OH - LEO Notification goes BAD, really BAD.

[speedsix]

...there it is...don't do the crime if you can't do the time...no matter WHO you are...

[bilgerat57]

This is a prime example of why there are procedures in place for LEOs. These officers failed from square one. First and foremost.....secure and id the people involved. That car was going nowhere. There was no danger of any evidence being lost while they had custody of those people. They could have called for additional backup prior to conducting the search if needed. I believe these two are the exception rather than the rule for LEO's, but now this incident will be in the back of my mind whenever I see a cruiser behind me. I will always have to wonder if an officer is going to react the same way. I keep my DL and my CHL together so I can produce them at the same time if needed. I'm not entirely sure it would have helped in this particular instance.....

[Beiruty]

You just have to wonder what happens when a person is carrying under MPA and he did not tell the officer that there is a firearm in the car. Would he get the Canton's treatment?

[baldeagle]

...that kind of behavior makes the news, like the fat pig punching a handcuffed suspect, and a lot of harm is done to the image of our law enforcement officers...it's hard to wear the badge and know that people like this are part of what society thinks we are...the greater majority of law enforcement pukes to see this kind of "representation"...hug a cop today, please...

Give us a little credit. I don't think all men are rapist, all CHL are gun nuts, all blonds are stupid, etc. Neither do I think all LEOs are abusers of authority. Painting all members of a group with one brush without evidence is called "prejudice".

I don't think anybody is painting LEOs with a bad brush here. Most of us are very supportive of LEOs, especially the ones who frequent this forum. However, I doubt there's a LEO on this forum, or in most departments across the country, who would try to defend the actions of these two officers. Tactically and procedurally, they blew it from the beginning by not securing all the occupants of the car before conducting a search. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the second officer made a huge blunder that could have cost him his life under different circumstances. In addition, the abusive officer was clearly out of control and unprofessional after discovering the presence of a weapon.

We don't want our officers making blunders like these, because they can get them killed. But we also don't want officers who abuse the public for any reason. The second officer needs to be retrained. The first officer needs to be dismissed.

[Beiruty]

This case is discussed live now here: http://www.55krc.com/main.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[punkndisorderly]

I just watched the video after hearing about it on Guntalk. That's just downright disturbing. If that cop doesn't do time, there's something very, very wrong with the system.

[bilgerat57]

The most unfortunate aspect of this incident has yet to occur. I cannot imagine that an internal affairs investigation will do anything but call for the dismissal of the one officer, and will most likely recommend criminal prosecution of some sort. Shortly thereafter, the defense attorneys attached to any case this officer is involved with are going to go into a feeding frenzy. The actual merits of any case he has touched will become irrelevant. His "taint" will attach itself to everything regardless of the degree of his involvement. Traffic stops, felony arrests, all of it stands to be thrown out of court because of this incident. This glue trap of a situation is going to get extremely messy.......and the citizens of the community are going to be the real losers.

[Purplehood]

The most unfortunate aspect of this incident has yet to occur. I cannot imagine that an internal affairs investigation will do anything but call for the dismissal of the one officer, and will most likely recommend criminal prosecution of some sort. Shortly thereafter, the defense attorneys attached to any case this officer is involved with are going to go into a feeding frenzy. The actual merits of any case he has touched will become irrelevant. His "taint" will attach itself to everything regardless of the degree of his involvement. Traffic stops, felony arrests, all of it stands to be thrown out of court because of this incident. This glue trap of a situation is going to get extremely messy.......and the citizens of the community are going to be the real losers.

If they were going to lose a good cop I might agree with you. In this case the only thing they stand to lose is taxpayer dollars for the legal fees.

[bilgerat57]

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not concerned about this cop. I believe he needs to spend a little time behind bars. My concern is that bad guys will be released for no other reason than the fact that this cop messed up on this one incident. Not to mention the added expense of new trials granted because this one officer was discredited. I'm quite sure there will be at least one defense attorney who will use this incident to try to discredit the entire agency so his client can walk out the door. I would be willing to bet that the DA's office has already reviewed the cases this officer was involved with, to determine which ones would have to be re-fought and which ones were lost causes. I would also expect that the FBI has also considered the possibilty of a civil rights violation investigation. This is one giant sized can of worms.........

[Purplehood]

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not concerned about this cop. I believe he needs to spend a little time behind bars. My concern is that bad guys will be released for no other reason than the fact that this cop "screwed up" on this one incident. Not to mention the added expense of new trials granted because this one officer was discredited. I'm quite sure there will be at least one defense attorney who will use this incident to try to discredit the entire agency so his client can walk out the door. I would be willing to bet that the DA's office has already reviewed the cases this officer was involved with, to determine which ones would have to be re-fought and which ones were lost causes. I would also expect that the FBI has also considered the possibilty of a civil rights violation investigation. This is one giant sized can of worms.........

That is a distinct possibility.

[punkndisorderly]

From the way I understand the circumstances surrounding this officer, perhaps this particular department should be discredited. There are several indicators which make me believe this is more than one rogue officer and that that department has issues:

The officer had 16 complaints filed against him prior to this incident, yet he was still patroling the streets including an instance where he "neglected" to turn on his dash cam during a stop where there were accusations of excessive force.

The other officer did nothing to diffuse the situation or take control of it. He also failed to, as far as i've read, report the other officer for his conduct.

Even though the video shows the guy attempting to show his CHL, the department still referred the case to the DA. That says they don't see a problem with the offcers conduct.

Both officers either has horrible training, or weren't following it, which indicated probable training issu

[Beiruty]

Many say, the search was illegal due to the lack of probable cause or even reasonable suspicion of a crime. What is the the reason that the car was stopped, or even searched?

[baldeagle]

Many say, the search was illegal due to the lack of probable cause or even reasonable suspicion of a crime. What is the the reason that the car was stopped, or even searched?

When a cop sees a car stopped on the side of the road and a known prostitute standing outside the car, two and two isn't hard to come by. That doesn't give them the right to search the car (normally a cop would ask for permission - most people give it), but it is reasonable suspicion that an illegal transaction may be taking place.

[Beiruty]

Many say, the search was illegal due to the lack of probable cause or even reasonable suspicion of a crime. What is the the reason that the car was stopped, or even searched?

When a cop sees a car stopped on the side of the road and a known prostitute standing outside the car, two and two isn't hard to come by. That doesn't give them the right to search the car (normally a cop would ask for permission - most people give it), but it is reasonable suspicion that an illegal transaction may be taking place.

One can easily prove a drug transaction is being busted by presence of drugs. How do you prove solicitation of prostitution unless it was under cover sting?

[Jumping Frog]

My concern is that bad guys will be released for no other reason than the fact that this cop messed up on this one incident.

Except I do not believe it was "this one incident".

The way he gets out of the car with his gloves already on and says to the woman, "Get out of here before I put lumps on you!", says to me we are looking at a member of the Hickory Shampoo club.

Maybe there are problems with previous cases that should be reviewed again? Who is to say that discrediting this 'roid rager won't uncover some legitimate miscarriages of justice?