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 ...
I have asked the very simple question (when my license and registration is demanded to be turned over), what probable cause do you have? Why did you pull me over?
I have never had the question answered, but I have been threatened as this kid was.
Doubters are welcome to try it on your own. Not with me in the car, please, even as cameraman.
More likely (if in St Louis) that your life is in jeopardy due to the criminal cops, not due to bad guys. Its because we now know who the bad guys are....the cops.
Shocking.
It is a federal crime (see 18 USC 242) but that law is very rarely enforced.
I agree he should be made an example out of. One of the reasons I quit was the bad taste in my mouth from the way the public viewed LEO’s as a whole. I got tired and still do of people in general making accusations they cannot support.
Bad police need to be rooted out with prejudice but some many times the bad ones are also in charge and it is a fine line to walk these day when the city/county/state leave themselves open to massive lawsuits by the likes of the John Edwards of the world to defend the poor little accused officer.
I agree wholeheartedly but I suspect that termination will be the harshest punishment he will face.
It is sad because being a police officer used to be considered an honorable occupation by virtually all law-abiding Americans. More and more, it seems that far too many of today's cops aren't much better than the thugs they supposedly "protect" us from.
Oh, okay, never mind. I guess it’s alright to call them “Pigs” after all.
Why are some of us determined to treat this as a simple work place behavior problem? It is NOT
If this man did what he appears to have done and is heard doing on video tape, he has committed a crime, not a company policy breach. A CRIME - can you all get that?
What possible justification is there to treat him more gently than a common citizen would be treated in similar circumstances? If anything, his treatment should be MORE harsh not less than you would do with a civilian. This man holds authority and that authority has been used to threaten a citizen with the loss of his freedom under intentionally false / fabricated pretense.
That's a crime, not a work place behaviorial problem.
He should be arrested immediately and placed in jail pending bail, then face a trial for his abuse of authority.
This is not a Wal-Mart greeter who lost their temper and swore at a customer. This is a very different animal.
No its a new event with same the young man. Have to figure the cops would figure this out sooner or later.
Sure you can. The hell would I care, being dead?
There’s already enough vitriol on this thread I thought I’d throw you out a ‘thank you’ just for giving a civil reply.
You are correct, the officer should have simply explained the reasonable suspicion to the driver at the outset. There is no doubt that police try to use intimidation tactics with regularity.
I’m often amazed how quickly a lot of FReepers ‘throw cops under the bus’ around here. That’s just me.
A few rules of thumb about police:
1) When you talk to a policeman, always assume you are being voice recorded. Many officers now carry small, sound activated recorders with them. Good officers carry them so that their paperwork reports will be accurate. Bad officers, for less respectable reasons.
2) If the law in your State permits it, you should have such a recorder, concealed, if you expect to speak with a police officer. Police officers almost universally react strongly when they know they are being recorded, and do not wish to be recorded, so you must be very discreet about this. If you record anything, the only other person who should know is your attorney.
3) If you ever have an unpleasant experience with a police officer, immediately write down everything that transpired as accurately as possible. And if there is a witness, ask them to do the same, without comparing notes AT ALL. This is a very, very effective way to protect yourself from future problems. Again, the only person who should ever see this is your attorney.
4) If you are subject to arrest, or not, but feel threatened by a police officer, here are some warning signs:
If you ask if you are under arrest, and they say no, ask if you are then free to leave. If they give an evasive answer, such as, “I haven’t decided yet”, there is a serious problem, so you should respond: “Please direct all statements and questions to my attorney.” This is a grand thing to say at any time, as almost anything they say to you after that, or information derived from it, is useless to them.
If you feel very uncomfortable, request the presence of a police supervisor, if necessary implying that you have something of value on your person. If they refuse, you are in very, very serious trouble. At that point, hope to heaven there are witnesses around.
I hope she kept her head down!
Officer #1: Try and talk back -- Talk back to me again. I bet I could say you resisted arrest or something. You want to come up with something? I come up with nine things. Do you wanna try something?
What part of this are you missing???
I wonder how the officer’s claim that the guy did not use his turn signals went over? You can see on the tape that he did use them.
This officer will not be able to work in the future, because defense attorneys will just bring this incident up.
Oh, man, that’s just sick!
I never said the word. But I can see why one could come to that conclusion to refer to the word pig in certain cases.
George Bush has been called far worse and he hasn’t lost his cool. Some people are too sensitive and worry more about name than actions.
This morning on the news, I heard that when the police chief went to retrieve the video of the incident from the camera in the cop’s patrol care, it was missing.
Here in TX, I don’t think I’ve ever had that question go unanswered. In fact, usually the cop comes right out and tells you what he pulled you over for, even before asking for my paperwork.
This is usually what happens when I’m pulled over:
Officer: “Good evening, sir. How’re you doing?”
Me: “Not bad, officer. How may I help you?”
Officer: “The reason I pulled you over is because I clocked you going 75 in a 60. May I have your license and proof of insurance, please?”
Alternately:
Officer: “Good evening, sir. May I see your license and proof of insurance, please?”
Me: “Here you go, officer.”
Officer: “The reason I pulled you over is because I clocked you going 75 in a 60. Stay here while I go run these, please.”
Good Job!
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