Surely those Kenner, LA cops weren't being racist...
Posted on 05/15/2012 4:29:06 PM PDT by BBell
The Kenner Police Department is investigating a complaint that one of its officers violated a man's rights by pulling him over while the cop was off duty. Much of the incident was caught on tape.
Pastor Thomas Tucker was on Irish Bend Road in Kenner Saturday, meeting with a prospective client for his landscaping business. Tucker says a man who lived on the street, and happened to be outside weed-whacking his yard, approached Tucker's truck to tell him that he ran a stop sign 20 minutes earlier.
Tucker explains, "He said, 'You better not move.' And he didn't show me any badge or anything. I don't know who this is, I don't know what he's going to do. So I leave because I'm going to go to the front of the subdivision and call the police."
But Tucker says the man hopped into his car, an unmarked unit equipped with a light and siren, and pulled him over. This is when the pastor's friend began recording video on her cell phone.
In the first portion of the video, Tucker can be heard saying to the man, "You're off duty. I don't know, did you show me an identification?".
The man replied, "I told you I was a cop."
Tucker said, "I don't care. I could tell you I'm the police."
And then the man said, "You didn't ask to see it."
After a few minutes, a marked Kenner squad car showed up. A uniformed officer said to Tucker, "Turn around put your hands behind your back."
Tucker can be heard saying on the tape, "How are you going to arrest me for something I didn't even do?"
Tucker says officers threatened to throw him in jail if he didn't sign a ticket saying he ran a stop sign. He was never arrested, just given the ticket.
The pastor believes he was targeted in the neighborhood because of his race. "It makes me angry but it hurts me because in the past, I've stood up for people's rights. I've tried to always make right and wrong for other people. But I never felt like a victim myself. Now I know how it feels to be victimized," Tucker said.
On Monday, Tucker filed a formal complaint against the off-duty officer with the Kenner Police Department. Chief Steve Caraway says an internal investigation has been launched so he can't comment publicly on the case.
Tucker is hoping the officer gets fired.
Person apparently representing himself as a cop is killing people in Mississippi. We have had people in unmarked cars with blue/red flashing lights turn out to be robber or rapists.
When I was around 19, I and two friends were driving to college. We had only gone a few blocks when a car runs a stop sign without even slowing down and nearly hits us.
I was able to dodge him and just kept going. We had only gone a short distance when he caught up with us and waved us over. He pulled out a badge and started telling me off for speeding which I had not been.
After a few minutes of his ranting he left. One of my friends knew who he was and said he had a reputation for being extremely mean. It turned out he was a temporary deputy only.
I didn’t do anything but my friend’s father called the sheriff and told him what happened. I am not sure what happened from then on but that guy was as sorry a person as it is possible to be.
He nearly killed us by running a stop sign then verbally assaulted us under threat of police power.
They must run a tight law and order type of town there in Kenner.
I agree with the pastor, I hope the cop gets fired.
Yes, Kenner is in Jefferson Parish to the West of New Orleans. They don’t put up with much humbug. They also don’t want much “overflow” from New Orleans.
Presumption at gunpoint. If you don't sign, then they arrest you for denying their presumption that you are subject to their jurisdictional authority. Then you have to go to jail, and have a hearing, in order to point out that they don't have any jurisdictional authority over you. Then the judge rules against you, while thinking (but not telling you) that by acknowledging that you had to reply to them at all, you are presumed to have agreed to their presumption.
What's the way out? R efuse to acknowledge police authority, get arrested. Refuse to acknowledge court authority, rot in jail. Be abused in jail. Wait. have lawyers throw tricks at you while you live on cheese sandwiches and fend off Bubba and are denied representation. In a few weeks, if your exhaustion doesn't make you slip up, they throw you out on the street and tell you not to come back.
Great system. Just what the Founders had in mind.
I know how the patriots at Lexington and Concord would have handled this sort of abuse of power.
Unfortunately, FR guidelines prohibit me from going into that much detail.
However I fully endorse putting an end to such abuse.
The Pastor goes to the old standby , he picked on me because of my race.
Well Mr. Pastor there are hundeds of people in America who have been crapped on by police officers who are arrogant, gung ho or had a fight with their wife that morning.In my community the cops who write the most tickets get to ride in a “plain car”. There is always a young troop trying to work his way into a “plain car”.
You ran across an asshole, there is no proof he was a racist asshole.
“They also don’t want much “overflow” from New Orleans.”
Well, that explains it.
But, I bet it gets real expensive with all the lawsuits they are going to face for detaining those who overflow from New Orleans.
Surely those Kenner, LA cops weren't being racist...
Surely those Kenner, LA cops weren't being racist...
See #11...
Cops simply don't observe a violation -- and then just go home and wait around for the "violator" to show up next door -- 20 minutes later.
Race or no race, I would do my level best to get those two cops busted for false arrest!
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