

I think the experiments about the relationship between the prison guard and prisoners really have something to them. There's such a natural pull to go a little 'mad with power'.
What is really poetic, is that if this guy is convicted with jailtime it will be in the same prison that he abused the prisoners. You know how long his health will last.

But yeah, it is wrong to abuse prisoners. Prison is not a place for people to fear going. It is supposed to be a place of reform for the prisoner. If the only thing keeping them from going back to prison is fear for their safety/life, then the prison system has failed.
You know, I'm not sure what this guy was expecting to happen. If you post retardedness like this on the web someone is going to find it sooner or later, and if you leave clues to trace it back to your true identity, don't be surprised if you're asked questions about it. ESPECIALLY if you posted such claims from your work computer.
@Terminator44

that's exactly it.

the study said that the students didn't change into the sadistic prison guards until they put on the uniforms. he could be someone else when he's dressed in civilian attire, but he just sounds like a grade-a douchebag to me.

either way, this guy deserves to lose his job. you don't talk about these sort of things and your definitely not supposed to derive some sick sense of pleasure out of this...
@darktetsuya

Jack.. have power?

Does not compute
What? No one wants to comment on my thoughtful and unintellectual statement?
he changed his handle to Deadwalk.

thankfully, that jerkface isn't on my server.
What a douchebag.
Friend of yours, DemonTestament? :D
Just kidding... I swear... PUT DOWN THE TASER!
:D

Seriously, I'm not sure if it was the brightest idea to make such comments from a work computer. Many of us post from work, but I think we mostly use common sense.

Should he be fired from his job? Misuse of the computer system might lead to some sort of action. But prosecuted? Depends if it pans out that he really abused his power or not. He could be all bluster and no action.

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Serves him right!

Too bad it wasn't the OTHER Thompson, though. :(
Hey, maybe he's related to Jack!

His last name IS Thompson....

Coincidence? I think SO!

But you never know...
He is a jerk, but then again there's a big difference between what people will say in online games to stroke their e-peens and what they actually do in real life so I'm skeptical as to whether this guy ever even shocked someone or if he liked to just brag about it online.

I mean, some of the stuff I say in CS, DoD or even WoW can be pretty stupid/obscene but it doesn't tie back to my self in real life ... its just online douchebaggery which EVERYONE is guilty of ;)
Yeesh. Creepy man. And he's 30 freaking years old.

Let's see another certain Thompson place a 'long-term affects' result on THIS case.
@nightwng
if I read a report correct, he's bragged about lying about an encounter with a prisoner whom he hospitalized, and now the prisoner faces extended jail time for what this asshole lied about. I hope he does get prosecuted for it. You're a keeper of the peace, not torturer.
It should be noted that this coversation occured in the PvP forums... not surprising, just another example of why I really dislike the majority of the PvP community in CoH/V.
Jack's long lost sadomasochistic brother? The odds start out at 1 to 5.
I bet this guy would love Manhunt 2.
I'll take them odds, Majestic. Wonder which one gets to say a the Thanksgiving dinner table, "I'm the 'shmart' one"?
At first, I thought that it was no big deal. It's true, folks like to plug themselves big on the internetz. And he could say what he wants, freedom of speech, especially outside of work, right? Not for a corrections officer, and certainly not if he posted from work. Even worse if what he said about the assault was wrong.

For some professions, be it teacher, police, or some kind of govt. official, you better make sure your past does not contain anything sexual. Polaroid or Porn, it's trouble. The media will have a field day, all over something done 15 years ago at a college party.

But what Thompson did was ultimately worse. He gloated over another's misfortune, publicly said so, & did it at a work computer. He writes like a 10 year old bully.

It sucks that the privacy of who you are and what you do on the side when not at work has become a common place public theater if you slip up once. But if it gets imbalanced people who carry guns & are supposed to protect us a new direction in life, so much the better.
Honestly, I think that this is just internet toughguyism spilling over to the real world. This guy posted on the lollernets about being a brutish bully to the people he was supposed to protect, and now he's facing the consequences.
Funny I share a name with this guy, and sadly as last name with GP's most famous troll :P.

Seems like a guy who thinks he has supreme power when he puts on his uniform and tazer.

