Posted on 03/01/2017 5:22:34 AM PST by Nextrush
As the 2014 standoff in Bunkerville escalated and authorities started to fear a gunfight, Bureau of Land Management Ranger Patrick Apley turned off his body camera.
"I was mad," Apley testified Tuesday in the trial against six men accused of conspiring with rancher Cliven Bundy to block federal authorities from seizing cattle. "I felt like we were going to be in a firefight and I really didn't want to record that.".....
Defense attorney Jeff Marchese, who represents defendant Eric Parker, hammered the ranger for that decision.
"What's the purpose of having a body camera?" Marchese asked.
"The purpose of a body camera is to record the incident, however, I was under a lot of stress at that point and I just didn't want to continue with all that," Appley said.....
(Excerpt) Read more at reviewjournal.com ...
That caused weapons to be pointed at the BLM in self-defense.
This BLM agent ("ranger") shut off his body cam when it was very important to record the confrontation. Doesn't that smell.
I’m guessing he didn’t want to record his great negotiating skills with the ranchers..../s
Smells just like Ruby Ridge and Waco
Too big gub mint getting pushy and aggressive
Same as Waco:
the go code for the shootout was “Showtime”.
they thought it would be a big, glorious victory.
but then would it didn’t turn out that way all the ATF guys hated the news film crew they had brought along to record their fun, cowboy Games.
Too much stress to leave the body cam running. That’s funny.
A police chief in my area was speaking at a news conference to discuss the planned use of body cams by his officers and he said he expected the cameras to be showing officers doing a ‘good job’.
So why all the “stress”?
You never know, but I hope that it raised a few eyebrows on the jury.
I have studied the “showdown” in great detail. Visited the spot where it happened last year. It is clear to me that if the BLM had started shooting everyone of them would of been killed in a few minutes if not almost immediately. Dan Love in his arrogant cockiness put them in the worst possible position.
To be clear - I am not condoning it but that is where it went that day. Bundy is not the hill to start the next hot battle over. The .gov behaved badly.
This is a 30 minute video that includes federal body cam videos “Leaked Fed Body Cams from Bundy Ranch!” as the caption says.
The video shows events during the standoff where the feds were dishing out the violence and or aggressively posturing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-z6E-593Fc
Shutting off your body camera to avoid filming a shooting should be prosecuted.
We sure don’t need another “hot battle” but we need some justice for those being prosecuted and persecuted in Nevada and Oregon.
The Hammonds serving a five year mandatory sentence as terrorists for lighting a fire to protect their property from a brushfire. Ammon Bundy protested at the wildlife refuge on their behalf.
Jerry DeLemus sits in a Nevada jail over the standoff at Bunkerville. He was co-chair of Veterans for Trump in New Hampshire.
Washington under “the new management” needs to do something.
It is the mindset of the eco-police.
In this case, BLM=Bad Law Man.
This fed tyrant bum should be prosecuted.
When an agent of the government intentionally turns off recording devices to avoid collecting evidence, jurors should draw an inference from that action.
Apley said that he just didn't want to record mayhem, that he felt as though he was still in combat, and that he is leery of firearms...Not being snarky at all, it sounds like he might have PTSD. Hopefully he is able to find a career that gives him peace instead of stoking whatever stress he might be suffering from.
I am not and do not expect much from Trump regarding the “federal lands” issue in the West.
It definitely is a problem with having presidents from the monstrous population centers of the East or West Coasts.
Hope the jury gives this it's due consideration.
If I were sitting on that Jury I would have made up my mind right then. I would also lobby every member of the Jury to Remember these Idjits are LEO. They have a Sworn Duty to America’s Citizens to follow the law.
His actions clearly were to hide the truth from those that would later question their actions/motives.
I’d tell every member that there is no way they could believe a word he said after having to admit to that fact under oath. In essence he willfully suppressed evidence that could have proved the accused of being innocent.
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