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Reason.tv Footage of the Cop Who Brought a Gun to the Snowball Fight
Sunday, December 20th, 2009Dan Hayes from Reason.tv was there for the whole thing.
The uniformed officers seemed to have quite a bit more sense about the whole thing than Det. Baylor. Good for them, or the whole situation could have been a lot uglier.
California Cities Cops to Wear Headmounted Cameras:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,580667,00.html
A step in the right direction, sadly it will mean nothing until the data is streamed continuously to a site the police do not have access to. As it is the camera will simply “malfunction” whenever they abuse anyone, same as the dashboard cams.
Also good piece in the Orlando Sentinel today about imprisoned innocents in Florida and the politicians willing to do nothing:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-scott-maxwell-imprisoned-innocence-12220091219,0,455229.column
Damn ktc that was a really well written article in the Orlando Sentinal. The writer was passionate about the issue. We need more journalists to be like that.
@ktc2
Even then they could just unplug the camera. I don’t want to treat cops like babies, I just don’t want them to treat me like an enemy/terrorist. You’ve gotta change the mindset and the training, and get rid of the second criminal justice system just for cops.
I think Radley has shown with his site that there are lots of opportunities to send the right message to the police, but they are usually passed on.
Am I the only one who teared-up watching that hero brave the deadly snowstorm to restore order? I think he saved some freezing babies there, too.
The cop’s attitude is “everyone is an idiot and I can kill anyone I want because the system will side with me.” Hard to improve the situation from this starting point. And, the psych profile of cops is usually someone who wants his ass kissed so he can feel better about himself. Or, in the case of the cop from the previous story, his johnson tugged by a stripper (yes, he…got off).
Dumb: Pull a gun a snowball fight. Dumber: Throw a snowball at the guy waving the gun around. Dumbest: Try to arrest the wrong guy for throwing a snowball at you.
Ok, irrespective of whether the cop is an assweasel, throwing snowballs at someone holding a gun and acting aggressively is not a recipe for a long life.
I wish I could afford to drive a Hummer..oh wait, I’m not a detective working for the people.
I am waiting for someone to tell me these guys are underpaid, and that those snowbalss are an affront to their meager wages.
Maybe the city owns it, a’la Crockett’s Ferrari in Miami Vice.
I doubt it.
So glad for the actual video. Lets compare it to the statement from the MPD that night:
“Assistant Chief Pete Newsham, who leads the department’s investigative services bureau, said it appears the patrol officer acted appropriately, and the worst the detective might have done is use inappropriate language in dealing with the snowball fighters…“He was armed but never pulls his weapon…I think what probably happens is somebody probably saw his gun and called the police”
Ever wonder why we should never take the word of the police at face value, and why the cops don’t like us taking their picture?
What’s great is how the media just ignores this kind of thing. Left, Right. It doesn’t make a difference. They all want state power for themselves and police officers are their foot soldiers. So no criticism from Fox or CNN
On TV news (CNN or HLN I think) they said “someone saw a gun under his coat” and called police. It’s obvious in this video that the cop had his gun out of its holster and in his hand. CNN probably just went with whatever story the cops fed them (as SJE mentions in #9). The cops, of course, being in one of those few professions where lying is actually taught and cultivated as a tool of the trade, think nothing of fabricating a complete fiction to explain what happened. They then simply wait to see if it sticks, which nowadays simply means there is no video to contradict them. For the cops, there is no down side to that strategy. If they are caught in the lie, there are no repercussions because anyone with the power to actually hold them accountable is on the same team as the cops.
I don’t think you could have a police department that doesn’t have an occasional hot head. I do think they encounter stress and there is always the temptation to use their mastery of violence (or the threat of violence) as a short cut to getting what they want. The real problem is that every stinkin’ member of their profession refuses to acknowledge the illegality of what happened and not a single one of them ever ever ever refuses to go along with the cover up. You can’t tell me that Assistant Chief Pete Newsham didn’t know that the cop had his gun out when he voiced that blatant lie to the press. And because of that complicity in the cult of violence practiced by law enforcement, we can expect that behavior to grow and for more people to be victimized by it.
Policing is clearly one of the most morally deficient and intellectually defective professions in the country. And when I say professions, I’m including all the illegal ones.
LMAO!!! PRICELESS!!!!
And dear Asst chief Newsham…thank you for confirming what some of us have known for years and helping to enlighten others in the sheeple masses that regardless of video evidence, you will continue to deny that we aren’t seeing what we are seeing and protecting your brothers in blue regardless of what dumbasses they are. You are helping to expand the complete distrust of our law enforcement. Nice job. You are a “fag” in the complete Southpark sense of the word. You might even be a bigger “fag” than your underling.
*Disclaimer: The use of the term “fag” is used in the Southpark sense of the word and not the sexual sense as in a “fag” is anyone who acts like a total douche bag regardless of their sexual orientation. Thank you.
I hope this video goes viral. Everyone in the D.C. area should just point and laugh hysterically every time they see this “fag” and ask if he’s shot any snowmen lately.
Just to be even-handed, I think we should all be willing to acknowledge the positive side of this event. The cop apparently didn’t shoot the dog.
No, but apparently he tased a snowman………….
Apparently, A/C Newsham was responsible for the 2002 mass arrests in Pershing Park http://dcwatch.com/police/030125.htm.
