Video: Jackass cop arrests reporter for no reason
posted at 5:55 pm on April 24, 2009 by Allahpundit
To cleanse the palate, think of this as “the taser vid that wasn’t.” You know he wants to use the taser, you know he’s thinking of using the taser — but the reporter simply never gives him a pretext to do so. I’m almost disappointed: There’s no thread on HA so fun as when I post a clip of police misbehavior and a few commenters inevitably show up to defend the cop, no matter how horribly or moronically he’s acting.
I’m looking forward to finding out how this guy’s getting a bad rap. He was put on desk duty after the footage aired, you’ll be pleased to know.
Blowback
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But gangs shoot back and don’t provide the revenue of speeding tickets.
Why go after gangs when it’s much safer pushing around reporters?
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 7:48 PM
Of course it’s against the law. And the reporter was moving to his vehicle.
When the reporter said “He’s got the right to shoot” the cop lost it and ran back to the reporter and arrested him.
It’s plain as day and you’re being blinded by your bias.
SouthernDem on April 24, 2009 at 7:49 PM
That was not the issue. The issue was that they were filming. Some people don’t want to be filmed. Some of those people, unfortunately, work as cops. He wasn’t ordering about, nor arresting, the owners of the other vehicles. They didn’t have cameras. The illegal parking defense for this arrest is a red herring, thus. The cop was acting out of anger
and not in a professional manner.
keep the change on April 24, 2009 at 7:52 PM
Oh come on! His voice grates when he says, “I didn’t do anything!” The officer was justified. Guys lucky he didn’t get shot.
NotCoach on April 24, 2009 at 7:52 PM
Yes, many of those egoists work as law enforcement officers. If you look at all the various videos of cops behaving badly, the one common denominator is a LEO who has suffered an injury to his ego.
The cops loved video cameras when installed in their cruisers to protect cops from charges of abuse. Civilians with cameras cops love not so much. As videos like this proliferate I expect that the first thing cops will do when behaving badly on camera will be to confiscate or destroy the tape.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 7:52 PM
Rod-ney-King….Rod-ney-King….Rod-ney-King…
RWW (Reporting While White)
Can’t we all just get along?
etc….
29Victor on April 24, 2009 at 7:52 PM
:rolleyes:
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 7:53 PM
How sad is that…
ericdijon on April 24, 2009 at 7:54 PM
Because this is really what cops think of non-cops. He made sergeant because his attitude is standard issue cop attitude.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 7:54 PM
It wasn’t as much Cop abuse AllahP… as it was Latino on White racism.
Well, there is that whole stopping unnecessarily in the middle of a freeway and blocking the center-divide emergency lane thingy too. But I think he only did it because they’re white.
SilverStar830 on April 24, 2009 at 7:54 PM
Got what he deserved. Like I said earlier, I would love to get a whack at ‘repeat offenders’ that waste our taxpayer dollars by continuing to be a nuisance to the public.
HornetSting on April 24, 2009 at 7:55 PM
Why do never get to see what lead up to it.
My take, something happened to provoke the cop. The reporter was a jerk and was lippy with the cop and turning around when he tries to cuff you? Yeah he wanted to get arrested for the bigger story.
The cop, however, outta line. Not good with crowed management and assaulted the cameraman. Shoulda known better too.
- The Cat
MirCat on April 24, 2009 at 7:56 PM
You just don’t like cops, you have an bad attitude toward cops, and the sad thing is, when you need a cop, they will be there to save your stupid a$$ just as quickly as someone who actually supports them.
HornetSting on April 24, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Arresting was a dumb move, but the officer was within his authority to instruct the reporter to move (but not leave). He should explained how unsafe the left shoulder is for parking, and that the reporter could have been putting lives in jeopardy.
Otherwise, there was no reason for the arrest.
geckomon on April 24, 2009 at 7:56 PM
LOL
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 7:56 PM
This too.
geckomon on April 24, 2009 at 7:58 PM
What the heck did he do? some people are just dufuses, even cops
youngO on April 24, 2009 at 7:59 PM
Out of line? Crowd management??? ASSAULT?
Wake me when it’s over. There is no logic on this planet.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 7:59 PM
Of course that’s the law in all states. There has never been a place where a police officer did not have the authority to control a crime or accident scene. And there never will be.
…Well, OK, maybe in Somalia or someplace where the only law is “whoever has the biggest gun wins.” But never in any civilized country.