It is sad that some people abuse what is given to them.
I'm not for putting sociopaths on a police force, but you can't work that job, deal with belligerent losers all day, and not expect a release. I imagine it becomes so monotonous with the societal dregs (if you will), that you'd wish nothing more but to crush someone's eye socket, or taser a "Loudmouth Skank".

Maybe he should take up sports?
"It is sad that some people abuse what is given to them."

And it's these who inspire distrust in other of that profession, crooked or not
Come on now, you all act like police don't get into this business to wail on black people.
@ Zigs

I never have met a police officer who joined the force for that reason. All the officers that I know are in it to protect and serve.

Additionally, all the prison guards I know are not in it so thye have an excuse to abuse the prisoners. They do it to keep the peace for those prisoners who want to reform.

And yes I do know several police officers and prison guards.
Zigs that is extremely insulting. Being a 911 dispatcher I work with many police officers. None of them became an officer "just to wail on black people". This person wasn't a police officer per say either. He was a corrections officer, just another way to say prison guard. He got what he deserves for what he did. You don't abuse your prisoners and you don't talk about certain aspects of the job. He must of forgot about the NDA he signed when he started his job.
I've worked medicine, where you sometimes 'clean up' after the police. Believe me, I know where I'm coming from.
The prison system. Inherently unjust and inhumane, it remains the ultimate expression of injustice and inhumanity in our society at large. Those of us on the outside to not like to think of wardens and guards as our surrogates, yet they are. And they are deeply interlocked in a deadly embrace with their human captives, behind the prison walls. A terrible double-meaning is thus imparted, to the original question of human ethics: Am I my brother's keeper?
@Zigs

You might have worked medicine but that's no excuse for that kind of generalization. The vast majority of people join the police in order to protect and serve the people. That is the reason the police exist. I'm sure that there are people who join for the express purpose of beating on others but, as was pointed out, they are in the minority. I'm sure the same can be said of those who become correction's officers.

That being said this guy was a jerk and got what he deserved under the law. I wouldn't be surprised if the victim's family sued him either.
If that is the case Zigs, then I'm glad I don't live where you do.
Of course it is a generalization, but a few can embitter me against the mass. I've never been on the 'wrong side' of the legal system but have seen plenty of those who are, and they aren't treated much better than livestock. I guess I find our criminal justice system to be way too draconian. I mean, what other 1st world country executes?

This guy is just another arm of that evil. Society has deemed that this person is below me, so I get to torture him and treat him like an animal. It wouldn't surprise me if this sort of mentality is part of law enforcement education.
@myrpok

Good point. Zimbardo experiment, anyone?
Remember kids, nothing on the interweb is anonymous.
I've been playing City of Heroes since launch. I vaguely remember this guy on the forum, and the general attitude towards him there is that he's a jackass. This incident just cements those sentiments.
I can't believe I share the same game with this asshole.

At least we're on different servers...
@RabiWaff

/He won't be playing much longer by the looks of things
@Zigs

Actually, it isn't a part of police training. Most officers are afraid to ever raise a weapon on a suspect, but this can be dependant upon your area.

Also, if a cop is doing it just to beat ass, they likely had this superiority complex way before they thought of becoming a cop.
@kurisu7885
"if a cop is doing it just to beat ass, they likely had this superiority complex way before they thought of becoming a cop."

let's just hope that JT never becomes a cop then.
TAZE ME!! TAZE ME!!!
pfft, this guy is amuture.

One should taze themselves! Thats what i would do if i had tazer. Eventully id hope to become immune to the electical burns.
If his postings are accurate the guy ought to be fired and charged.

..I don't really understand how this relates to games in the slightest though.
So he enjoys his work /too much/?! What messages are we sending to our children by deriding this humanitarian?! ;)
@ Zigs

Rubbish! FOX News didn't go anywhere near the truth regarding the Legion of Anonymous!

