Safe driving is now a reason for police to pull you over, check the inside of your car, demand your papers, and stomp what is left of the 4th Amendment into the ground.
The post Police Announce Program to Illegally Stop People for ‘SAFE Driving’ & Facebook Owns Them appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
A Jersey cop has been charged after horrifying dashcam footage showed him sic his K9 on an elderly woman and allow it to maul her for no reason at all.
A man"s secretly recorded traffic stop exposed a State Trooper"s ridiculous escalation to threats which could"ve resulted in deadly force for no reason.
For asking if her fiance was okay during a traffic stop, a mother was attacked by police, thrown to the ground and tasered—as she held her son.
Illustrating the lengths to which police will go to extract revenue from citizens, an innocent man was pulled over and ticketed for singing in his car.
Indianapolis, IN — In the land of the free, police claim the right to detain and extort you for failing to signal a turn in your vehicle. If you do not immediately comply with said detainment, police will claim the right to use violence and often deadly force against you to carry out this extortion. Kim Townsend learned this the hard way.
Townsend, who was beat to a bloody and severly injured pulp during a traffic stop last year has filed a federal lawsuit against Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. The lawsuit claims police used excessive force during an arrest on January 6, 2016. The horrifying arrest was captured on video.
“All I know is that I was on the ground,” said Townsend, after she was tackled for failing to stop for police trying to pull her over for failing to use her turn signal.
“I felt a punch in the back of my head. I felt a kick to my face and someone stepping on my hands and feet,” said Townsend.
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FOX 59 was given video of the arrest by Townsend’s attorney, Greg Kulis of Gregory E. Kulis & Associates Ltd, who says the use of force by police was unnecessary, unreasonable and unprovoked.
“This is a matter where you have trained law enforcement that acted in a totally outrageous manner,” said Kulis. And outrageous it was.
“Police officers grab her in a very forceful manner and throw her to the pavement like she is a rag doll. As a result, Kim was seriously injured,” said Kulis.
As the video shows, police officers tackle Townsend, sending her smashing into a door before she is violently thrown to the ground. As the officer is throwing her down, he positions his knee in her gut sending all 200 pounds of his body weight into a single painful blow.
READ MORE: 13 Cops Dispatched to Arrest One 15-year-old Girl, Because a Cop "Smelled Weed"
Townsend was not resisting, and in fact, appeared to be unconscious for a spell as other officers joined in on the melee. She was kicked, kneed, punched, and the life nearly squeezed out of her as police piled on top to make sure they let her know that trying to avoid extortion for a turn signal violation would be met with extreme force.
Naturally, police will claim this insane escalation of force was necessary because Townsend failed to immediately stop and led police on a 5 mile long chase through town as she made her way to her house.
According to the police report, Townsend stopped her car in the alleyway at the Julian Center on North Meridian and got out of her car. Investigators say she tried to run inside of that building, FOX 59 reports.
“I was not running away from them. That is where I lived,” said Townsend.
As a result of the brutal beat down given to her by police—over failing to use a turn signal—Townsend suffered torn ligaments, knocked out teeth, and a fractured bone in her face. Townsend is suing for compensation for medical bills, which have exceeded $80,000, and is currently facing charges of resisting law enforcement and operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator.
“I’m just trying to take it one day at a time to build my life back up,” she told FOX 59.
According to the news outlet, they reached out to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and IMPD about the case and asked them to review the surveillance video with us and provide an on-camera interview or written statement. Both departments say they do not comment on pending litigation.
READ MORE: Why We Need More Bad Cops
Below is a video that perfectly illustrates the nature of the state. Violence is their only tool and if 100 percent compliance is not immediately given, this tool will be used over and over again.
Remember, as you watch the disturbing footage below that this woman had not harmed another individual, she had not stolen, nor damaged anyone’s property. All this force was escalated and carried out over a turn signal.
Lorain, OH — Police discretion, according to the Law Dictionary, is defined as the decision-making power afforded to police officers that allows them to decide if they want to pursue police procedure or simply let someone off with a warning. The Free Thought Project has reported on multiple incidents in which cops have used their discretion to affect positive change or help those in need. However, the incident described below is, unfortunately, not one of those stories.