Seriously though, no part of this is anything like complicated. There are just a lot of overaged “beta males” out there who fantasize about having some sort of responsibility for once in their lives.
Actually understanding things like laws and emergency procedures is tough. But vicariously “standing up to The Man” while he’s trying to do his job? That’s as easy as falling off a skateboard.
logis on April 24, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Are you kidding? So cops have free-range to treat the public like jackasses? I don’t know if you are aware of this or not but cops are public servants. Hence the term, “to protect and to serve.” They are paid with our own tax dollars. If I hire a private security guard to keep me safe and he always unnecessarily gives me a tough time to perform the duties of his job, then guess what? I am going to find a security guard that can treat me with some respect. Thats how a free-market is supposed to work. Unfortunately we don’t have a free-market for our police force. We have a government-run monopoly.
NeverLiberal on April 24, 2009 at 8:01 PM
HornetSting on April 24, 2009 at 7:56 PM
I am as conservative as they come…I love the military, I love the police…I will give them the benefit of the doubt in most cases. But I am not blind, there are cops who abuse their authority, and as much as I like cops, I like my freedom more. We don’t live in a police state, yet.
I don’t know rokemronnie, but I haven’t disagreed with him in this thread. Its not black and white…either you are against cops or for them. Don’t take it personally.
Conservative Voice on April 24, 2009 at 8:02 PM
And you’re an idiot. Moving to the car was not the order that he repeated ad nauseum. He was ordered to get into his car and move the vehicle. He still did not do that and continued to argue with the officer. And he does not have the right to film when it means he is not moving the damn truck. Jeesh! The reporter is not a kid. He reminds me of a 3 year old.
Blake on April 24, 2009 at 8:05 PM
Actually, I’m quite supportive of good cops. A local cop was shot to death in my daughter’s doorstep by a punk kid. I did whatever I could to help out his fellow officers and defended the cops actions against the race pimps online.
I don’t like people who abuse authority, cops or otherwise. In the case of cops, I think that about 20% are truly the best people and we need them on the job. The other 80% are split between guys who just sit around (Jack Dunphy the pseudonymous – for you cops that means a fake name – LA cop who writes for the National Review says that there’s a 20/80 rule in police work – that 20% of the cops do 80% of the police work and that the other 80% of cops mostly just take up space), and worse, incipient totalitarians who get their grins telling people what to do and exercising their “discretion”.
Just yesterday a Warren, MI police officer made the mistake of driving drunk outside of his jurisdiction so the Sterling Hts cops in the adjacent suburb arrested him. Too bad for him. If he’d only stayed on his side of the border he’d have gotten a ride home from his buddies in blue.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:06 PM
There’s one guy on this thread who’s made about twenty posts about his ‘personal experiences’ with police brutality.
It’s like that kid you knew in high school who got in three fights a week. And, if you were dumb enough to listen to him tell the story, it was ALWAYS the other guys’ fault.
logis on April 24, 2009 at 8:07 PM
No.
We’re not discussing the general public, are we?
I never once implied that I thought cops should have carte blanche over the public.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:08 PM
Fire the pig. I normally stick up for cops and was pro-R&E, but this guy needs to lose his job.
It isn’t like the guy was doing anything. By law that reporter can continue to shoot. The other was going to move the car. Therefore, the prick had no right to lash out.
Tim Burton on April 24, 2009 at 8:09 PM
I don’t think being a conservative has anything to do with it. I don’t take it personally, I know that some people have a problem with cops, heck, when I was young, I hated cops, but then I grew up and realized that they are there to help you when you really need it, regardless of what kind of day THEY are having. They are human and I think a lot of people forget that. They have families, finances, problems, and then they go to work and deal with the scum of the earth as part of their job.
Cops have to assert a certain ‘attitude’. When I first married my husband, I used to cry before he went to work for two reasons. A. I was afraid he was not going to come back. and B. I always thought he was angry with me. He would be like a totally different person when he was getting ready for work. I asked him about it and he said that he was just preparing and getting his head in the game. The teach officer presence and that is about as important as their guns.
I understand that come cops are bad, but I am tired of hearing that all cops are this or all cops are that. They have a job to do and if they fail, they don’t go home. They have a job to do. If you get in the way, someone has a good chance of getting killed because of it.
HornetSting on April 24, 2009 at 8:10 PM
Blake on April 24, 2009 at 8:05 PM
he was not facing the cop, he said a snarky comment on the way out…so your claim of arguing with the cop is a bit much.
