TheAgitator.com
Ballsy Agitator Reader Stands Up to Bully Cop
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009Agitator reader Josh Wexler sends along this story about, well, Josh Wexler.
Josh Wexler, a 30-year-old piano player, said he saw a New Orleans police officer run a stop sign and strike a pedestrian with his car in the French Quarter at 12:45 p.m. Jan. 29.
When the pedestrian raised his hands as if to say, “What are you doing?” the officer rushed out of his vehicle and “angrily” grabbed the startled man, Wexler said.
The officer in question, William Torres, reportedly forced the pedestrian to place his hands on the hood of his squad car and reached for his handcuffs as if to arrest him.
Wexler, who was driving behind the police officer, decided to intervene.
He got out of his vehicle and told the officer he saw him run the stop sign and hit the pedestrian. Wexler told Torres he had no right to arrest the man.
At this point, Torres reportedly allowed the pedestrian to go free, directed his attention to Wexler and asked, “Do you want a ticket?”
“A ticket for what?” Wexler said. “I didn’t do anything.”
“It’s a simple question. Yes or no. Do you want a ticket?” Torres reportedly responded.
Wexler said he told the officer he had nothing more to say and walked back to his car where he wrote down Torres’ name and badge number.
Torres followed him.
“You want to write down my name? I’ll show you I can write too. Give me your license, insurance, and registration. I know who to harass,” Torres reportedly said.
Wexler provided Torres with the information but refused to answer further questions.
“If you don’t answer my questions, you are going to jail,” Torres reportedly threatened.
Eventually, Torres wrote Wexler a ticket for failure to wear a seat belt and left the scene.
A woman who works in the area at the time of the incident verified Wexler’s account to CityBusiness but refused to provide her name for fear of police retaliation.
Wexler has since filed a complaint and sent an accompanying letter to the DA’s office.
Good on him. Took some guts.
Wow, if he reads this blog then he certainly knew what he was in for. Way to stand up! I hope to get some good news from the DA’s office, but in NO of all places, I’m doubtful.
*applause*
I don’t know what the procedure is for moving violation tickets in Louisiana, but the easiest way for Wexler to give this story some legs would be to appeal the ticket. Wexler would have another chance to tell his story about what Officer Torres did, at a hearing, in front of witnesses. Even if the judge/magistrate upheld the ticket, it’d be more light shone on the incident.
The troubling thing about that story would be the complaints they already admit to ignoring:
“Police who work in special tactical units designed to prevent crime often use aggressive techniques that may invite citizen complaints, but it doesn’t mean they are acting unprofessionally, Gallagher said. “Perfectly innocent citizens will be stopped in high-crime areas by these proactive aggressive units and citizens don’t like being stopped for nothing so they will make complaints. This is the nature of their work.”
“The NOPD is a paramilitary organization and it has to be drilled into their heads that they don’t have the luxury of taking out their frustrations on citizens, because those citizens will tell their story and it will have a ripple effect throughout the community,” Goyeneche said. “This is where training and discipline comes in.”
Is New Orleans in fucking south america? Para-what!?
And cops wonder why citizens no longer respect them. William Torres’ attitude is all too common today.
I have never been arrested, gotten less than my share of traffic tickets, and usually been treated with respect by LEOs. Yet nowadays I will cross the street rather than walk past one.
Hmmm.
What amazes me is all the faux surprise and clucking about such “isolated” incidents. Crap like this goes on everyday in cities and town all over America. Cops in this country by and large feel they are entitled to privilege and uber respect because of the nature of their jobs. After all, they are “first-responders.” Give me a break. I’m sick and tired of this pedestal that law enforcement personnel think they reside upon. They are mostly arrogant bullies and cowards who pin on badge, then hide behind it. Most of them would never make it in the real world of real work. My father was a cop and he and buddies all fit this description almost universally.
Look at the balls on Wexler, 20 lbs. each!
Seriously, though, good luck avoiding retaliation and keep fighting the good fight against these fascist pricks…
Nice job, Mr. Wexler. After such a plethora of bummer stories on here lately, it’s refreshing to read about this sort of thing. On the flipside, the fact that this incident actually occured is still a downer. Reagrdless, today I salute you, sir.
A few decades ago, my uncle was on a business drive in New Orleans. He was going up an on-ramp behind an NOPD car and witnessed it rear-end another car that was forced to stop on the ramp. As the ramp was only wide enough for one car, my uncle slowed to a stop far behind the scene. The cop gets out the car, walks up to the car he hit, gets back into his car, and proceeds to reverse full speed into my uncle’s car. My uncle “earned” a ticket from that encounter.