@ xzero87

The message was posted on a City of Heroes forum. Practically you are right though. Then again, is Paris Hilton news at all? *groans*

Although... I find this report rather interesting, as I here now some guy in my own country has admitted to murdering someone last weekend, and has now come forward to the police.
Damn! I meant 'hear'.
@E. Zachary Knight

Actually there's a divided opinion on whether prison is supposed to be a place of reform, or a place of punishment. Unfortunately that lets abuses like this guy claims to have done crop up and have little to nothing done to fix them.
But dont you see, in city of heroes you can use a taser!
So he must have been inspired by the games way of beating down prisoners (villians.)

Next he will construct the fankengun and go on a killing rampage of little people everywhere!
I'm of the opinion that a prisoners "punishment" is the fact that they are in a controlled life without the luxuries of the outside world. They should not be in an abusive or unhealthy envirnment.

But to me the goal of prison is to keep prisoners from committing crimes again and ending up back in prison. There are many ways to do this, but to me the best way to do it is to give them some constructive skills to use after they are released. If they don't have nay skills to survive in the real world, they will end up doing what they know, breaking the law. From what I have heard of most of our prison system is that too much of the prisoner's time is spent on idle activities. Idle hands are the Devil's play thing, or something like that.

I like movies like Gridiron Gang. These movies show that there are better odds for prisoners in a reform program than there are in a punishment program.

There is also the whole attention aspect of it. As humans we seek recognition and attention. If all we get is negetive attention, then we eventually condition ourselves to seek that negetive attention. This is very apparent in children, but can be seen in adults. Positive reeforcement and positive attention would go a lot further to lowering crime rates and prison population.
That was at Gray17
Bullshit I say! Fox News broke /b/ to the world. Now that they have been exposed by a local Fox News affiliate, /b/ is no longer able to terrorize the world with cyber threats and e-penises. Anonymous, Fox has your number... they just, y'know, misdialed or something.
"Finally, remember that we do not screen your comments. Your words are your own."

Lies... If I can't sarcastically rip into 4chan (while really making fun of Fox) that's called screening. Amirite?
@Kincyr

Nah, if that happened JT would talk big and then dart away the second it gets heavy saying "I warned them"
A bad cop, what a "shocker" o_0
@E. Zachary Knight

There's nothing wrong with your opinion, I pretty much agree with it. I just remember that one article regarding games in prisons where the comments showed there was a couple schools of thought. One school held that prisons for meant to reform people, the other held that prison was a place of punishment where people were stuck to be made miserable for their crimes. The later school of thought helps give rise to abusers like this guy, and hinders work to improve the system.

So basically I'm saying that there's more to the issue than just the abuses.
How long will it be, do you suppose, until Jack or someone else links this guy's agressive behavior and thoughts to the video games he plays?
*shrugs at Zigs* Doesn't matter that much.
Might be a bit. Seems Jack is slow today. Maybe in memory of the fallen towers hes drafting a giant diagram of how its all the video game industries fault.

...oh wait. He already did that.

ah well. Im sure he'll get around to throwing his two counterfeit cents into the discussion at some point.
@gameryno

I already did it for him.
Yeah, Murry, Osama bin Laden was a big Counterstrike player. He was always on the terrorists' side, too.
@nightwng:

"Depends if it pans out that he really abused his power or not."

So when Jack does it its ok, apparently...
@Picho:

Yeah, Power of attorney :P (You're right though... by year's end he'll prolly be out of a job, with any luck... I don't normally wish bad on anyone, but considering how light it is compared to the bad he's wished on others? I think I'm entitled. :P)
This guy is sick. Granting without accepting, even if he didn't do it, he just desecrated the profession of corrections officer as a whole. I understand that the job isn't really clean with the media reports of correction officers torturing their prisoners but you have to feel bad for the honest ones.
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@EZKnight:

I am wholely in agreement.
Just on another thought...

David B. Thompson...
John B. Thompson...

hmm...

Nah, to much of a coincidence.
@Anonymous

I really need to invest in those ol' /sarcasm tags. The Fox News thing was nothing, hilarious to those in the know, sensationalist to those unfortunate local viewers who now fear "Anonymous", and completely unnoticed by the rest of the world.
[...] Jail worker investigated [Portland Tribune via Game Politics] [...]
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Re: Portland Jailer Under Scrutiny for City of Heroes Forum

Should really take the best of these threads and put them on cd i just finished reading the disc mojo review and think its the perfect software to do that quickly

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