Conservative Voice on April 24, 2009 at 8:10 PM
AP..just reminding you that a pro-police post would be nice and prove that you are fair minded and not just anti-law enforcement.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 7:46 PM
Correct. Right or wrong it’s stupid to argue with someone who can see to it that your checking account can be greatly depleted over a minor incident. It makes much more sense to go along and fight it in traffic(or what ever)court later. Most times, if the cop was in the wrong, there will be no fine or penalty.
jeanie on April 24, 2009 at 8:11 PM
In general, cops have no authority to order you to stop filming. The Supreme Court has said numerous times that photography is a first amendment right that is fundamentally protected by the Constitution. That means that cops cannot order you to stop filming, because it’s a prior restraint on free speech, which is flatly prohibited by the first amendment.
Cops that arrest you for that usually claim either some bogus charge of “wiretapping” (which doesn’t apply because it’s in public and there’s no privacy, and also because photography is a first amendment right). Others will charge “disorderly conduct” which is a catch-all excuse to prosecute for making a cop mad. However, most often a cop that tries to arrest you for it will end up paying you a gigantic legal bill.
Cops can tell you to move away if your filming impedes their work. However, you are under no obligation to stop filming.
You do not have to speak to police either. All you have to do is give them your name and address. If a cop asks you any questions, you do not have to answer and can simply smile and say, “Sorry officer, but I will not answer questions from police without my lawyer present.” If a cop asks “what are you doing?” you do not have to answer.
It is continuously distressing that so many conservatives have an inflated, optimistic view of the police. Police are just as fallible as any other government agent. Police should be respected just like any other person, but you don’t have to live in fear of them and you do not have to treat your rights as subordinate to their authority. This is America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Sydney Carton on April 24, 2009 at 8:12 PM
I understand where you are coming from, but these guys are human and media is usually a pain in the a$$, you know?
HornetSting on April 24, 2009 at 8:12 PM
And since cops believe that they are always on the job just how does one express displeasure with police policy? Sure, I can ask for a meeting with the chief of police, but if he doesn’t like what I say he’ll just threaten me with arrest if I don’t leave.
You seem to resent people who stand up to police officers. Do you have a problem with LEOs that like pushing people around? Can you honestly say there are no such people on your force?
I’d say that standing up to someone with a gun and a believed authority to imprison you takes more gumption than using a gun and a badge to push folks around.
Yes, we’re supposed to feel for the poor wittle powice who only have military style weapons and tactics and have the authority to put you in jail. Why they’re as harmless as a baby kitten.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:13 PM
It shows you how far the brainwashing has gone that even half of so-called conservatives believe the cop was wrong. That TV guy is scum and baited the cop the whole time. I’m so sick of this crap that I’m ready for them to bring back batons and attack dogs.
I saw the traffic and that reporter was endangering everyone. And he was enjoying every minute of it. Slimy spawn of sixties trash.
Feedie on April 24, 2009 at 8:13 PM
“I’M NOT DOING ANYTHING!”
“I’M NOT DOING ANYTHING!”
“I’M NOT DOING ANYTHING!”
“I’M NOT DOING ANYTHING!”
Nope, him and the cop were in total agreement.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Uh, where in my post did I say I hated that cop? I said he was being a jerk and he was. As many others have stated I don’t know what happened before the video was rolling but, he could have handled it better. He could have plainly stated “Sir, you are illegally parked and are endangering traffic you need to step into your vehicle and leave the scene or you will be arrested and your vehicle towed.” Perhaps he already said that I’m not sure.
The other thing that bothers me is at one point he has the reporter against the vehicle with his hand his back. The camera swings away then back and low and behold the reporter is turned around facing the officer. Looks like he was resisting to me.
As to your comment about me liking that “snide jackass reporter” I didn’t say I like him either. In fact you should reread my post about what I said about one reporter in particular.
You have simply made an ass out of yourself by trying to place words in my mouth.
boomer on April 24, 2009 at 8:14 PM
Again, look where this crap is coming from. These guys aren’t real conservatives. They’re all liberaltarians with the reflexive outlook that “all authority is evil.”