For those not familiar, it was the usual World Bank protest, with an aggressive police presence. People were funnelled into the park and then without warning, the police arrested everyone in the park, including people who were just out on their lunch break and had nothing to do with the protest (not that the protest was grounds for arrest).
…Unless of course, the truth is that ex head of MPD ordered the arrests and that Newsham took the blame to protect the boss (recently emerged in a court case, where people are suing DC for wrongful imprisonment etc). Which means Newsham lied to investigators….
Can we trust anything this man says?
Not to make light of this but it reminded me of something. As a kid growing up in West Virginia, one of the things we did was to hide along rural roads and zing snowballs at passing cars. Stupid, I know. But the point is that the dumbest thing a driver could ever do was to stop and get out of the car. We had an arsenal of snowballs ready, just waiting for that opportunity. Oh, how I would love to have seen that cop experience that level of snowball-shock-and-awe. Of course, nobody ever pulled a gun on us either; not even the rednecks.
I did not notice even one camera video still picture taker being hauled away either. Or their equipment being taken away and damaged by ignorant hands.
Did not even hear once about “You can’t film us” stuff either.
Did anyone hear the cops radio at the end…’Detective Bailer(sp) is being blackmailed…’ What’s the deal with that!?
“Blackmailed” is cop-speak for “being held accountable.”
I almost got arrested for throwing a water ballon at a kid-I got by with an apology.
This was obviously a case of illegal discharge of a frozen missle.
Hey…that was assault with a deadly weapon…
Some snow might have gotten in his mouth and that big baby might have drowned…it takes less than an inch of water
It’s clear from the video that Danny Glover hates winter.
This story and link is already on the website of the Sydney Morning Herald. Amazing; a cocksucker cowboy cop, infamous around the world. I hope he visits Sydney…so I can headbutt the fucker.
Just got a ‘tweet’ from CNN…’Washington, D.C., police investigate whether an off-duty officer drew his gun in the midst of a large snowball fight. http://bit.ly/6XUxCo ‘
Seems pretty clear cut to me. Although, you gotta love the police…..wait for it!!!…’The police statement said “there is no evidence that [officers] pointed any weapons in the direction of the crowd or at any individuals.”‘
Paid suspension? I think so! If that…wooo! Merry Christmas DC!
Me, too. But I think the word “investigation”, in this case, simply means a review of the available evidence to see if they can fabricate a story that explains away the behavior of one of their brothers. They will look at the video a few times and see if they can get away with the phrase, “the video doesn’t tell the whole story” as they do on almost every TV show that shows video of cops beating the crap out of someone.
I mean, what have they got to lose? They explain it the way they want to and, in the end, nothing ever happens anyway. People tell the truth because they know there are repercussions when they don’t. If there are no repercussions, there’s no incentive to tell the truth. That’s the world cops live in. They don’t even understand our world.
Note that they only need to refute the video. The fact that there are eyewitnesses means nothing to them. Eye witnesses are only important to them when they are testifying against ordinary civilians (little people).
I’m not sure I think it was stupid to confront him. Dangerous yes, stupid no. I’ve had a heated “discussion” with a cop that put his hand on his gun during a traffic stop when I laughed at him. You can get killed by a cop, yes. But the only damned thing keeping my old America alive is people refusing to back down in the face of shit like this. That can easily be an informed and appropriate decision.
A more prudent tactical decision is retrieving your own weapon and taking Baylor (sp) down from behind. But it’s not the only decision that gets the long-term important job of standing up to BS done.
[...] Don’t bring a gun to a snowball fight. [...]
Brass balls on the guy who nails him in the ear with one AFTER he’s pulled the gun. BRASS. BALLS.
I hope the cop is fired, this happens everyday but a camera is not allways around
Probably get hammered for this but….
If this is my car and it’s getting pelted by snowballs I’m going to defend my property. Technically, this is vandalism at the least right?
Then, if the asshats pelting my car start yelling things like that in my face I doubt I show the kind of control this cop did.
Did he have to wave his sidearm in peoples faces, probably not, but it’s within his rights to defend his person and property I think.
Generally I don’t side with the JBT in the stories on this site but in this case I have to say that the story is blown out of proportion.
He was obviously concerned that stones, glass or any other items were embedded in the snow ball. I’ve seen it done before and they can be serious weapons.
He was obviously a hothead with a gun in a profession where intimidation, threats, and violence are encouraged as a first response to any behavior that makes them angry.
I wonder if black cops have higher levels of complaints for Section 1983 and brutality and what-not. Obviously, there’s bad white cops and good black cops, but I’d bet, like in most other areas of life, the black ones are less competent and more prone to violence and unreasonable abuses.I’m sure with its fearless commitment to truth and opposition to parochial popular prejudices, the crack squad at Reason will get right on the case.
@ #34; WTF?
Hey Boyo,
Since you seem to be a Treason In Defense of Slavery kind of guy, I’ll point out that since I moved to Fl. it’s become very apparent that the white people are stupider than black folk down here,
Ex.1 – Magic trick costs teacher job
Ex.2 Couple Report Stolen Pot to Police
On the other hand, the cracker movement has to Pimp & Hooker Tapes Used “Substitute Voiceover”,
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