Charlie Rolko, a father of four, was rushing his 7-year-old son to the hospital earlier this month after he’d fallen and received a deep gash that was bleeding heavily. Naturally, Rolko, who had his three other kids in the SUV with him, was driving a little fast as it was an emergency.
“My son fell and had a deep cut. He was in pain and was bleeding so my main concern was to get him to the hospital,” Rolko told Fox 8.
However, his haste would be in vain after an Ohio State Patrol officer targetted him for revenue collection. Rolko admits that he was driving 10 miles over the posted 25 mph speed limit—hardly serious criminal behavior.
When the trooper walked up to his window, the dash cam footage shows Rolko asked her to let him go. To show what a stand-up man Rolko is, he wasn’t asking to be let off for the ticket, he simply asked the cop if she could write him the ticket after he got to the hospital to stop his son’s pain and bleeding. Unfortunately, the trooper wanted nothing of this.
READ MORE: Law Enforcement Firm: Nobody Will Complain About Militarized Police When ISIS Attacks
Instead of using her police officer’s discretion and realizing that the right and heroic thing to do would’ve been to allow Rolko to go to the hospital or even escort him there, this trooper insisted on keeping the father and his bleeding child at the scene so she could issue him a ticket.
“She said if it was life-threatening, we can call an ambulance but I told her he needed stitches and we didn’t have the money for an ambulance,” Rolko said. “So she said we would need to stay and be processed at the scene.”
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According to FOX 8, a spokesmen for the Ohio State Patrol told them Rolko was given a warning for speeding, and for not having two of his children in booster seats. He was given a ticket for not wearing his seatbelt.
To be clear, his kids were buckled in, just not in the right booster seat for their age. Also, according to Rolko, he did have his seat belt on, it was just under his arm.
“I guess when I got in the car, I was in such a hurry I had the seat belt under my arm and not over my shoulder,” Rolko said. “I understand the tickets. I just wish they could have showed some empathy and followed us or escorted us to the hospital and issued the ticket there.”
Empathy, however, was not an option.
This news story could’ve been so much different and filed in our archives under ‘good cops’ had this trooper simply done the right thing—using her discretion—and escorted Rolko to the hospital.
READ MORE: Mother and Child Murdered by Rapist Because Cops Go After Drug Dealers Instead of Criminals
The trooper could’ve been hailed as a hero. Instead, however, now she’s responsible for stoking more animosity toward police.
Two quick examples that show the power of police discretion can be seen below as well.
In 2014, dashcam video captured the disturbing last moments of a man’s life as he’s detained by a Chippewa Falls police officer on the way to the hospital.
29-year-old Casey Kressin died after suffering a severe asthma attack when the vehicle that was rushing him to the hospital was pulled over by a Chippewa Falls police officer.
After they were stopped, Kressin’s girlfriend immediately starts to beg the officer to take him to the hospital. The officer instead calls for an ambulance.
The couple was just 3 miles from the hospital when they were stopped. It took over 6 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. The time added to the stop by the officer was too much and Kressin died on the side of the road because the officer failed to use his discretion and escort them to the hospital.
However, here’s what happens when officers use their discretion, they’re hailed as heroes, and rightfully so.
Also, in 2014, Helen “Skeeter” Smith found out her son was gravely ill and in the hospital.
The 87-year-old jumped into her car in southern Nevada and began her 350 mile, high-speed drive up I-15. Not long into her drive, she “buzzed past” a Utah Trooper who immediately pulled her over.
When Helen told the trooper what her situation was, she was then let on her way. However, that was only the beginning.
READ MORE: The Absurd, Bureaucratic Hell That Is the American Police State
When Helen went to leave, she accidentally put the car in reverse instead of drive, sending her car slamming into the state trooper’s car behind her.
That’s when something completely out of the ordinary happened – instead of being cited, or otherwise detained, Trooper Jeff Jones began what would be a chain reaction of heroism. He actually gave her a ride from Fillmore to Juab County.
Once the pair made it to Juab, Smith was handed off to Trooper Chris Bishop, who drove her to Salt Lake County.
There, she was given to Andrew Pollard in Draper, who drove Smith all the way to Ogden Regional Medical Center.
