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Missouri: Police Roadblock Harassment Caught on Tape.
TheNewspaper.com ^
| 12/30/2006
| Brett Darrow
Posted on 01/03/2007 2:08:50 PM PST by The KG9 Kid
Missouri: Police Roadblock Harassment Caught on Tape
St. Louis County, Missouri threaten to arrest a teenager for refusing to discuss his personal travel plans.
A teenager harassed by police in St. Louis, Missouri caught the incident on tape. Brett Darrow, 19, had his video camera rolling last month as he drove his 1997 Maxima, minding his own business. He approached a drunk driving roadblock where he was stopped, detained and threatened with arrest when he declined to enter a conversation with a police officer about his personal travel habits. Now Darrow is considering filing suit against St. Louis County Police.
"I'm scared to drive for fear of being stopped at another checkpoint and arrested while doing nothing illegal," Darrow told TheNewspaper. "We're now guilty until we prove ourselves innocent to these checkpoint officers."
On that late November night, videotape confirms that Darrow had been ordered out of his vehicle after telling a policeman, "I don't wish to discuss my personal life with you, officer." Another officer attempted to move Darrow's car until he realized, "I can't drive stick!" The officer took the opportunity to undertake a thorough search of the interior without probable cause. He found nothing.
When Darrow asked why he was being detained, an officer explained, "If you don't stop running your mouth, we're going to find a reason to lock you up tonight."
The threats ended when Darrow informed officers that they were being recorded. After speaking to a supervisor Darrow was finally released.
"These roadblocks have gotten out of hand," Darrow told TheNewspaper. "If we don't do something about them now, it'll be too late."
A full video of the incident is available here. A transcript is provided below as the audio is at times very faint.
TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: anarchism; anarchist; barneyfifewannabes; beserkcop; brettdarrow; checkpoint; chiefwiggum; cophatermagnetthread; donutwatch; dui; duicheckpoint; dwi; fourthamendment; icantdriveastick; jbts; kittenchow; littletwerp; officerbarbrady; papersplease; patriot; punk; respectmyauthoritah; screwthebillofrights; sleepertroll; smartaleck; troll; wiggum; wod
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To: MeanWestTexan
"Actually, the kid was pretty friendly."
Not a bit. He was cordially defiant in his resistance to a lawful action of the police.
To: UpAllNight
just watched it. It is just as bad as I thought.
Man that kid had more guts than I did when I was his age.
142
posted on
01/03/2007 3:10:03 PM PST
by
RobRoy
To: BenLurkin
Do you suppose he'll be the first whining when the cops can't come quick enough to bail him out of jam? Maybe they'd have more time to do that if they didn't waste their time harassing kids who were doing nothing wrong.
The actions of the officers reminds me too much of Cartman's "Respect my Authoritah" line. They were miffed when the kid didn't bow down to them, and forgot they are public servants, not our masters.
OTOH, I do have the utmost respect for cops out there risking their lives and not letting the power get to their heads.
To: rawcatslyentist
Dude, you could have avoided all that shiite if you had just been a tiny bit more civil to the first officers question.
I've been a law abider all my life and have had my share of pull overs and gotten away by being polite. But I'm on the side of the kid on this one, he was obliging all the way but obviously not enought to that one dumbass cop.
Had I been the kid, when asked "Where you headed tonight?" I woulda said "...to see your wife, you're working."
That would have been worth a speeding ticket or whatever they could have come up with..........LOL!
144
posted on
01/03/2007 3:11:30 PM PST
by
Hot Tabasco
(My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder" - SW)
To: The KG9 Kid
To: Ben Mugged
The brat should have been arrested.Why stop there?
He should've been executed on the spot for being an uppity serf.
And none of this getting capped with a 9MM, either.
They should've impaled him. Right there, so that the other serfs could see what questioning their betters would get them.
</sarcasm>
To: tenthirteen
>>Challenging cops and taping them is, in my opinion, not too smart.<<
I think it was very couragous. He was risking his future to expose a serious problem.
147
posted on
01/03/2007 3:12:06 PM PST
by
RobRoy
To: The KG9 Kid
Sounds like the roadblocks are being used for a shakedown operation.
148
posted on
01/03/2007 3:12:27 PM PST
by
WestVirginiaRebel
(Common sense will do to liberalism what the atomic bomb did to Nagasaki-Rush Limbaugh)
To: School of Rational Thought
"It is funny too that the kid won the battle of wits too."