They agree with liberals on 80% of the issues, so why don’t they ever just try to convince liberals to give up that pesky little Socialism bugaboo of theirs so they can get along and be one big happy family?
logis on April 24, 2009 at 8:15 PM
It wasn’t your intent to support the cop, but thank you.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:15 PM
HornetSting on April 24, 2009 at 8:10 PM
no one is claiming all cops are bad…but I have seen a post that if you are against this cop, you are against ALL cops…most people appreciate cops who put their life on the line to enforce the law…who arrest the dirt bag. Where most draw the line is cops who behave like they are above the law…or police departments who spend their time with speed traps and seat belts, because there is money involved…but ignore graffiti and refuse to parole the streets at night in areas where everyone knows there is drugs and crime going on.
Conservative Voice on April 24, 2009 at 8:16 PM
I’m no fan of the MSM but reporters don’t have the power to fuck up your life by putting you in jail. It is precisely because police have the power of the state behind them and can take away your liberty that they must be exceedingly careful to not go over any lines.
No reporter ever lied about me being disorderly for asking a question.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:16 PM
You didn’t?
Well then what is that statement supposed to mean then? Reporters aren’t part of the public either? They don’t pay taxes?
NeverLiberal on April 24, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Was that before or after feeling the cops hand grabbing the seat of his pants?
logis on April 24, 2009 at 8:15 PM
Me thinks you don’t know what it means to be conservative
Conservative Voice on April 24, 2009 at 8:18 PM
HornetSting on April 24, 2009 at 8:10 PM
I feel for you and understand. I have 2 close relatives who are policemen. One for a long time and the other newly minted. The wife of a policeman has to have a special temperament, an understanding and easy going nature, a willingness to put up with long and unpredictable hours, the ability to do much of the child rearing on her own and be able to live with constant nagging worry. Hats off to you lady–for making it work. These guys need all the support they can get from their families because they often don’t get it anywhere else except from other law enforcement. Our Prez is a living example.
jeanie on April 24, 2009 at 8:19 PM
The cop was doing that well, though brusquely, by protecting me and others drivers on the road by instructing the reporter to first leave and then detaining him when he didn’t.
In the newsroom this clown actually had the gall to suggest that it was okay to violate the law because he was about to get an interview in the middle of a divided highway with a hero that had pulled someone from the wreck.
Oh darn, and it might have been a 2009 award winning interview, too!
Typical narcissism of reporters, the go anywhere, do anything, everyone else’s liberty be damned, because they have a really really important job to do and you can watch him get congratulated by ABC7′s top newsreader at 6 and 11!!!!
Dusty on April 24, 2009 at 8:19 PM
This is a nonsensical argument. The *general* public is not paid to invade the privacy of others.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:19 PM
Im not liberal on a single issue ever. Hence the name “NeverLiberal.” If you think that a government run low-accountability, inefficient ,monopoly is the best way to run things, then your the socialist one there friend. All I want is to get what I pay for. Acting like a jackass is not part of my tax investment.
NeverLiberal on April 24, 2009 at 8:21 PM
So do airplane pilots, but I don’t want the guy flying me in a 747 to think that he’s back in the Air Force flying a F-16. Cops are cops, not prison guards.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:21 PM
My intent is evident from my post: Americans have rights and police must respect them. I answered a generic question, and didn’t state anything about this case.
If you want my opinion, though, I find it incredibly unlikely that this person was interfering with police work. The fact that they weren’t charged with anything after a review of the tape also suggests that the cops had nothing to charge them with.
Sydney Carton on April 24, 2009 at 8:22 PM
Well… duh.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:22 PM
This isn’t the media vs the Police department folks…take off your bias blinders off. I can’t stand the liberal media propaganda machine as the next guy…and I know that the drive by media often gets the story wrong. And I respect cops. But there is a trust issue…cops have to go the extra mile to show that they aren’t above the law, that they aren’t Judge Dredd.
Conservative Voice on April 24, 2009 at 8:23 PM
Do you have a mode beyond cantankerous and insulting?
He was ordered to go to his car, he was moving toward his car. How else could he move his car if he didn’t walk toward it, which he was doing. This isn’t rocket science.
SouthernDem on April 24, 2009 at 8:23 PM
If cops are such wonderful people, how come every major police department has a formal internal affairs department? You think that’s because with authority comes the temptation to abuse that authority?
And what do cops call the cops whose job is to police the police? The rat squad. Says it all.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:24 PM
Oh yes, I understand what you meant.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:25 PM
Get lost. I can hear him arguing with the cop. I don’t hear the car starting or him saying I will leave immediately. No one has to order you to do something 10 times.
Blake on April 24, 2009 at 8:25 PM
As much as we may dislike them, yes reporters are part of the general public.