“I ended up taking four patrol cars,” said Smith. “Four good-lookin’ patrol boys brought me.”
Because multiple cops all chose to use their discretion and chose to help—instead of extort—Smith finally made it to the hospital room to see her dying son.
GEORGIA (INTELLIHUB) — A Cobb County police officer by the name of Lt. Greg Abbott found himself in hot water recently after a video was released showing the officer telling a frightened woman who he pulled over the unimaginable.
When the woman told Abbott that she was scared to move or grab her I.D. because she feared being shot, Abbott told her not to worry, “we only kill black people.”
“But you are not black,” the officer said. “Remember, we only kill black people, right?”
The incident happened on July 10, 2016, but has just recently been brought to light.
Morgan County, UT — The victim of a police shooting is devastated after the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the officer who shot her in the face for attempting to flee the scene of a traffic stop was justified.
The case has been ongoing for several years and the battle to hold the officer accountable has been uphill at best.
On Nov. 24, 2012, Kristin Biggs Johnson made the poor decision of getting intoxicated and driving her vehicle. The choice to drink and drive, lead police on a chase, and attempt to flee nearly cost her her life.
Johnson was blinded in her left eye when Sgt. Daniel Scott Peay fired into the cab of her pickup truck at the end of a 32-mile high-speed chase that ended in a cul de sac. Despite not have a reason, Peay made the decision to employ deadly force and shot Johnson in her face. Luckily, she was only blinded.
The dashcam video of the incident showed there was no reason to fire at all.
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Daniel Peay and his brother Christian Peay, both deputies with the Morgan Sheriff’s Office at the time, were involved in the chase. Once they had her boxed in, Johnson attempted to flee once more. However, that is when the officer’s fear took over.
Daniel Paey said he just knew this drunken woman was going to kill them as he saw a “look of rage” on her face as she slowly rolled her truck back and forth in a futile attempt to drive away. When he lost sight of his brother Christian, that’s when Daniel Peay decided to open fire.
READ MORE: BREAKING: Police Shoot 6-yo Boy in the Head Multiple Times Killing Him
“Christian dropped out of my view,” Daniel Peay said in his deposition. “I didn’t know if he was under her vehicle, if she had hit him, or if she was pinning him between the vehicles. And I fired to stop her from injuring my brother.”
Just before the shooting, the court said, “the videos clearly demonstrate Johnson’s willingness and ability to use her truck to hit, and thereby move, law enforcement vehicles in close proximity to several police officers.”
However, hitting a vehicle to escape police and killing a person are two entirely different scenarios. From the video, we can conclude that at no time were either of the deputies lives in danger. In fact, the truck was entirely stopped when Peay fired.
“Sergeant Peay employed deadly force that, in retrospect, may have been unnecessary,” the appeals court said this month. “But (Peay) reacted to a high-intensity situation after Johnson had led law enforcement on a lengthy car chase, repeatedly failed to heed officers’ warnings and commands, and maneuvered her truck in a way that a reasonable police officer could have concluded she was using it as a weapon and was intent on resuming her flight, even if it meant putting officers’ lives in danger.”
Last year, Daniel Peay was granted qualified immunity by Judge Tena Campbell in spite of the potential charges.
The Davis County Attorney’s Office conducted an independent investigation and determined Peay’s “use of potentially lethal force … was not necessitated by the facts” and the shooting did “not squarely fit with the letter, scope and intent of” state and related federal law. However, Davis declined to prosecute Peay because “a unanimous jury would not convict Sergeant Peay of a crime when presented with all of the evidence.”
READ MORE: CONFIRMED: Dashcam Video of Sandra Bland"s Violent Arrest was Indeed Edited
Conveniently for Peay, the department also ‘lost’ the internal administrative review report on the shooting. Campbell then ruled against a motion for sanctions on County officials for such dereliction. After the investigation was deleted in a computer crash, no hard copies were found — and Peay was returned to duty.
“There is no evidence to suggest that the defendants’ explanation for loss of the electronic copy is disingenuous,” Campbell wrote.
