Posted on 09/15/2022 9:18:03 AM PDT by MeganC
(Text for the vide from this link: https://thecivilrightslawyer.com/2022/08/05/police-harass-innocent-citizens-on-their-porch-lawsuit-filed-today/ )
Police Harass Innocent Citizens on Their Porch – Lawsuit Filed Today
Posted on August 5, 2022
What you’re about to see here is outrageous body cam footage that has never before been seen by anyone, other than law enforcement. It shows what happened to my clients, Jason Tartt, the property owner and landlord, as well as Donnie and Ventriss Hairston, his innocent and mistreated tenants, on August 7, 2020, when they were subjected to civil rights violations by two deputies with the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office, Dalton Martin and Jordan Horn.
Today we filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, which is posted below. But you can watch the footage for yourself. Before the body cams were turned on, what you need to know is that there was a complaint received that an abandoned church, in an overgrown parcel of land not owned by any of these individuals, apparently had four marijuana plants growing there, among the thick brush. Crime of the century, right? The perpetrators must be one of the elderly African American residents nearby, of course. Instead of treating them as human beings, let’s accuse them first thing, then mistreat, harass, and retaliate against, them if they dare to get uppity, or not know their place.
Donnie and Ventriss Hairston were sitting on the front porch of their rural home, when two deputies approached and began to harass and intimidate them. Their landlord, who lives next door, joined them shortly afterwards and began to ask questions. When they asserted their opinions and rights, retaliation ensued. The landlord, Jason Tartt, was seized and arrested. The Hairstons were shoved into their home against their will. This is never before seen footage, outside of law enforcement of course. Take a look and form your own opinion about what happened.
BS, this was nothing but harassment, then they put handcuffs on this and then put him in a cage, yet the cops doesn’t even bother to show up for the court date???
Total harassment!
File a big lawsuit!
Birds eat marijuana seed and any seeds not digested and viable will grow. At the turn of the last century Fish and game planted marijuana because it was natural forage for game birds they introduced for hunting. Lawyers say don’t talk to police with out a lawyer. It’s not just minorities who should follow that advice.
I am with the Black couple on this one. Too many Freepers here think cops are Gods. If they have evidence that the couple were growing contraband then prove it in court. Local cops don’t have authority ANYWHERE in the USA to storm your property without a warrant and arrest you for not answering questions. The two cops here should be fired.
1. The lawyer is just too smarmy and unbearable.
2. The officers remained calm and professional throughout.
3. This giant black attitude thing is very expensive and time-consuming.
Try reading the article slick. The terrorist plants were not on their property. All this, as the tons come across the lawless border weekly, as the same GD government rolls out the red carpet for them. They got horrific drugs like mass murdering Fentanyl killing thousands coast to coast, yet these cops are all concerned with some pot plants?
No wonder these cops, after harassing the s**t out of these people didn't even bother to show up in court.
There is a politicization of the justice system. Justice is no longer blind. The blame can be equally attributed to Democrats and Republicans that do not respect and follow the US Constitution.
Sure that wasn’t hemp? I doubt the feds we’re planting actual marijuana.
Yep, they calmly and professionally violated his civil rights. Back the blue till it happens to you.
The cop was rude to the couple and the landlord who was retired military.
Please try not to be overtly racist.
How would you feel if a cop asked you, “Are you growing marijuana?” when that’s a criminal offense?
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I would say: No, Sir. I would be nice and, like 99.9% of police interactions, this would have been a “Have a nice day” scenario. Also, you KNOW there is more to this story.....there always is.
“1. The lawyer is just too smarmy and unbearable.”
Check out his channel. He has had literally HUNDREDS of such cases against West Virginia and Kentucky law enforcement. You see him as ‘smarmy and unbearable’ but I see him as getting sick of this crap.
“2. The officers remained calm and professional throughout.”
No, they were not and the video makes that clear. They started their conversation with an accusation and implied threat of arrest and criminal charges. They ordered people into a house when the cops had no such right to do that. It was also stupid because what if one of those people went into the house to get their M249 Squad Automatic Weapon?
