Posted on 09/22/2007 8:03:54 AM PDT by beltfed308
ST. GEORGE A police officer who was recorded berating a motorist earlier this month has lost his job.
The board of aldermen voted 5-0, with one member absent, to fire Sgt. James Kuehnlein on Monday. The vote was cast in a session closed to the public and wasn't announced until Wednesday, when a notice was posted at the City Hall of this tiny south St. Louis County community.
In a video that got wide viewership on the Internet, Kuehnlein taunts and threatens motorist Brett Darrow, 20, sometimes shouting and using profanity, after questioning him in a commuter lot near Interstate 55. Darrow posted the footage of the Sept. 7 incident on the web.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
Interesting to hear the young man is an FR member, too, but I still think the evidence shows he was looking for a reason to get a cop's goat. He succeeded. Police need to be careful and watch their words more carefully.
Someone already posted that a couple hundred posts back, “Hello, you’ve reached OnStar Roadside Legal Assistance, please remain silent while I talk to the police officer.”
As a long distance motorcyclist I ride through many such towns and get stopped occasionally. However, being older, not wearing leather, having stock exhausts, and generally looking well to do, I rarely get hassled to any great extent. However, I do record all such interactions. Its the only prudent thing to do.
You understand nothing, and seem not to value the freedoms and rights that so many have strived to preserve from enemies foreign and domestic.
It was a great answer. The law and court precedents are clear that he does not have to answer that question. The cop is free to ask, we are free to refuse, and the cop can not use that as a pretext for further investigation. I don't tell cops either in similar circumstances. They harass the young person and call me sir. Its not about law enforcement its about statist ego.
okay.
1. In the tape, Darrow isn't trying to antagonize the cop.
2. The cop stopped him and asked for his ID. Darrow produced ID. In fact, Darrow complied with every legal request the cop made of him. The cop lost control of his emotions due to Darrow's "bad attitude", not due to any criminal activity on Darrow's part.
2. To my knowledge, there are no "bad attitude" laws on the books in any state. Even if Darrow had spoken to the cop disrespectfully which he did not disrespect isn't a crime.
4. Darrow is right to want to record the cop losing control of his emotions, since an armed out-of-control cop is dangerous.
5. The cop in question has a history of criminal activity. He has since lost his job.
6. Since Darrow did not select the cop who stopped him, we can consider that cop a random example of the police officers in that city.
7. Judging by the random example, abusive and corrupt cops are far from rare on that city's force.
8. With this in mind, it becomes likely that other innocent citizens have been abused by the police in that city.
9. It is furthermore likely that most of the cops who have abused citizens in that city will get away with their abuses, since most of their victims have no documentation of their abuse.
10. Therefore, by documenting the abusive behavior (and indirectly ridding the city) of one bad cop, Darrow has likely saved hundreds of innocent citizens from harassment, and has focused media attention upon the city in question, further reducing the chances of police abuse there.
Question: what is it with you and the word "punk"? Do you think that good cops talk that way in real life? I know good cops, and they do not use terms like "punk" when talking about their jobs. Professional law enforcement officers conduct themselves in a reserved, dispassionate, and businesslike manner, not like jailhouse rapists establishing their dominance over the weaker prisoners. If you are trying to sound like Dirty Harry Callahan, you should keep in mind that he is a fictional character. Any real cop acting as he does in the films would end up cashiered, in jail, or dead.
Eventually. Only after the cop got him out of the car.
"In fact, Darrow complied with every legal request the cop made of him."
Eventually. Only after the cop was thoroughly ticked off. If the kid was standing on his principles and constitutional and legal grounds (which you could make a case for), he didn't stand on them long, did he? Q. So, why the hesitation? A. Simply to antagonize the cop.
"Darrow is right to want to record the cop losing control of his emotions"
He was antagonizing the cop in order to record him losing it. The cop shouldn't have lost it. Then again, the kid shouldn't have been a smart mouth. You know and I know this confrontation didn't need to happen. The cop started out friendly.
"With this in mind, it becomes likely that other innocent citizens have been abused by the police in that city."
Innocent? Innocent? If by innocent you mean uncooperative, smart mouthed, bad attitude, punk kids who "know their rights" and waste cop's time, then yeah, I would guess that those "innocents" have been given a hard time by some cops.
"I know good cops, and they do not use terms like "punk" when talking about their jobs."
I never said they did. Where did you get that? It's MY term for this kid. It's fitting. He acts like one, I call him one. Too bad it doesn't fit your "don't be judgmental" PC world.
And who are you to talk? You're calling him an "innocent" and that's the last thing he is. The cop has a history? So does this kid.
Since my only point was that this happened before, I was going from memory and claimed he said something to the effect of (you'll note I didn't use quotes) "Officer, I dont have to tell you where Im going.
For that, you claim I "have a pathological disposition to flat out lying." Save your histrionics for those who do -- like the punk kid who claimed he was transmitting to a secure recording device.
"THATS NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS."
THAT'S NOT THE POINT.
Do you need a hug?
Since January. After he started his antics.
Nice of FR to be a helpful part of his quest for notoriety.
Welcome back. Is Wheel of Fortune over? Did you figure out the one that was "Statu_ of Lib_rty? Well, you work on it and I'll give you the answer later.
There's been a lot worse on this thresd alone in pursuit of goats, IMHO.
Not to mention a quest for notoriety among the morality police.
Disingenuous much??? I’m betting that most people can see a difference between what you quoted: “Officer, I dont have to tell you where Im going.” and what he actually said was: “I dont wish to discuss my personal life with you Officer. He was being very polite with the DUI checkpoint thug but apparently they all have hairtriggers unless immediately answered by “Yes Sir, whatever you say sir, shall I sacrifice my first born for you sir, should I grab my ankles sir??? Your memory sucks.
The words are different, yes. But people will see that they're both smart-mouthed responses to a polite inquiry, designed to provoke a negative response which will be preserved on YouTube.
Uhh, No. What does shoe polish taste??
It's hard to sympathize with the officer for not getting enough respect, when he didn't care about getting it in the first place. What he wants is fear.
I suggest you stick with that for a while.
I’m sure. Your suggestion will be give all the consideration it’s due.
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