As the Standard reports, in a 2013 plea bargain in Johnson’s criminal case, prosecutors dropped an aggravated assault charge and she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI and felony failure to stop at the command of a police officer. She received a suspended 0-to-5-year prison sentence and was released on 36 months of probation with credit for jail time served.
Decatur, AL — It must have felt like a nightmare when Tracy Marie Garth, 34, a bank employee from Decatur, AL, was arrested April 25, 2016. The trip was supposed to be a shopping vacation for the family. However, they were brought to the police station instead where Garth’s eldest would be severely burned.
Garth and her two young children — 8 months and 2 years — were going to Nashville, TN, when Franklin police officer Sgt. James Phillips pulled her over.
Garth claims Phillips “accused her of passing a dump truck, striking an orange traffic cone, and failing to stop for law enforcement and speeding” according to the Tennesseean.
But according to the affidavit signed by Phillips, Garth’s children were improperly restrained in the vehicle. The mother had driven the nearly four-hour trip and was within 20 miles of her final destination. Nevertheless, Phillips arrested Garth for, “three counts of felony reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon (her vehicle), two counts of evading arrest with a motor vehicle, driving on closed roads, speeding, improper passing, failing to stop at a red light and two counts of violating the child restraint system.”
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Nevertheless, Phillips arrested Garth for, “three counts of felony reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon (her vehicle), two counts of evading arrest with a motor vehicle, driving on closed roads, speeding, improper passing, failing to stop at a red light and two counts of violating the child restraint system.”
The mother of two, who had never been arrested before and has no criminal record, was booked into the Williamson County Jail, and was separated from her children. At around the same time Garth was imprisoned, child protective services were called to take custody of her children. That’s when the horrific accident took place.
READ MORE: Former Cop Who Feds Say Committed a “Horrific, Violent Crime,” Found Dead in Murder/Suicide
While Garth was jailed, her two children were being held in a break room at the precinct. There, the two-year-old pressed a button on the hot water dispenser and was severely burned by the hot water pouring from the machine.
While ‘protecting’ the children from their mother, police allowed this 2-year-old to play with a tap of near boiling water.
Adding insult to injury, according to her recently filed civil rights lawsuit, Garth says she was forced to strip nude while a male guard was filming.
Little did she know the ordeal was only just beginning. Garth and her attorneys allege she was not allowed to make a phone call while in jail. Neither did she know her son had been severely burned. In fact, Garth spent two weeks in jail, still unaware the accident had taken place.
She would have been able to bond out of jail had she been given a phone call, which is standard jail procedure. Instead, the young banker was forced to spend the next 14 days in jail with no one to help her and no knowledge of her child’s burns.
After leaving the jail, Garth’s children were not returned to her. She’s still fighting to regain custody, and she’s now lost her banking job, a position she’d held for over a decade.
Garth is now suing the City of Franklin, The Franklin Police Department, the officers involved and others for violating her civil rights. And she’s wanting answers. According to the Tennesseean:
Franklin police transported the two-year-old child to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital for treatment, while Kirby took the other child to the Franklin DCS office. No one from DCS accompanied or met the burned child at the hospital, and the agency never investigated how the injuries occurred, according to the lawsuit.
Worse still, Garth was not notified of her son’s injuries until 16 days later on May 11.
READ MORE: WATCH: Police Blast Man Out of His Van With Fire Hose Then Kill Him
City of Franklin spokeswoman Milissa Reierson responded to the lawsuit by saying Garth’s is only one side to the story. She explained what happened from the perspective of the police department. In a classic case of blaming the victim, Reierson said:
Following Garth’s arrest, officers called DCS to assist with caring for Garth’s young children after she was unable to provide contact information for other family or next of kin
In other words, because she could not think to provide any information about who the police should call to take custody of the kids, they were remanded into child protective services. She still has not regained custody of her small children.
Garth disputes the Franklin PD’s claims and said she gave the police at least 10 names of individuals to whom they could release her children.
The young mother is suing for 2.5 million dollars for, in essence, kidnapping and allowing her child to be burned by hot water. She’s also suing two Williamson County police agencies and the Tennessee Division of Children’s Services in federal court. It could be months or longer before she gets her children back.
