Posted on 11/14/2017 3:15:33 PM PST by nickcarraway
A cellphone video showing a Salinas Police Department officer pointing his gun at a motorist who has no criminal record spurred a debate on KSBW's Facebook page last week.
It's a tense situation as driver Alfonso Vargas, 21, of Salinas, holds up his cellphone to record an officer who is giving commands.
Advertisement "Let me see your hands. Drop the phone, put your hands up," the officer orders.
Two Salinas police officers had their guns pointed at Vargas. He was suspected of a vehicle code violation, Vargas said.
Vargas uploaded the video on KSBW's Facebook page and wrote, " I feared for my life because (the) officer ... was getting ready to shoot me. You are here to protect and serve, not to shoot and kill because you fear me."
The 2014 Everett Alvarez High School graduate told KSBW, "When I asked the officer why I got a ticket he said (it) was because I was speeding. I was going 38 and the limit was 35 mph."
The police officer seen in the 5-second video was called in as backup. The officer who pulled Vargas over can't be seen in the video frame. Vargas told KSBW that he failed to pull over right away because he thought the officer was attempting to pull someone else over.
Jim Knowlton, the vice president of the Salinas Police Officer's Association, joined the online debate on KSBW's Facebook page.
Knowlton said Vargas wasn't following police commands because he was "too busy recording."
Citizens recording videos of police officers became widespread in Salinas around 2014, when four officer-involved shootings occurred and most cellphones had high quality cameras installed.
In 2015, Salinas police officers began wearing body cameras.
So in 2017, in many instances, both sides are recording.
Recording video of a law enforcement officer with your cellphone is legal. But when someone begins reaching for a cellphone, instead of showing their empty hands, it creates a problematic situation for officers and their training.
The two officers in the Vargas incident are veterans, with exemplary careers, and a lot of training, Knowlton said.
Knowlton acknowledged that having a police officer point a gun at you can be "traumatic."
But the officers' tactics help keep law enforcement officers safe, he said.
"If the officer is pointing his gun at you, and telling you to put your hands up -- just put your hands up. Humans don't kill other human beings with our feet, or with our elbows, or with our knees. What do we kill each other with? Our hands. So that's all we really want to see," Knowlton said.
Salinas has a high crime rate.
"This town is dangerous. We have 27 murders 10 months into the year. And this town is not that big," Knowlton said.
follow the officers orders.
Is it really that complicated?
“Drop the phone” - really suspicious.
“What..? You got somethin’ to HIDE..?!” I’ve heard it from cops a bunch of times.
But apparently it’s a one-way street.
I hope the department gets sued for a lot over this.
“follow the officers orders.
Is it really that complicated?”
This ^^^^^
“Drop the chalupa!”
“You are here to protect and serve, not to shoot and kill because you fear me.”
Protect and serve the corporation of Salinas not you. They’re corporate security guards.
Why are citizens of the United States now considered the lowest form of life in the world?
27 murders in 10 months?
Sigh...I miss the good old days in California, when Salinas was known only for lettuce and for being the setting of some John Steinbeck novels.
Uh...you know about Salinas.
The kid was probably pulled on a gang stop. Maybe he just looked like somebody. Maybe he’s one of them.
My kid can rattle off their names. The Mexican gangs are all over Santa Cruz county, and they all emanate from the grimy run down pit known as Salinas.
Steinbeck land it ain’t anymore. Just Mexico. The worst part.
The cop was probably hair trigger tense, and rightfully so.
Ya, point something at a cop so you can post a victim video.
Real smart.
Now, 38 in a 35?
There’s something else going on here.
“follow the officers orders. Is it really that complicated?”
Yes. Yes, it is.
Because sometimes if you follow their orders they kill you anyway.
because of copsucking jack boot lickers.
I don’t want “hair trigger tense” people running around with guns. Period, badge or no badge.
The problem the cops cause is they willingly act as revenue agents for municipal legal trickery in the hopes of getting a cut.
Correcting these problems would greatly improve both police and citizen performance, and safety.
I generally agree with you.
But Salinas makes Compton seem quiet.
It is basically occupied territory now, and the Mexican gangs do what they want.
Last year it was about a murder every week. This year, not quite.
You really have to experience it. Not pleasant.
Wouldn’t wanna be a cop there. Kinda like being a LRP in Quang Tri province circa 1971.
And the hair trigger tense guys are on the other side as well. What’s their excuse? DACA gives them the right?
We need to put more officers at risk so this snowflake can justify his radical credentials.
Many years ago I got pulled over in Jersey by a bridge cop. It was a company car, so I inadvertently reached for the glove box for the registration I hoped would be in there. Caught a glimpse of the partner through the passenger side mirror with his gun drawn. So I thought better of it until I asked for permission to reach into the glove box. To that officer and his partner I was a threat until I proved otherwise.
“The Mexican gangs are all over Santa Cruz county, and they all emanate from the grimy run down pit known as Salinas.”
Unfortunately, Salinas is in Monterey County. As for being a “run down pit,” that would depend on where you live in Salinas. Out on Highway 62 heading for Monterey, is also Salinas, and the homes out there are in the millions.
Sounds like an episode of "Justified"...
If I have both my hands on my cell phone recording it is rather unlikely I am going to shoot anyone.
You are correct, but so am I!
The gangs in SC county STILL all emanate from the Pit Known As Salinas...in Monterey County.
As for Hwy 62, aside from being one point off a Dylan tune, it is a high class gig the closer you get to Monterey/Carmel/Pebble Beach, but the fact that Salinas annexed that far out seems to me to be just an attempt at getting a bit of revenue...those places have nothing to do with the main part of town.
Shoulda bought one of those places back in 2009 when the bottom dropped out...
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