SouthernDem on April 24, 2009 at 8:25 PM
Well if he thought it was necessary to have the reporters leave for the protection of the people then thats fine. However, he is not serving the public the best by acting like a jackass in the course of doing so. Every tax payer has the right to being treated with respect by the tax funded police.
NeverLiberal on April 24, 2009 at 8:26 PM
There is no such thing as a POLITE ARREST. And no one who has ever been arrested has ever been happy about it.
Again, there was absolutely nothing even remotely inappropriate – or even in the slightest bit unusual – about the procedure of this arrest. If anything about it looks “wrong” to you, that can only be because of what you’ve seen on TV.
In other words: you live in the reporter’s world, and not the police officer’s.
logis on April 24, 2009 at 8:26 PM
Unfortunately many cops think they’re the guards and we’re the prisoners.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:27 PM
You are either dense or just ill-informed. I’d shout ‘TROLL’ but I think you fall below that level.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:27 PM
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:21 PM
Barring a terrorist attack, the chances of an airline pilot being shot or otherwise harmed are slim. Your comparison is fallacious.
jeanie on April 24, 2009 at 8:27 PM
I hope you do not assume I was agreement with you. Sarcasm is a God-given gift.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:28 PM
This is freaking common sense. The side of a highway is NOT the place to conduct interviews, especially in the emergency lane, ESPECIALLY on the left side of the highway as opposed to the right.
I also like how they cut out any footage right before the cop climbs over the barrier. I’m willing to bet they were warned numerous times to move away and they did not.
The cop was not on a power trip, he wanted a safety hazard removed so he didn’t have to deal with another accident.
xander569 on April 24, 2009 at 8:28 PM
I have a condition that sometimes makes it difficult for me to react as quickly or as precisely as some would like.
I’ve only had one bad experience in my life with a police officer. He didn’t want to listen to why I was not behaving as he wished. If the officer had been willing to listen, instead of considering my behavior argumentative and non-compliant, then aggressively pushing me, I would have saved several hundred dollars in medical expenses. So, I am wary of any police officer who aggressively barks orders, then pushes.
I want the laws enforced as well, but I want it done by police officers who can control their tempers and are willing to take the time to consider the consequences of their actions. It doesn’t seem that the officer in this tape did either of these things.
And if you want proof of my attitude toward police officers, you can read a comment I posted here earlier today, well before this thread.
Loxodonta on April 24, 2009 at 8:30 PM
You’d think that would be the end of the discussion.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:30 PM
The cop gave a lawful order to move the vehicle and the reporter resisted. You’re done.
Static on April 24, 2009 at 8:31 PM
Mr. Pot meet Mr. Kettle.
The reporter is on our side of the thin blue line. The reporter is merely exercising the rights that the constitution protects vis a vis the state for all of us. The cop is the state.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:31 PM
Tired of this topic. Some will never be convinced that most police are OK folk. Very often the most vitriolic are those that have frequent run ins with the law for what ever reason. AP—don’t forget. I plan on reminding you however irritating you may find it and me.
jeanie on April 24, 2009 at 8:34 PM
That’s true. Always by failing to follow the officers orders, and keeping him distracted from helping the other people on the scene, the reporter could have been charged with “obstructing an officer”.
They even said, that they (the reporters) were conducting interviews – at the same time that the officers are trying to get witness statements. They were ordered to leave, for a variety of reasons:
1) Because too many people on the scene could cause another accident for which the police officers would have been liable.
2) Because the people being interviewed may not be sure if they were giving their statements to a police detective or news reporter. So, that when the police came over to talk to them and get their statement, they may say, “I already gave my statement to that guy.”
3) Because the police may be keeping people separate from each other,so as not to influence the witness statements from one person to another. So that they can find out if there was any criminal activity involved – such as DUI, or drug use, or domestic violence in the vehicle that crashed.
And the officers don’t need a reporter going from person to
relaying information that the officers might not want those people to have.
The officer was absolutely right in making the arrest, and probably should have done so sooner. I’m surprised that the reporter and camera man weren’t charged with “obstructing an officer.”
The officer told the man, “You get in your truck and you move.”
The reported responded,”I’m going to go talk to this guy.”
The officer again told the man, “No sir, you will get in your truck and you move.”
The reporter responded, “We’re doing our job.”
He then tells him a third and fourth time, “You get in your truck and move.”
To which the reporter gives an inaudible response.
The officer then tells the man a fifth time, “Get in your truck and move!”
The reporter responds with, “He can shoot if he wants to.”