North Charleston, SC — James Terry III has a long rap sheet of traffic tickets. Mounting fines, suspended licenses, and constant harassment from police make it extremely hard to get out from under this burden. So, when he was stopped last November, and targeted for revenue collection once again, naturally, he was agitated. However, his verbal anger was quickly met with police force, which got progressively worse until he was finally in shackles having his face beaten in by officer Leroy Hair.
On November 15, a North Charleston police officer pulled over Terry at a convenience store for allegedly speeding. Terry, who was obviously tired of getting pulled over and harassed, got out of the vehicle and began verbally protesting his stop.
Terry was being pulled over by the same department responsible for hiring Michael Slager — who pleaded guilty earlier this year after murdering a fleeing unarmed man, Walter Scott, by shooting him in the back, on video. These interactions with Charleston police can and have proven to be quite dangerous. So, it was not the best decision for Terry to get out of the car, as he quickly learned.
As Terry voiced his complaints, officer George Fogle tackled him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs. Terry, although still verbally upset, was not physically resisting. However, as officer Kyle Decedue showed up, both officers walked Terry over to the patrol car and smashed his face into the hood. This was enough for Terry who could no longer stand the abuse. He began flailing around in anger.
READ MORE: Chicago Taxpayers Shell Out $7,000 an Hour, 24 Hours a Day -- to Pay Victims of Police Brutality
Decedue pulled out his flashlight and began beating Terry, who was then shackled at the ankles. Remember, all this violence and escalation of force is all over a minor traffic violation.
After Terry was handcuffed and shackled, officer Hair shows up to join in on the lynching arrest. The in-car video showed Hair grab Terry by the chain of his handcuffs and violently yank him back into the car only to start pummelling his head.
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“(Hair) did strike and punch Terry multiple times about the face while Terry was handcuffed and in the backseat,” a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) agent wrote in an arrest affidavit.
Three months after the incident, Hair was arrested after a SLED investigation found that he used excessive force on Terry during the stop. He was charged with third-degree assault and battery.
Terry and his family finally thought they may see some justice for his years of harassment and violent escalation by the Charleston police department. However, as they found out this week, Hair will not face any accountability.
In fact, not only will Hair not face accountability, he is now being hailed as a hero in the town. Seriously.
As the Post and Courier reports, Hair’s attorney, Edward Phipps of Charleston, called Hair a “victim” for being prosecuted after pulling a violent person clear of other officers.
“That really saved everybody,” Phipps said. “He’s more of a hero than anything.”
“I’m not sorry because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Hair said of beating a shackled man. “I was helping the officers out, and at the end of the day, we all went home.”
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Robert Bogan, a St. Matthews attorney who prosecuted the case, did not agree.
“This is about holding a police officer accountable,” Bogan said. “Police officers cannot be judge, jury and executioner. It ain’t right.”
Sadly, however, a jury agreed with the concocted story about Hair heroically saving his fellow officers from the likes of a ferocious man who somehow caused officers to fear for their lives — in spite of being handcuffed and shackled.
In his own defense, Hair even said those exact words.
“I feared for my life,” said Hair. “He was chomping away trying to get my hand.”
According to the Courier, SLED Agent David Owen contended that Hair had left out key explanations during an interview, and Bogan alleged that the officer wanted to give Terry an “attitude adjustment.”
“He could have done the same thing (as the other officers),” Bogan said. “He could have backed up and closed the door.”
For some reason, the Post and Courier cut off the end of the video which shows Hair begin to punch Terry in the face repeatedly. However, below is a news clip that followed the incident which shows the entire assault.
Terry was paid $250,000 by the department for his abuse while in custody.
Campbell, CA — A disturbing video was submitted to the Free Thought Project this week showing a Campbell police officer holding a couple at gunpoint on the side of the highway for an extended period.
Feo Mas, the passenger in the vehicle, tells TFTP that he was on the way to a job interview and his girlfriend, Amanda Galan was going to work. The couple allegedly exceeded the speed limit and were pulled over by a Campbell city police officer and then held at gunpoint.
According to Mas, the officer is Daniel Stromska with the Campbell police department. Stromska, who collects a $188,000 annual paycheck to pull people over, became frightened of the couple during the stop and so he held them at gunpoint.
