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 ...
While he might have meant that...he didn't say that. He said "come up with". Coming up with charges can be legitimate, nitpicky, or illegitimate.
This could end if we try to make it happen like this kid is doing. Young smartass that he is, he is in fact trying to do something about a situation that has gotten out of control and I think we ought all to be helping in whatever way we can.
First step is to recognize criminal behavior when you see it, regardless of whether the criminal has a uniform on at the time.
You know those National Guardsman were what the liberal media call baby boomers, the last generation to volunteer for the military in large numbers.
Yes, defense attorneys are stellar witnesses as well.
As a former LEO I say he should be fired at a minimum. Efforts must be made to weed out the losers to ensure integrity and public trust which sad to say is waining quickly. I will say out of the vast numbers of police officers there are more good ones than bad. The problem in the small towns is low pay and the type of person that attracts, catch-22, you need someone but you cannot draw quality people.
I worked for over 12 years and never made up a charge or stole anything from anyone and I know lots who followed suit. Be careful of using absolutes.
It could end if people would stand up against tyranny.
Unfortunately, many people have a problem standing up for anything when challenged. This nation has become a bunch of wussies.
Ok, you're not wrong and of course there should be a trial.
But what I am reacting to is the obvious fact that he's not even fired, let alone charged with the crime when ample evidence exists to charge him.
Care to place odds that he ever will be charged with anything at all? Then care to consider what would already have happened to the perp if the shoe had been on the other foot?
You and I would already be in jail right now but this asshole is "suspended". yeah, there's the rule of law in action...
My father.
It is now common to suspend employees prior to termination. This allows companies and departments to arrange the paperwork, severance pay, various legal procedures, etc. while the employee sits out his termination safely away from his place of work.
That is what my old company did. If you a received a "3 day suspension" you'd better be using your time off pounding the pavement.
Why is he not in JAIL for abuse of power.
Thank you for your service and please don't think my rants here have any connection to the officers like yourself.
That said however, it's just not enough to fire the occasional bad cop when you find them. Due to the nature of the job, identifying the bad ones is too rare and too difficult for anyone to prove. When you have one cold like this incident, you must absolutely make an examplet of him.
Again, this man's actions appear criminal and he should be brought up on charges to face the jury. He has abused his authority and threatened the freedom of a citizen under false pretenses. Tell me that's not criminal.
Yeah right.
you`re own ignorance is on display because any
halfwit knows there is no Constitutional right to
police protection. Why in the world would I call 911
to wait for a cop to finish his donut and not protect
myself first.
Indeed, the myth that cops are pure as the driven snow is
a fallacy that must be rid of, as well as ignorance of the
“right” that police are Constitutional required to protect
you.
I`ll leave you to your ‘ my opinion is reality’ life. I`ll
stick to the facts.
Throw the thug cop in jail.
Profiling wasn’t the problem. Being detained is not the problem.
Threatening to send the kid to jail on trumped up charges IS the problem.
Here’s how it should have happened after the cop pulled him over:
Officer: “Good morning, sir. May I please see your license and insurance?”
Kid: “Did I do something wrong?”
Officer: “We’ve had some reports of crime in this parking lot in the early mornings; your license and insurance please?”
At which point, the kid could/should have presented the requested materials. If the kid had refused to present ID at that point, the officer could have then reminded him that (at least in Texas) you must have ID to operate a motor vehicle, and you must present that ID when asked to by an officer.
What *did* happen was that when the kid asked if he did something wrong, the cop ordered him out of the car and started verbally abusing him instead of offering any sort of explanation.
Texas law enforcement (at least) is taught that they need to be unfailingly polite and calm in all traffic stops. It’s hard, but it’s part of the job. Even the LAPD, never a bastion of correct behavior, teaches that.
But you're still missing the point. This is not a man about to be terminated for missing too many days last month.
The actions of this man are clearly criminal and he should be charged with the crime he appears to have been committed.
"termination" should be the very least of his problems at this point and if there were justice, he'd be worried about his new room mate named Bubba.
And cops don’t “setup” the public to commit crime. See Larry Craig.
cops rarely ever arrive in time to save anything except forensics.
it is naive to thnk that a cop is going to arrive in time to save someone. Thats why we have the 2nd Amendment.
Cops rarely deterr people from breaking the law. Their reaction is secondary. The law has already been broken and they are the arm of the prosecutor.
Keep posting - each time you do it reinforces everything I said.
I say let the process play itself out. I, too, was angered by what I read. I don't think we have all the facts. If he has a history/pattern of this behaviour then he should lose his job(with its authority)ASAP. If this is a one-time occurrence then it will dealt with differently. Let the process work.
There’s no question, the kid was trying to “set up” an officer.
However, the cop took the bait willingly and freely.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.