The “HE can shoot if he wants to” response doesn’t sound to me like that reporter has any intention of going anywhere.
It is at this point, and after having had to order the man to move 5 times, that the officer decides to make the arrest.
He even still gives the man yet another chance to comply asking, “Do you want me to arrest you?”
The reporter responds, “No I don’t.”
The officer again gives him the order for the 6th time telling him, “Well you get in your truck and move.”
To which he replies, “I’m a reporter.”
The officer responds, “I don’t care. I’m telling you to do something I’m giving you an order.”
At this point the reporter goes from being actively resistant to passively resistant and says, “I didn’t do anything.”
The officer begins to move the mans hand behind his back for cuffing, and once the reporter begins to realize he’s being arrested he becomes cooperative and says, “It’s fine, I’ll go.”
He then resists arrest. Pulling his arm away from the officer as the officer is trying to cuff him. All the while saying, “I’m not doing anything!” “I haven’t done a thing!” “I’m just trying to leave sir!” After he’s already been told that he is being arrested, he goes from “he can shoot me if he wants to” to “I’m just trying to leave.”
The time for trying to leave was after he was told the first 6 times.
It’s a shame that, that specific police department is too chicken shit to support it’s officers. Those men should have been charged with:
• obstructing a police officer
• public endangerment
• resisting arrest
Oh, and Allahpundit, it sure is nice to criticize people and the way they do their job from behind a computer monitor. When you know you wouldn’t last a day behind a badge. Wuss.
joncoltonis on April 24, 2009 at 8:35 PM
One would hope…
This guy was not arrested for “no reason”
xander569 on April 24, 2009 at 8:35 PM
I live in the tax-payers world. Welcome
NeverLiberal on April 24, 2009 at 8:35 PM
These Disney media employees had it coming. They have no more right to block traffic and ignore an officer’s command than the guy wearing the Donald Duck costume or the guy mopping up the puke at Space Mountain has.
Police do not want to war with local media outlets, and especially not Disney in SoCal, so this good cop will be hung out to dry.
Buddahpundit on April 24, 2009 at 8:36 PM
joncoltonis:
That was the most logical comment I’ve seen. I appreciate your intelligence.
This guy is worse than my 3 year olds at obeying the officer, who yes has the authority to tell him to move off the side of the damn highway.
xander569 on April 24, 2009 at 8:37 PM
I would hope that you’re not in agreement with me as I don’t like to be on the same side as statist totalitarians.
I’ve written comedy. If you have to explain that something was sarcastic, you missed the mark. I’m sure that the good Lord gave you many things, but a finely honed sense of humor and the ability to make others laugh wasn’t one of them.
But that’s okay. You can console yourself by admiring the big, long… guns that cops carry and all those leather accessories.
Hey, if a cop tells you to give him a blow job, is that a legal police order? After all, he’s a police officer in the performance of his duty
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:38 PM
But how do you KNOW the officer wanted to remove a safety hazard?
Who’s to say? Maybe the reporter was right, and the only way to ensure public safety at that accident scene was to try to go ahead and do some interviews in the freeway emergency lane after he had been told to leave – and then to engage the police in a healthy, albeit impromptu, public debate on the issue.
I’m sick and tired of people sitting on the sidelines and second-guessing this under-paid American hero who’s not trying to do anything but get a story.
Ask yourself this one question; If YOU were involved in an accident, who would you want handling the scene: a hard-nosed and highly-trained TV reporter or some showboating police officer?
logis on April 24, 2009 at 8:42 PM
More cop disdain for civilians. And you wonder why the public doesn’t like you.
Don’t make cops seem so noble. For many of them, particularly on forces that don’t require much education, it’s the only way they can make decent money and a nice pension (not to mention jimmied up disability claims).
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:43 PM
Get lost. I can hear him arguing with the cop. I don’t hear the car starting or him saying I will leave immediately. No one has to order you to do something 10 times.
Blake on April 24, 2009 at 8:25 PM
Could it be because the reporter wasn’t given a chance to even reach his car before the cop came up behind him with his hand firmly on the reporters pants??
Sorry, I believe people should respect cops…but cops should respect citizens and the law beyond a reasonable doubt. The reporter was snarky on the way of walking toward his car…so he wasn’t arguing. The cop over reacted.
Conservative Voice on April 24, 2009 at 8:43 PM
I’ll be inclined to agree with you on this if this situation between the cop and the reporter actually did begin where the tape began. But the situation, per what the news station wants us to think, began with the cop already straddling the fence, which, to me, is highly unlikely.