The resultant video shows the dangerous nature of fearful cops and how at any moment their lack of courage could lead to the death of an innocent person.
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For ten minutes on the side of the road, Mas and Galan were staring down the barrel of Stromska’s pistol.
Stromska claimed that Mas ‘reached under the seat’ and that this was enough to assault the couple with a deadly weapon. However, Mas said he was just trying to get the paperwork Stromska requested.
As Stromska aims his gun at Mas’ chest, the officer tells him to calm down. Naturally, Mas has a rather difficult time remaining entirely relaxed as a cop holds him at gunpoint. However, even though he did talk, Mas never yelled or otherwise posed any threat to the officer.
Mas tells TFTP that when the backup officer arrived, Mas was removed from the vehicle and handcuffed. No weapons were found in the vehicle.
READ MORE: Former Cop Who Feds Say Committed a “Horrific, Violent Crime,” Found Dead in Murder/Suicide
At the end of the stop, Galan was issued a speeding ticket and Mas was cited for not wearing his seat belt. However, while the camera is rolling, we can see that Mas actually had his seat belt on.
TFTP reached out to the Campbell police department who responded with the following statement:
After contacting the driver and passenger on the side of the highway, there was approximately five minutes that elapsed prior to the start of the Facebook video. During that time, there was a cordial conversation between the officer and the occupants of the vehicle where he explained why he had stopped the car and requested the driver’s license and additional paperwork. Both the driver and passenger spent several minutes looking for the requested paperwork. The officer informed the occupants to wait in the vehicle as he prepared to walk back to his motorcycle to write a citation. It was at that time that the passenger began reaching under his seat. It is not clear why the passenger chose to reach under the seat since the officer was not requesting any other paperwork.
Unfortunately, the passenger’s unexpected movement towards the bottom of the seat, caused the officer to perceive a threat and draw his handgun. The officer requested additional officers respond to assist him so that he could safely resolve the situation. The comments on the Facebook video bring up a lot of different viewpoints about how the officer could have responded differently or used different tactics. Our officers receive a tremendous amount of training on a consistent basis and that training is what dictates our response. This is intended to protect our officers as well as those they come in contact with. The unfortunate reality is sometimes people attack police officers, as tragically occurred in the City of Los Banos this morning when two officers were shot.
While the department claims that Mas was reaching for something under his seat, it was clear after the stop was over that there were no weapons or any other reason for Mas to have done so, other than paperwork. It is also clear that officer Stromska kept his body camera covered during most of the stop.
READ MORE: Cops Force Two Women to Pull Out and Shake Their Breasts While they Filmed It -- Lawsuit
Mas tells the Free Thought Project that he respects police officers and appreciates what they do but that Stromska took it too far.
“First off, I’m American, not Mexican, not black, not white, not Asian. I’m American born and raised in America,” Mas said, noting that his race should not have anything to do with this stop. “I respect all officers that protect and serve like the motto says, not officers like this.”
When watching the video below, we can’t help but be reminded of the case of Philando Castile who was gunned down by a cop under very similar circumstances. Castile was the passenger in a vehicle and was merely reaching for paperwork when a cowardly officer, Jeronimo Yanez feared for his life and murdered him.
Driver’s manuals in Arizona will now include a section detailing “how not to get shot by police” during traffic stops, which is specifically aimed at armed drivers in the wake of the shooting that killed Philando Castile.
Democratic State Rep. Reginald Bolding told the Arizona Daily Star that he pushed for a rewrite of the state’s driver’s manual as a way to help educate drivers—especially those who are black and Hispanic, because he said records have shown that they are more likely to become victims of police shootings.
“When you look at what’s taken place across the country, you have seen a majority of individuals who are people of color that have had higher incidence of interactions with law-enforcement officers, particularly in shootings,” Bolding said. “Hopefully we can get to a place where that’s not the reality.”
One of the most recent incidents occurred in Minnesota when Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in July 2016. Castile followed basic protocol for individuals with concealed handgun licenses, and he informed the officer that he was armed and that he had a license.
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As soon as Castile reached for his I.D., Officer Jeronimo Yanez opened fire on the vehicle—with Castile’s girlfriend in the passenger seat and her four-year-old daughter in the back seat—and he fired seven rounds. Castile did not receive immediate medical attention, and was pronounced dead 20 minutes after the shooting.