Of course, my uncle could be lying about the whole thing, but such stories of petty corruption isn’t unheard of in New Orleans. I only live a couple hours away, but I usually try to avoid going to the city.
I don’t know if my uncle appealed the ticket, but he was living in Dallas at the time. I’m guessing not, as it would have required him to take a day off of work to drive to a city he rather now avoid and just took the hit on his insurance.
Somewhere George Washington and Patrick Henry are smiling.
“The NOPD is a paramilitary organization and it has to be drilled into their heads that they don’t have the luxury of taking out their frustrations on citizens, because those citizens will tell their story and it will have a ripple effect throughout the community,” Goyeneche said. “This is where training and discipline comes in.”
MassHole, that’s what I came in to comment on. That fact that the police thought of as an essentially military organization is disturbing, at least. Furthermore, why do police need it “to be drilled into their heads that they don’t have the luxury of taking out their frustrations on citizens”? I know that I shouldn’t do that to other people, and I’ve never been a cop, or in any military or paramilitary organization. Seems like if you need such training, you shouldn’t be allowed to be a police officer.
wtg josh! FWIW, if i can help josh with anything let me know–i in IT at city hall. granted, not the DA’s office, but still the belly of the beast.
I do hope Josh got the name of the man hit by the cop? How sad we live in this land of the free where the woman witness is afraid to give her name for fear of the police!
Josh, you give me a glimmer of hope. Thank you for your bravery in standing up against intimidation by a heavily armed bully.
My hat is off to you.
You would think that would be enough for a RICO investigation.
Mario “You would think that would be enough for a RICO investigation.”
You’d think, but in reality I bet it doesn’t make even the local the evening news.
Good for you, Josh. I used to live in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood (home to the Daley clan and about half the city’s cops) and almost got hit countless times by cops running stop signs when I would take my dog for a walk. I’d like to think that if I actually did get hit, a good Samaritan such as yourself would stand up for me, but in that neighborhood I’d doubt it.
re: ““The NOPD is a paramilitary organization and it has to be drilled into their heads that they don’t have the luxury of taking out their frustrations on citizens, because those citizens will tell their story and it will have a ripple effect throughout the community,” Goyeneche said. “This is where training and discipline comes in.”
”
Translation: “The NOPD is a paramilitary organization and it has to be drilled into their heads not to ACT like a paramilitary organization.”
Good luck with that.
Hey Radley, I’m willing to chip in to help pay his fine. Any way to do that?
Josh Wexler decided not to just get Chinese and watch TV that night. Fuck, yeah!
Cops are, in general, pretty fucking stupid, moronic, and violent. Each of them swap stories about how to put the beat-down on you without getting into trouble.
Other than that, they’re scumbags.
Great job Mr. Wexler! Can we get a video interview with the guy, Radley? If he doens’t want to speak on the incident yet for legal purposes how about a video of him playing the piano? This guy is a hero. Let’s make him a mini-celeb and a shining example.
More fun with the NOLA police can be found here:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/09/new_orleans_police_officer_in.html
That off-hand line about the police being a paramilitary organization in the original article that Radley posted is just frightening.
This is pretty much exactly the story I needed today. Thank you, Mr. Wexler.
I salute Mr. Wexler’s public spiritness, and resoluteness in face of police intimidation.
And, I am glad that he is still alive after his encounter with yet another rogue NOPD officer.
In New Orleans, the citizenry is at least as afraid of the NOPD as they are of the criminals.
It’s New Orleans. That’s all you need to say.
Eventually, Torres wrote Wexler a ticket for failure to wear a seat belt
Because Wexler got out of his car to put a stop to Torres’ bully-boy bullshit. Not in car=not wearing seat belt. Sometimes, I just fucking hate cops.
A bank teller or a cab driver can afford to have a bad day, he said, but a police officer cannot.
A bank teller would certainly be fired if he or she fucked with a customer like Torres did. Will Torres be fired? I’d be gob-smacked if he got more than administrative leave.
My balls aren’t quite this big, but I did have an interesting encounter with a California Highway Patrol woman last week. I was walking near downtown San Francisco (Mission District) and saw the cop approaching a red light, looking down in her lap. I was kind of hoping she’d just hit the car stopped at the light; it was obvious she wasn’t really paying attention to driving – I couldn’t quite tell what she was up to though.