Dusty on April 24, 2009 at 8:45 PM
A year or two ago, I had neighbors downstairs that would call the landlord at the drop of a pin. They’d pound the ceiling (my floor) if I even played an MP3 on my laptop at 4pm. The landlord even told me she thought they were ‘creepy’.
One night, after I got home from drinking with some pals from work, I started playing Stevie Nicks on my LAPTOP. Through the standard laptop speakers… at about 10PM.
They started pounding on my floor. And the Mr came to my door and started POUNDING. I’ll admit, I was 3 sheets to the wind. But I wasn’t being loud (the previous two renters below me NEVER complained of noise), and when I answered the door, I said, bluntly: “What is your problem?”
It turned into a bit of an argument. He knew I was drunk, and I knew he had almost busted my door down over STEVIE NICKS ON MY LAPTOP.
Long story short, a neighbor next door calls the police. I see the police car outside a few minutes later, and come down. As I round the corner to the front porch, the jerk downstairs says ‘There he is’.
The cop PUT HIS HAND ON MY SHOULDER… asked me to be quiet.
They started talking about how loud I was… and I lost it. I started screaming and basically flailed at the air.
The cop grabbed me and said, very sternly, “Go back upstairs or go to jail”
I didn’t give it a second thought. I went back upstairs. A month or so later, the people downstairs were evicted.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:45 PM
As if you and your fellow cops would be so brave without the gun, badge and power of the state behind you. Cops are so brave. That’s why they are rushing to work on the gang squad instead of traffic enforcement.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:45 PM
I’m pretty sure this happened in El Paso.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:47 PM
[logis on April 24, 2009 at 8:42 PM]
LMAO.
Dusty on April 24, 2009 at 8:47 PM
Well there’s a classic HA moment.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:48 PM
I dunno. I guess with the traffic already being slowed to a crawl the last thing you’d probably want as a law enforcement officer is a news crew pulling over creating more variables in the equation.
Once the officer told them to leave and they didn’t because “they were just doing their job” it just became a pissing match between egos. Here is the difference: The cops can never win in an ego contest with the media because the media is always right no matter what.
watson007 on April 24, 2009 at 8:52 PM
I’d say it’s more of an “Aha” moment, except that this guy’s done it so many times it comes as no surprise.
logis on April 24, 2009 at 8:53 PM
I’m pretty sure this happened in El Paso.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 8:47 PM
Oh was it? I just saw ABC 7 and figured it was LA. Well, everything else still applies cept the socal part.
Buddahpundit on April 24, 2009 at 8:54 PM
I have lived in South Texas my whole life (50+ years). When I was a younger man I was pretty much a hell raiser and as such I caused myself to have frequent interactions with local Law Enforcement. Most of the time the Police I dealt with treated me with more respect than I probably deserved considering the oil field language I was extremely fluent in. I have mellowed over the years. I would like to attribute this mellowing to becoming more mature and wiser but I think a big part of it is due to the fact that I am no longer a young roughneck and would most likely get my ass kicked every time I opened my mouth if I had not changed my attitude. With that said, I can tell you that machismo Cops like this are not really rare in South Texas. I have only been struck by a Police Officer on three different occasions and then only when I have had my hands cuffed behind my back and one of those times shouldn’t count because I kicked him in the nuts.
What I’m trying to say is, and this goes for both the Cops and the Citizens, don’t start no shit and there won’t be no shit.
coldshot on April 24, 2009 at 8:55 PM
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:45 PM
the reporter wasn’t drunk…nor did he do anything illegal. He asked the officer why, calmly. The officer started to get agitated…eventually the reporter realized the officer wasn’t going to be reasoned with, and turned his back to him toward his vehicle…and said a snarky comment. The cop took it as sassy his authority and manhandled him. In the police response to the whole thing, they didn’t lay any blame on the reporter…that should say something where even the boys back at the department couldn’t excuse his actions.
Conservative Voice on April 24, 2009 at 8:55 PM
[Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:48 PM]
It the Godwin’s Law-like thread killer comment of HA Police Arrest Videos.
Dusty on April 24, 2009 at 8:56 PM
Didn’t say he was. But he did.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:58 PM
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 8:58 PM
what was the reporter charged with then?