Despite the fact that the shooting garnered national media attention with both Dashcam video and a Facebook Live video recorded by Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, documenting the aftermath inside the car, the officer was found not guilty on all counts.
READ MORE: Two Police Officers Killed in Mississippi, Suspects in Custody
Prior to the verdict, Yanez was facing federal criminal charges in November 2016. At the time, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said Yanez was being charged, because it was clear that “Philando Castile was not resisting or fleeing. There was absolutely no criminal intent on his behalf.”
“No reasonable officer would have used deadly force under these circumstances,” Choi said during a press conference. “Philando Castile was not a threat.”
Choi also noted that not only was Castile not showing criminal intent, he following all of the regulations for an individual with a concealed weapon. Choi noted that Castile’s dead body was found with a gun in one pocket, and his concealed handgun license in another.
“He emphatically repeated that he was not pulling out the gun, only that he was lawfully carrying,” Choi said. “His dying words were in protest that he wasn’t reaching for his gun.”
However, instead of looking at what the police officer had done wrong in the shooting, Rep. Bolding looked for what Castile had done wrong. He told the Arizona Daily Star that he reached out to eight different police departments with questions about how Castile should have behaved differently.
“Some people said you immediately reach into your glove department to grab your license and registration,” Bolding said, noting that he received a variety of responses. “Others said to turn on the dome light. Others said to wait.”
As a result, Bolding pushed for a re-write to the state’s driver’s manual, in an attempt to teach drivers—especially those who are armed—how to interact with police. “No one should ever leave a traffic stop in a body bag,” he said.
READ MORE: Residents Declare "Cop Free Zone" After they Say Cops "Executed" Handcuffed Man
The recommendations for drivers include things such as remaining in the vehicle after pulling over and parking the car, keeping seat belts fastened, and keeping hands in a visible location while motorists wait for officers to approach the vehicle.
“Other suggestions include: Lowering the windows, especially if they are tinted; At night, turning on any overhead passenger compartment lights; Informing the officer if the driver has a weapon or if there are any in the vehicle.”
While lawmakers in Tennessee, Virginia and Illinois have created new laws that require driver education courses to teach people how to act during traffic stops, the Arizona Daily Sun noted that “unlike the guidelines published in Arizona, none of the laws explicitly mentions what to do when armed motorists are stopped.”
Arizona, which is known as a “gun-friendly” state, allows residents to carry weapons without permits. However, the latest addition to the state’s driver’s manuals raises new questions about how much responsibility it is giving drivers, and how much accountability it is taking away from police.
Orangeburg, SC — An intense video was upload to Instagram this week showing a police officer rip a man’s window from the car with his bare hands, shattering it instantly. Although the video is short, it is clear enough to realize there is absolutely no struggle.
The video, uploaded to Instagram by Norman Marsh, starts out with him saying something that sounds like, “There is no resisting.” Within seconds, the officer snaps, grabs the window with his hands, and begins thrusting all of his body weight backward in an attempt to break the window.
After a few tugs by the 200+ lb cop, the window meets its match and shatters. Amazingly enough, Marsh stays calm during the encounter, which adds credence to the fact that the officer’s actions were likely entirely uncalled for.
Marsh then posted the video of the incident to Instagram with the following description:
Talk about how it continues.. This police man just broke my damn car window for no damn reason. Good thing I got on camera.. The struggle continues!!! We won’t let them nor no one stop us from the Success we have waiting for us!! I have more footage of the BS they did also. #oemslaw#motivation#stronger
As you watch the video below try to take notice of the cop’s attire. On the right side of his vest, he is wearing the now infamous “Punisher” patch. As you see him shatter this man’s window in a fit of rage, ask yourself this question. Would you expect anything less from a cop who is wearing the logo of an anti-hero who exacts punishment in the form of murder, kidnapping, extortion, and torture on those he deems guilty in his war on crime and who essentially acts as judge, jury and executioner?
The Free Thought Project reached out to both Marsh and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s department but have yet to receive a response. While the reason for the stop is unknown, it is clear that Marsh was not arrested or detained for any significant amount of time as he was able to quickly post the video.