Since the light was red I was able to catch up, see what was going on, and loudly say “are you fucking TEXTING?” (note, illegal in CA while driving). She goes, in that typical cop way, “do you need something?” I go, “yeah, I need to know why you’re texting. You’re the HIGHWAY PATROL!” Not that cop hypocrisy is anything new, of course.
[...] speak out, about power-mad assholes with badges. That is, in fact, our obligation as free people. Radley Balko at The Agitator links to a compelling story with a quintessential example of one citizen standing up and refusing [...]
The servile-to-authority mindset:
One citizen’s word against a cop — “not evidence,” a violation of due process if used to pursue complaint against cop.
One cop’s word against any number of citizens: more than adequate evidence. Just ask the typical judge or jury.
Good for Mr. Wexler. It’s really relieving to see someone stand up for what is right. Luckily he was not shot or tasered for doing it.
Sending high-fives and (manly) hugs to you, Josh. Good on ya’.
That’s especially brave considering it was Louisiana which is well-known for its corrupt government.
Awesome ballsiness
To show you how disconnected the LEOs are, the story offers this defense of cops who are apparently in fear of unreasonable complaints:
“Perfectly innocent citizens will be stopped in high-crime areas by these proactive aggressive units and citizens don’t like being stopped for nothing so they will make complaints. This is the nature of their work.”
Umm, thats the defense? If cops stop “perfectly innocent citizens” for “nothing” then a complaint IS appropriate. Being in a high crime area does not give LEOs the right to detain, question, harrass citizens. Perhaps if the LEOs stopped behaving like arrogant bullies, the people might actually be willing to talk to them.
If I wore a hat I’d take it off to Josh. Way to go man.
That took a lot of guts, Josh Wexler. I don’t know if I’d have been able to do the same thing. I like to think I would, but if push came to shove, I’m just not sure.
I hope that this is carried through to your complete satisfaction, and you face no further repercussions from retaliation-minded cops.
re retaliation….Radley, do you have any follow up on recent cases where there were allegations that the cops were pressuring people who had complained, or were witnesses in such cases?
I recall the guy in Missouri (?) who videotaped a cop offering to make up a reason to arrrest him. The cop was fired, but the complainant had cops hanging out near his house for weeks.
Everyone in my family is getting a dash cam for Christmas. And I’ve got my phone ready to record, thanks to that excellent example of the man carrying that deadly 5K in St. Louis a few months ago.
Just a mention, there is a William Torres on Facebook who has removed a reference to New Orleans Police Department.
http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:5_-Fl9VSjzMJ:www.facebook.com/people/William-Torres/621824189+William+Torres+new+orleans+police&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Applaud Josh. However, some lessons to be learned:
a) He never should have provided insurance/registration/etc. He did nothing wrong, the cop had no grounds for his request, so Josh should have told him no.
b) Park your vehicle and speak to everyone as witnesses to gather evidence against the cop.
c) Immediately write your report and file a copy with the police, the mayor, the city council, the newspapers, etc.
d) Always have a disposable camera in your vehicle so you can take pictures.
New Orleans is not the most corrupt city in the USA; but its the most *openly* corrupt city in the USA.
But in some sense, New Orleans isn’t a badly-off American city. It’s more like it’s a very well of Central American city.
Is there anything more telling of the NOPD’s conduct as a whole than the fact that an independent (and supposedly law abiding) eye witness is unwilling to put forth their identity in fear of Police retribution. The benevolent officer friendly they teach you about in elementary school is sadly, the minority in most police departments.
As someone has said, it IS New Orleans. This was a city where in some highly publicized cases in the 90’s, officers openly beat suspects to death with impunity, robbed and murdered restaurant employees right before going on duty, and actually planned a murder of a complaining witness over their police radios. You can fire a few underlings and get a new chief but that doesn’t change institutional corruption.
On the subject of complaints about cops — remember that 2006 undercover investigation by the CBS affiliate in Florida where they sent people into police departments to ask for complaint forms, and videotaped the response?
The article also makes me p**d off…part of my gripe in how the media reports these things. The core story is Wexler v cop, and citizens calling for accountability.
However, in terms of actual length, most of the article covers how complaints MIGHT be adverse to a cop’s record, and how police should be nice. This is only tangentially relevant, and is placed in so as to split the narrative of the main issue. Its bad writing, UNLESS you want to weaken the narrative.
So, to the journalists who wrote the article, are you trying to soft-pedal the story, or are you just poor writers?