Conservative Voice on April 24, 2009 at 9:00 PM
Excellent observation my dear Watson.
boomer on April 24, 2009 at 9:00 PM
Sure he did. He parked on the inside emergency lane of a divided highway, which is prohibited by the traffic code. And he did it for his own personal purposes. But I guess, by your standards, any business can send a group of employees out to park on the emergency lane for whatever in the pursuit of profit or maybe just for lunch break.
Dusty on April 24, 2009 at 9:05 PM
Your implication that cops aren’t well paid is bullshit.
A sergeant on the El Paso police force makes between $53,926.60 and $65,188.50 in salary. Promotions are based on seniority, not necessarily merit.
Plus Longevity Pay
$48.00 per year after the first year and an increase of $48.00 per year up to 25 years.
Assuming Sgt. Ramirez has been on the force for 15 years, that’s another $700 or so a year for longevity pay.
With 15 yrs of seniority, Ramirez gets 21 days paid vacation, plus 9 paid holidays. Sick leave is accumulated at the rate of 10 hrs per month with unlimited accumulation and they can use up to 40 hrs of sick leave for personal business.
If they earn a certificate from a state police officer training institute, they get a $105/mo bump in salary.
They also get a bump if they have a degree: $20/mo for assoc, $100/mo for a bachelor’s degree and $125 for a masters.
They’re vested in their pension at 10 years of service and can retire on a full pension at 25 years of service and 50 years of age. Where in the private sector can you retire on a full pension at 25 & 50?
Of course many police officers decide to take a “disability” and retire early.
Sorry, but Sgt. Ramirez is well compensated for his time. He makes substantially more than the avg private sector American (avg total compensation including benefits in the private sector is $53K/yr).
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 9:05 PM
I’m likely old enough to be your grandfather, and this incident happened recently. I never yelled. I rarely do, and I never swear. I was moving away, just not fast enough because I physically couldn’t, and not precisely in the correct direction because I couldn’t understand my orders precisely, as they were being screamed at me and included the occasional vulgarity. I’ve never gone into that town again.
Human beings make mistakes. I do, and I presume police officers can too.
Loxodonta on April 24, 2009 at 9:05 PM
I’ve heard reporters admit a mistake. Have you ever heard a cop admit a mistake?
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 9:07 PM
I have been working in the customer service field for a while. I am well-aware that the public can be a pain. I was watching a video at work that taught excellence in customer service. The question on the video that was posed was, “when should you get rude with a customer and hang up on them.” The answer was, never. In all my years in customer service, I never lost my temper and acted rudely towards an inconvenient customer. Why? Because its unprofessional and its bad business. There have been times when I suggested that a customer be removed from the store. However, in the course of that, I still kept my composure and treated them with respect. Cops should view the public as their customers. Even if someone is acting like an idiot, that does not warrant the officer to lose his cool. The officer could easily have handled that situation in a more professional way. At least from the short snippet I seen anyways.
NeverLiberal on April 24, 2009 at 9:08 PM
Nothing, of course. And you know that. That doesn’t mean he didn’t break any laws. Go to zombietime.com and check out some of the crap that happens in San Fransicko during one of their parades or gay marches.
Of course the reporter was not charged. He was booked & released. I doubt he’ll even pay a fine.
Which is irrelevant, because YOU or I would not get the same treatment. YOU would be calling you parents collect right now, begging for bail. I’d be waiting to make my call while the guards take down some.. delusional creep who thinks we all control his bodily functions.
Ugly on April 24, 2009 at 9:09 PM
AP, give it a rest and go post at Huffpo and Kos where you both belong and obviously desire to be.
Jim708 on April 24, 2009 at 9:10 PM
Really? What other times have on HotAir have I used the phrase “blow job” or, for the matter any kind of sexual reference? It’s got to be less than a handful of comments out of hundreds and thousands.
Please cite examples of “so many times” or apologize for your libel.
As my Israeli friends say, tizdayen atzmecha.
rokemronnie on April 24, 2009 at 9:10 PM
Dusty on April 24, 2009 at 9:05 PM
Why? Asked the reporter, who has a history of doing this for years….no answer from the cop, just do what I say before I smack ya
Why again asked the reporters to the officer’s superiors…I dunno was the response.
So again, what was the charge? And why not say that when given the opportunity more than once?
Meanwhile the trust level drops, and all cops suffer.
Conservative Voice on April 24, 2009 at 9:11 PM
I am usually on the side of the police, but it looked like the reporter was following the police officers instructions and was leaving when the officer flipped out and arrested him.
free on April 24, 2009 at 9:13 PM
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