“3. This giant black attitude thing is very expensive and time-consuming.”
It doesn’t just happen to black people. My parents were meth addicts and according to the Sacramento Police and Sheriff’s Department that gave them a right to repeatedly stop me, detain me, and search me AT HIGH SCHOOL. They also broke down my mother’s apartment door several times to do warrantless searches.
Even after I got married and moved out the SSD insisted on coming to my new home in Placer County to harass me and they ran into my husband who was unhappy about it (huge understatement).
So I empathize with the people who run into bad cops because I’m sick of them myself.
But you know what makes me loathe bad cops the most?
Good cops.
We moved to Wyoming in 2010 and since then we have had nothing but amazing experiences with the Park County Sheriff’s Department. They are always polite, professional, respectful of my 2A rights, consistently brave, they’ll stop to fix fences and herd people’s animals back into their pastures, and etc. etc. etc. etc.
You come up and visit sometime and you’ll see for yourself. And then you’ll find yourself loathing these jerks who think they’re feudal robber barons or something like that.
Agreed. Only people with White Privilege may ask for names and badge numbers.
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This is the FreeRepublic website, not the Daily Kos. Civilized people would say: How can I help you, officer? If you listen closely, the person who starts the racial stuff is the black woman. Here is a suggestion for the Democrat base—When a police officer asks you a question, be nice, polite, and give them an answer. There you go!
Any rational person would know better than to to make such an accusation. Marijuana grows, well, like a weed. There was no reason to believe the plants belonged to anyone.
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Then simply respond: No, I don’t know what you are talking about. BTW, I would bet a large sum of money that there is more to this story—there always is.
When a police officer asks you a question, be nice, polite, and give them an answer. There you go!
Your papers please! Yes officer! Slurp!
Damned uppity black people!
The alleged marijuana was nowhere near their house.
The police have NO power to identify you on your own property without a warrant. Doing so IS a 4th amendment violation.
You may now resume licking the boot on your neck.
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Gee, I’ve been an attorney for 32 years, have argued in multiple federal courts of appeals, and I had no idea that it was a 4th Amendment violation to ask someone to identify themselves on their own property!! Wow, could you provide me with the SCOTUS case that sets forth such a proposition. I’ll shortcut your legal research—there is no such case.
I pity the idiots that condone the obstinate behavior of citizens in relation to the police. I’ve been pulled over more than a dozen times in my life, have had cops come to my door a few times, been questioned by the police (one time they incorrectly believed that I had damaged property in a local park as a teenager). Each time I was very polite and cooperative, even with a couple of police officers that were kind of jerks. Every situation resolved itself without me getting shot or filing a lawsuit. I think I received 10 warnings and 2 tickets.
When a police officer asks you a question, be nice, polite, and give them an answer. There you go!
Your papers please! Yes officer! Slurp!
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Oh, gee, what a comeback. Yeah, some cop in West. Va. is now an SS member because he asked a woman whether she was growing marijuana! What next for the poor black lady? The gas chamber? Act civilized and everything will work out fine.
If I get on that jury there will be some sad impoverished cops . And a wealthy homeowner .
I watched the entire video, something I’m not known to do, you are a complete nutter backing these cops. The people harassed in that video are looking at a big payday and your two vundercops will soon be learning to code. Another point, how did they know those very weak MJ plants were there? They were pretty well hidden in the brush. They were scraggly and short for MJ and they didn’t even have buds forming (none that I saw) so there wasn’t even a smell to give them away. Have they been poking around on that property on the sly? Also in the vid, you can see that there is a well worn path going beyond where the cop pulled the plants. It could have been anyone’s weed or no ones at all. These two were nothing but out of control badge monkeys.
There's a bootlicker on every thread. Not as many as they used to be because most of us have figured out that the police are just the enforcers for the police state.
It is not a violation to ask for ID. It is a violation to arrest anyone for failing to ID without probable cause.
There are bad attorneys just like there are bad cops.
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