“Perfectly innocent citizens will be stopped in high-crime areas by these proactive aggressive units and citizens don’t like being stopped for nothing so they will make complaints. This is the nature of their work.”
Cop was just doing his job, arresting the pedestrian he hit with his car. That’s just how it goes. Thanks, Porky Gallagher.
#40 | anonymous — “Just a mention, there is a William Torres on Facebook who has removed a reference to New Orleans Police Department.”
And he’s a fan of the Libertarian Party!
With friends like that, who needs enemies!
#48: well of course he is: Torres idea of liberterianism means no laws stopping him. “laws for thee, but not for me” Seems perfect.
//Umm, thats the defense? If cops stop “perfectly innocent citizens” for “nothing” then a complaint IS appropriate.//
I would like to see legislation explicitly requiring that in circumstances where cops are required to have probable cause or articulable suspicion in order to do something, they must make reasonable effort to demonstrate it. I would also like to see legislation explicitly stating that any citizen interaction with police officers shall be presumed to be coerced if the cop is in a position to make the citizen’s life more or less miserable.
This happened in January. Has anything happened about it since?
“Always have a disposable camera in your vehicle so you can take pictures.”
Ideally you want a camera phone so you can email the incriminating photographs before the cop seizes (i.e. destroys) the evidence of what he has done.
#51: Damn, Bill, you are right. The accident was Jan 29, the article re Josh was from two weeks later. It is now 7 MONTHS later. Where is the follow up? Josh?
If the NOLA police department wants to encourage confidence, you would expect that this would be handled by now.
UPDATE:
This story is appearing here late because I only recently thought to send it along to Balko as I was reading a recent post of his. After the incident, my attorney and I wrote a letter to the DA, Leon Cannizaro, asking him to investigate the matter. His office wrote back declining to investigate, saying the matter would more appropriately be handled by the Public Integrity Bureau (which investigates police misconduct, but is run by the NOPD, not an independent commission).
I was strongly dissuaded from filing a complaint with the PIB by my attorney, Sam Dalton. Sam, who is the most experienced civil rights lawyer in Louisiana, told me that there was no way the PIB would discipline the officer and that they often treated complainants very shabbily.
However, Rich Webster of City Business Journal wrote the above article which led to the PIB very politely taking my complaint. I was told that the investigation would take up to a month to complete. In the intervening time, my seat belt ticket was thrown out before trial (the ADA issued a “nole prosequi”). But, after a month I did not receive the promised report on the outcome of the investigation.
I spent several days on the phone, getting the run around from various PIB and NOPD members. However, at one point I got to speak with the officer who actually performed the investigation. He told me that the cop (Torres) told a different story than mine and that his recommendation was to find the complaint “false” (or some thing equivalent to “false”- he could have recommended a finding of “unsupported” which would have meant there just wasn’t enough evidence to find the claim “supported). The investigator also told me that if he were the officer in question, he might well have arrested me for interfering with investigation/arrest of the pedestrian (I want to say here that I never got closer than 7 or 8 ft from the officer when he was holding the pedestrian).
I still haven’t received a report on the final PIB police findings, so I don’t know what the final outcome was. I think it’s safe to assume that- if they bothered to finish processing it at all- they dismissed the complaint.
Thanks to Mr. Balko for the thoughtful post and to the commentators for the overwhelming support here. And, thanks for the many nice comments about my testicles. However, it really wasn’t as “ballsy” as you might think. It happened in broad daylight with plenty of potential witnesses around. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have gotten out of my car. And when the cop started threatening me, I shut up and handed over my license and registration instead of risking going to jail (and worse) with any further provocation.
I have added the QIK application to my phone, after Balko alluded to it in a recent post. I wish I had it that day to make a record of the officer’s misconduct. Hopefully, apps like QIK will allow folks to better protect themselves and others from police abuse in the future.
[...] Earlier today, I posted about Josh Wexler, the New Orleans pianist and Agitator reader who stood up to a bullying cop last January. Wexler posted an updated in the comments section that’s worth its own post: [...]
Godspeed Josh Wexler!
If anyone takes anything away from this, it should be that all police should be recorded, video and audio, 24/7 whether on duty or not.
Police Integrity is an oxymoron.
a number of years ago, my dad [who was so straight-laced that he never drank, never got a speeding ticket, nor a parking ticket] drove thru a green light in broad daylight whereupon he got side-swiped by a cop who OBVIOUSLY must have gone thru a red light [since my dad was going thru on GREEN] …
… it was my dad who got the ticket for going thru on a red
… even the court sided with cop