READ MORE: Man Harassed by Cop in Snowy Weather for Suspicious Act of Walking with Hands in His Pockets
This scenario is a familiar one, however. Police officers, on numerous occasions, have broken out windows of entirely innocent people because they don’t have them rolled all the way down.
Despite there being no laws on the books that require drivers to lower their windows all the way down, police officers have been seen assaulting people for it — claiming that it caused them to “fear for their safety.”
Case in point: University of Central Florida College Student, Victoria King.
King was pulled over by UCFPD Officer Timothy Isaacs for a minor traffic offense – a bad tail light.
The officer became obsessed and incensed by Ms. King’s reluctance to roll down her window “all the way” to receive her bad tail light ticket.
Because King didn’t immediately prostrate herself before the almighty law enforcement officer, he then escalated the traffic stop to violence, breaking out the car window, assaulting King, and charging her with two felonies and a misdemeanor.
Sadly, a criminally ignorant jury sided with police in King’s case and she was found guilty of battery and resisting arrest without violence. She was sentenced to community service and probation — for being assaulted by a tyrant cop who didn’t know the law.
Hopefull, Marsh, if he is facing similar charges over a cop’s ignorance, he gets a jury that understands the law.
Orange County, CA — A graphic video captured the final moments of a troubled father of six, who’s since been identified as Michael Anthony Perez. The incident began as a traffic stop, however, it quickly escalated to a deadly situation.
On Sunday, around 11:15 pm, an Orange County police officer attempted to pull over Perez for a broken tail light. According to police, during the traffic stop, they found a warrant associated with the license plate.
According to police, Perez initially refused to stop, but eventually pulled over in the parking lot of a strip mall in Anaheim. That is when the routine traffic stop took a turn for the worse.
Update on Officer Involved Shooting. Suspect identified as 33 year old Michael Anthony Perez. pic.twitter.com/mxT5sokzx6
— Orange PD (@OrangePolice) March 13, 2017
Perez, who according to his widow, was a drug addict and had been living in his van for a year, began acting very strange when officers approached. Instead of getting his license and registration, Perez barricaded himself in the vehicle with a gas can and a lighter.
“At this point, the officers were no longer concerned about the traffic ticket,” Orange Police lieutenant Fred Lopez said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Perez then poured gas on a cloth and lit a cigarette.
“It was, do we have a suicide? Do we have other incendiary devices inside the vehicle? That’s why a plan was devised to get him out of the vehicle.”
In an attempt to preserve life and prevent a fire, officers on the scene came up with a rather intuitive plan — they called the Orange County Fire Department and requested an engine to assist them. If Perez was going to try to light himself on fire, police and firefighters were going to make it very hard for him.
READ MORE: Cop Arrested After Video Shows Her Shoot Unarmed Man in Back Lying Face Down in the Snow
When the fire truck arrived, police distracted Perez while other officers smashed out his windows with their batons. Then they deployed the fire hose and sprayed a massive amount of high-pressure water into the van — effectively rendering any attempt at starting a fire null.
“I’ve been here for 22 years. I don’t know that I’ve ever even heard of a plan like this. I think it was an excellent idea to use the water to prevent him from lighting himself on fire,” Lopez told KABC.
Their plan went off without a hitch and Perez was unable to start the fire. However, after Perez exited the van and was surround by multiple cops, he allegedly had a knife. While none of the other officers on the scene felt the need to escalate to deadly force, apparently one officer did.
A single shot was fired into the torso of Perez and he went down. Perez was then brought to the hospital where he would die.
A news release from the Orange Police Department says that they attempted to use “less lethal munition,” but they were not effective in subduing Perez. The less than lethal weapon attempts are also not in the video below.
Perez was later identified by his sister, Lovina Perez, who told KTLA, “He is not just another person shot by the police, he is a son, brother, and father.”
It is truly a shame to watch all the great police work to preserve life get ruined by a single officer who felt the need to result to deadly force. Although the video below cuts off just before the fatal shot is fired, it is still graphic.
READ MORE: Cops Dehydrate Mentally Ill Man to Death as He Begged for Water in Solitary Confinement
