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Posted on 09/12/2007 8:20:27 AM PDT by SubGeniusX
A car-mounted video camera — more commonly used by police than against them — captured a loud and threatening confrontation in this tiny St. Louis County community that left an officer on suspension and the whole world able to listen in.
[snip]
A voice identified as Kuehnlein's can be heard taunting the driver and threatening to jail him on fabricated charges.
The tape, made late last week, was from a camera running in the vehicle Kuehnlein approached, police said.
[snip]
In the video, Kuehnlein, a St. George officer for about two years, approaches a young man who was sitting in a parked car about 2 a.m. in a commuter lot near Spokane and Reavis Barracks roads. Kuehnlein asks for identification. When Darrow asks whether he did anything wrong, the officer orders him out of the car and begins shouting.
"You want to try me? You want to try me tonight? You think you have a bad night? I will ruin your night. … Do you want to try me tonight, young boy?"
Darrow says no.
"Do you want to go to jail for some (expletive) reason I come up with?" the police officer says. Later, Darrow says, "I don't want any problems, officer."
"You're about to get it," Kuehnlein is heard saying. "You already started your (expletive) problems with your attitude."
After the officer notices the camera, he says, "I don't really care about your cameras, 'cause I'm about ready to tow your car, then we can tear 'em all apart."
[snip]
Darrow said he was not trying to entrap the officer. He said he pulled into the commuter lot to meet a friend. When the officer asked him for identification, Darrow said he didn't immediately present it because he believes the officer stopped him without probable cause.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
Probably because of civil service rules. If the rules aren’t followed, the fired cop gets his job back.
This is how it is supposed to go.
Cop: Good morning. You were going 75 in a 60. May I see your driver’s license, and registration please.
Driver: Oh. Hands over requested items.
Cop: Thanks. Do you have current insurance?
Driver: Yes, no. Whatever.
Cop: Any reason why you were speeding?
Driver: Admits, excuses, denial.
Cop: I’ll be back in a few minutes.
Naturally, there are minor variations, but I never argued or debated. You should always be told what violation the cop thought you did before you are asked for any ID. That is polite and professional and takes a couple of seconds.
My guess is that all you prepubescent cop haters have been on the wrong end of a night stick more than a few times and you think that makes it okay to call them “Pigs.”
Go back to your bedroom in your parents’ basement and stick to your Gameboy.
************************************
Sorry to disappoint you but I am not familiar with police from the wrong end of a baton ... I have police in my family and am not a pimply kid with a gameboy ,, I know what really goes on because I have both eyes and ears... I live in a city where the old boy network is still in full swing and have found that the situation here is NOT unusual... the local county sheriff is a fat blowhard with a huge force under his command , they have all the toys they could ever want , helicopters , hummers , a tank to go with their large and largely unnecessary SWAT team.. my towns force (as opposed to the county) had about 1/3rd of their officers under arrest or being disciplined in some way during 2004 ... it’s a jungle out there ... I’m glad you had good response during your incident ,, my guess is that if we took a poll most people would have the same overall view of the police as I do ...
P.S. I never used the term “Pigs” ,, that was entirely you.. I do however find the stereotype of a fatass eating donuts and going after the perps that are the easiest to catch to be mostly true.
Yup. That kid is a hero, as far as I’m concerned.
Ed
At 2am? In the middle of Nowheresville, SC? And a cop doesn't wonder why you're there?
In a free country you should be able to do that. And even if a cop comes up he has no right to be a goon. I’m glad he was suspended.The kid sounds like a punk but i’m more worried about power-tripping lowlife punks with badges. Sadly we seem to have more every year.
WOW!!!
He should have been behind bars years ago, not threatening to put kids with cameras behind bars!
Thanks for the ping...
Ed
Good job Brett. I hope you catch some more of these power-tripping cops. Watch your six though. I wouldn’t put anything past some of these corrupt cops.
Are you saying it was cops the shot at Kent State?
Note: Unless in military uniform, police officers are civilians.
Suburban St. Louis officer is fired after berating motorist
Posted on 09/21/2007 5:53:14 PM CDT by LibWhacker
ST. GEORGE, Mo. -- A suburban St. Louis police officer whose berating of a motorist was captured on video has lost his job.
Aldermen in the tiny town St. George voted 5-0 to fire Sgt. James Kuehnlein. The vote occurred Monday in a session closed to the public. Notice of the firing was posted Wednesday at City Hall.
Motorist Brett Darrow, 20, had a video recorder inside his car. He was at a commuter lot near Interstate 55 in the early hours of Sept. 7 when the officer approached the car.
In a video that got wide viewership on the Internet, Kuehnlein is heard taunting and threatening Darrow, sometimes shouting and using profanity.
Darrow had met with Police Chief Scott Uhrig after the incident to ask that Kuehnlein be fired.
"It's what I wanted the whole time," Darrow told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "The conduct was not forgivable."
Uhrig said he recommended that aldermen fire Kuehnlein based both on his language in the tape and because he violated department policy. That's because Kuehnlein should have been taping the encounter himself with his police car's camera.
No such footage could be found, though the camera is functional, Uhrig said.
The monthly board of aldermen meeting Thursday night was moved to a community center to accommodate the overflow crowd. About 30 people showed up, some defending their town and saying they were proud of their police force.
"This city needs to keep its own police department," said Mike Mosier, a former St. Louis police officer who has lived in St. George for 42 years.
But Alderman Carmen Wilkerson said she fielded dozens of calls from residents in recent days. She said many were from residents who said they were humiliated and embarrassed by the incident.
Aldermen said they planned to review how officers are hired and said the city attorney had looked into the cost of having St. Louis County patrol the city.
Kuehnlein's attorney, Travis L. Noble, said the officer received a letter Thursday detailing the reasons for his firing. Noble said he would review the letter with his client before deciding on a course of action.
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