Dealing with pigs makes that pretty easy.
To: The KG9 Kid
What kind of country have we got when little smartasses think they have some right not to answer a policeman's questions?
What kind of cops do we have that cause this kind of animosity? Oh, I know - the kind that illegally detain people at unconstitutional checkpoints in the hope of generating ill-gotten revenue.
I applaud the kid for what he did. It takes nerve to stand up to a bunch of cops who are just as likely to shoot you and make up an excuse as they are to give you the time of day.
If they weren't such a-holes all the time then people would treat them with the respect that the job (not most of the individuals) deserve.
In the end, the kid was right. It's absolutely none of the cops business where he's going. Sure, they're just sniffing for booze on the breath, but how's about "Good evening, sir, how are you doing this fine evening?" instead of starting the pre-arrest interrogation on the spot?
150
posted on
01/03/2007 3:12:52 PM PST
by
Filo
(Darwin was right!)
To: The KG9 Kid
This kid handled himself correctly and so did the police.
151
posted on
01/03/2007 3:13:13 PM PST
by
Raycpa
To: The KG9 Kid
Bout 7 years ago I was arrested for "Interfering with a peace Officer by way of talking" I was asking an Officer to call an ambulance for a wounded teenager.
Day in Jail and a $ 10,000.00 surprise as the City of Houston asked me not to file suit
152
posted on
01/03/2007 3:13:16 PM PST
by
Dov in Houston
(Don't try to confuse me with facts. It's my way or the highway)
To: BenLurkin
Officer #4: That's good, we're recording it too.
and..........the cops have got him recorded while he was out of the car.....whoops!
Jury will pat this ACLU patsy on the buns and say get on outta here.
To: Ben Mugged
Tell me how he was in compliance with the law which states to cooperate with a duly authorized police officer when he makes a request of you in performance of his duties?Problem: this request was not made in performance of the police officer's duties. Police officers are not entitled to know where you are going or what your business is absent probable cause to believe that you have committed a crime.
To: pelicandriver
Could we have a little setup here?
I do believe you are correct! I bet he had a recorder concealed on his person also. How else do we the conversation so accurate once they are away from the "car cam"?
The kid did this on purpose! I saw nothing that would indicate the abuse of the clutch ... the officer who moved the car did it quite smoothly ... no roll back ... no jerking ... no chirping of tires ... he moved it smoothly!
Yep it was a set up!
155
posted on
01/03/2007 3:14:30 PM PST
by
Red_Devil 232
(VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
To: elkfersupper
To: The KG9 Kid
Put me down on the cops' side. A little civility would have saved him a lot of trouble. I am also troubled by all the folks here who support the smartass. Wonder if they would want their kids to respond to [legitimate] authority in the same manner.
157
posted on
01/03/2007 3:17:46 PM PST
by
Timmy
To: Sandreckoner
"pig haters" outnumber "cop worshippers"
I don't see that at all, all I have read is law abiding folks not taking kindly to over agressive police officers...... And for what it's worth, I don't worship any policemen, my deceased father and grandfather included, nor do I hate cops.........
I don't believe in checkpoints either especially when I am driving along obeying all the laws of the road.........Maybe thats whats ticking off all your so called "pig haters".........
158
posted on
01/03/2007 3:18:04 PM PST
by
Hot Tabasco
(My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder" - SW)
To: Eric in the Ozarks
Ya know I am getting a little annoyed about the cop bashing.
Try keeping it together while getting out of your vehicle and approach a car with tinted windows, multiple passengers, and registered according to your data base a felon. Top it off by being in the middle of an urban setting that dwarfs Baghdad in the level of violence.
Still tough- try going to a domestic dispute which is really ugly and have the idiot come at you with a butcher knife b/c you "put your hands on his woman". You did this to pull her off and prevent her from cutting the idiot with a knife.
This kid is a punk pure an simple. There will be a time he will screw up.
BTW I am not a cop but am related to, and know a few, in some not so nice areas of this country
159
posted on
01/03/2007 3:18:49 PM PST
by
slapshot
(""USAF- when you absolutely, positively need it delivered on target, on time, right away)
To: The KG9 Kid
The threats ended when Darrow informed officers that they were being recorded. After speaking to a supervisor Darrow was finally released. I'm surprised the police didn't find and destroy the tape.
160
posted on
01/03/2007 3:19:36 PM PST
by
3niner
(War is one game where the home team always loses.)
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