Posted on 07/22/2011 1:14:25 AM PDT by Straight Vermonter
Among the pressures facing police officiers working the streets of America is the rising number of people legally carrying concealed guns. But when one such licensee was pulled over in Canton, Ohio, an officer threatened to shoot him on the spot. Here's the chilling video.
The arrest took place in early June, but the video only came to light today from a group called Ohioans for Concealed Carry. They had been working on behalf of the driver of the Pontiac Grand Prix, known so far only as William, who was arrested and charged in the stop.
As the 17-minute dashcam video shows, the two Canton police officers see the car pulled over in a neighborhood and detain a male passenger and a woman standing outside, whom the officers quickly identify as a prostitute. After telling the driver to stay put, they detain the male passenger and search the back of the car for a few minutes.
Only after that search does Officer Daniel Harless start questioning William, some seven minutes into the video — who then admits, when he can get a word in, that he has a concealed weapon, and tries to show Harless his permit. When he discovers William's gun in his belt, Harless instead becomes enraged: "You are supposed to say that right off the goddamned bat!"
Right now, the shit that you just pulled, I could blast you right in the mouth...I am so close to caving in you're goddamn head...you're just a stupid human being...People like you don't deserve to move throughout public. Stupid idiot."
After searching the car, getting worked up with his partner, and hearing from police dispatch that William does indeed have a legal permit to carry a concealed weapon, Harless comes back to the cruiser where William has been detained:
I swear to God man this little bull crap you just pulled right now has got me so hot. You know what I should have done? I'll tell you what I should have done. As soon as I saw your gun, I should have taken two steps back, pulled my Glock 40 and just put ten bullets in your ass and let you drop. And I wouldn'tve lost any sleep. And he would have been a nice witness as I executed you because you're stupid.
William was charged with two misdemeanor counts; one for stopping in the roadway, and another for failing to inform officers of his weapons.
After the video surfaced, the Canton police announced that Harless had been put on indefinite suspension last month, and the case forwarded to Internal Affairs. Ohio gun activists are raising money for William's defense. And the rest of us get to hope the next misunderstanding ends more amicably, rather than less.
Another psycho w a badge who needs a cell.
I'm not a naive dolt, but I rarely identify a woman as a prostitute just because she is by herself, and you don't know that a woman is a drug addled prostitute when you see her getting beat up. And should that really matter?
I wish the state still had a burden of proof.
As for this bad cop scenario, it needs to be a felony to abuse your authority like this. Firing this guy (like that is going to happen) isn't enough. Barring real punishment, a blanket party is in order. Handcuffed to his cruiser with his pants down would be fitting retribution.
Yes and his partner needs one also. The partner did not stop him and he conducted an illegal search. Both are bad and most likely feed off of each other for bad performance.
I just realized I was repetitively redundent “immediately and as early as possible” - basically as soon as you can you have to tell the cops, but it’s vague - I think the wording may be similar to Michigan as “timely”, so they’re changing it to eliminate the “police interpretation”.
The victim here should bring civil suit for violations of his civil rights. This “peace officer” and his employer should be paying big bucks.
In some states it's the law. Funny, here in the Peoples Republic of Ct. it's not.
NOT telling the officer you are armed is a really easy way to get your head blown off. Especially if they’re asking you to exit your vehicle.
Its interesting that your view of the 2nd Amendment is so low that you feel that one must bow and scrape to wild, violent and insane thugs in uniform.
The LEO made a terroristic threat. If anyone who was visibly armed stood there and said those things to me and had the rage and insanity to convince me he could or would, he would be DRT. The vic in this case if he sought to defend himself from an imminent threat to murder him on the spot, the vic would have probably suffered trumped up charges of "resistance" and "assault and battery on an angel of God".
The LEO should cool off in prison for a few years. I fail to see any circumstance short of this being actors filming a scene in a movie where anything less is acceptable.
Plus you get to walk around with a gun and a swagger. Do whatever you want, accuse people on the street of crimes with no evidence what so ever, and most importantly scream death threats at people because they are exercising basic constitutional rights. How do you put a price on that?
In an earlier thread here on FR
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2751761/posts?page=87#87
Reply 87 .......I don’t know if they gave him his gun back - but the DA is offering to drop the felony charge of failing to inform if the CCW permit holder agrees not to sue.
Just a guess: Psycho cop is going to cost the city a ton of money if a jury sees this tape.
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"You know what I should have done? I'll tell you what I should have done. As soon as I saw your gun, I should have taken two steps back, pulled my Glock 40 and just put ten bullets in your ass and let you drop. And I wouldn'tve lost any sleep. And he would have been a nice witness as I executed you because you're stupid."
Hopefully a team of doctors will look into the background of a person who makes the above statement. It might be useful treating him in the years to come.
Prostitutes have friends and family like anyone else.
This officer should lose his job and be barred from a CCW for life. He is mentally unstable.
Anyone who wants to argue with me on this also needs a mental exam.
You are lucky you didn’t get shot.
Cops don’t have to follow the law.
Yes they are. Some of my friends who have Texas CHL licenses tell me that they carry their CHL card right behind their drivers license in case they are stopped, because they must show their CHL and drivers license. Texas links the CHL to the drivers license in the database, so if a CHL holder is stopped by the police and he doesn't also show the CHL immediately, he is in serious trouble.
I reject that its BS out of the gate. Many men who don't frequent prostitutes, don't think about a woman being a prostitute when they stop. I have personally stopped to help women that appear to be stranded many times in my life. Far less than half were prostitutes, but yes, many were. In one case, I'm 90% sure that my stopping saved the woman from being raped/killed. That woman wasn't a prostitute, but does it really matter?
I also gave bus fare to a prostitute that had just had her front teeth knocked out. I'm sure that if you had me on video handing the woman money in the parking lot, you would laugh at the idea that I was trying to help her out, but to me she is still a human being worthy of compassion.
I saw the video. That cop watches too much TV!!
I’ll bet THAT video never makes it for broadcast on “COPS.”
That cop seems like the type we’re hearing more about.. that storms into private residences, shoots the pets, tasers the parents and threatens the children.
That a**hole should NEVER don a cop uniform again.
Don’t forget the free meals, free coffee and donuts, and the free pass from tickets for traffic violations for you AND your family.
At least that’s how it works around here.
The best reason a LEO should not have his job is the fact he wants it.
In San Jose, California, police sergeants are bringing down $250,000 in total compensation, and retiring in their 50s at a salary that is 90% of their highest earning year.
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