Army officer sues Virginia police over violent traffic stop

When did you get in your head that you have a right to negotiate with cops making a felony stop? You get to negotiate the situation huh. And if you come up with the proper excuse, you think they will just let you go on your way?

 

Well, I hope acting like an idiot was worth it, because now the cop has to find a new job. I don’t blame the department. A guy who acts like that over something as simple as a traffic stop is going to be trouble in the future. I bet this wasn’t his first time acting like this.

 

this military man displayed some sort of victimhood never before seen

granted the cops should have addressed him as 'colonel' or 'sir'

what was his malfunction? mind you he was in uniform

 

So you think a bunch of gutless Democrat politicians firing the officer proves he was wrong? All it proves is they are more willing to sacrifice the officer for political points. Now the officer will be able to file his suit against the city for wrongful termination.

 

It was a felony stop. He refused to pull over which brought in a second unit. Ordering him to exit the vehicle is standard procedure.

But you can live in that world where you get to determine whats legal or not when faced with cops on a felony stop. Lets us know how that turns out for ya.

 

All those gutless Democrat politicians who decided to terminate the officer for their own political points, did nothing but open the door for a wrongful termination suit.

 

So you thought the cops are making money on traffic stops do you? Who determines the policies of the police?

 

this guy is a professional, he is disciplined to manage his 'fear'

untrained civilians obey orders better than he did.

 

A police officer is the public face of the local government. Why would they want to keep someone so willing to abuse his authority? Judgement is a characteristic that should tell a police officer when he does and does not have to act like an idiot. These guys displayed no judgement. They could have EASILY defused the situation, but, like morons, chose not to. Just because it was a felony stop doesn’t mean they get to act like *******s when the situation clearly doesn’t call for it. Especially in this political climate, police officers need to show better judgement.

You can’t honestly tell me that explaining to this guy why he was being stopped would have somehow put the cops lives in more danger. Whether they were required to or not, the decent thing would have been to work with this guy and defuse the situation. The cop was obviously out looking for a confrontation.

 

rednecks respect the law and are not entitled.

 

he is not representative of the Army, they do not go around mouthing off to cops like thugs.

this guy had some special privilege to get away with disrespect of authority.

 

You tend to make a lot of assumptions here.
1. The cops who pulled him over were polite up front asking him to exit the vehicle.
2. They have no idea what they are dealing with. As far as they know, (and from training) people who refuse to comply, have a reason to not comply. Usually hiding a weapon.
3. As the situation escalates, he still refuses to comply. Making the situation more aggravated.
4, When did the person being pulled over get to negotiate his own terms?

Is this what you would have done? Refuse to exit the vehicle? Funny how every video we see where someone is being taken down by police, all have a common denominator. Refusing to comply. And now its the cops fault?

 

The problem is the power difference. We see it with cops against civilians, therapists against clients, doctors against patients. Almost always, the one with the title will be believed or at least given "a pass" no matter what they do. This power difference leaves us vulnerable to the whims of whomever is holding the title and there isn't enough accountability, if any, when one abuses their power this way.

 

You make a hell of a lot of assumptions here. If they make a felony stop, and you refuse to exit the vehicle, they should just assume you're a good guy, put their guns away, and try another angle?

Every cop is trained to expect confrontations. Some with guns or other weapons. They don't have a clue who they are pulling over and neither did you until after the fact.
Refusing to comply by exiting the vehicle tells the officers you either intend to run, or you have a weapon. Why, because innocent civilians don't refuse to comply with such a simple request unless they have some other intent.
All he did was escalate the situation and when forced to comply, wants to cry about his rights.

You don't get to negotiate the terms of compliance on a felony stop. If you are dumb enough to refuse, you put everyone's life at risk. Why is it the left got this idea they have a right not to comply and when things escalate, its the cops fault.

 

cops are lawful government force, their authority is proper

everyone else has no authority.

 

I looked up felony stops:

"Felony stops are rare and are much more intrusive than regular traffic stops. They are conducted when:

• The police see a vehicle that has been reported as stolen.
• The police see a vehicle they know to have just been used in a crime.
• A felony warrant has been issued for the registered owner of a vehicle and the police know or have reason to believe the owner is in the vehicle."

Which of these was the reason for the stop here?

 

It doesn’t matter if it is a felony stop or not, the police should explain why they are stopping him. If that is how every cop is trained, to expect compliance without saying why, then it needs to change immediately. Even when we were detaining suspected insurgents in Iraq we explained to them with interpreters why we were detaining them unless we had positive identification of hostile force. We had escalation of force guidelines that we followed. If we can do that in Iraq, I think the police can do that here in the US.

The fact of the matter is, whether you agree with it or not, many black people are afraid of cops. Whether that is from media pushing racial issues purposely or not, law enforcement needs to recognize that the perception exists, and adapt to that reality instead of railing against it. That is just going to lead to more incidents like this. So yes, a little negotiation of terms of compliance can and should be expected. Unquestioned authority is for dictatorships, which we do not live in, and I don’t want to live in.

I am all about police officers protecting themselves, and I have been in the position where I don’t know if someone has a gun or not many times, and the way these officers went about this was just wrong. If that is how they were trained, then the training needs to change.

 

Oh, so you want to make it ok for people to negotiate with police during felony traffic stops. So here is your typical stop.

Exit the vehicle now.

No, I will not exit the vehicle.

Why won't you exit the vehicle.

Cuz I'm afraid of cops

Oh, Ok, On your way then.

Don't be ridiculous. Ordering a suspect to exit the vehicle is normal procedure on all felony traffic stops. But you are trying to convince me that an adult man, Army Lt. is now afraid of cops so he a right not to comply?
I don't think so. Just stop it.

Nothing you can state overshadows the fact that he refused to exit the vehicle under order. That one act in itself was the determining factor of being forced to comply.

 

You forgot, attempting to elude police. But you did that on purpose.

 

Now you are being ridiculous. If after the cops EXPLAIN why they are stopping him, he has no explanation and refuses to comply, then by all means take him down.

Sir, do you know why we stopped you?

No.

The state of Virginia requires you to have a license plate mounted on the back of the vehicle, and you do not have one.

Oh, sorry officers. I just got this vehicle. The temporary plate is taped to the window. Here is the documentation.

Ok, well, we are giving you a warning. Make sure you get that put on immediately.

No problem officers, thank you.

Have a good evening.

That is how my interactions have always gone with police officers, and I expect them to act like that with everyone unless hostile force has been detected. Not getting out of the vehicle because you have not been informed WHY you have been stopped is not hostile force. As a matter of fact, if it isn't already, it should be law that an officer has to say why somebody is being stopped before they give them any further instruction. I thought that was already the case, but if it isn't, it needs to be changed, ASAP.

 

The story I read said that is what the cop wrote, but the Army officer said he wanted to stop in a well lit area. I think he did the right thing. I don't think it would have gone well for this guy if they stopped him in an area where others couldn't see him. Somehow I doubt an Army officer would "elude" police. That would definitely hit the Army blotter, and that LT would be ****ed.

 

If you watch the complete video, you hear the dispatcher calling the felony stop. Thats why a secondary car was called in. He refused to stop.
Had he pulled over, he would have been treated like any other stop. Your assumption he would be hurt is ridiculous.

So after he refused to stop, then he refused to comply.

So just for your own safety, if you refuse to comply in a felony stop, you will be forced to comply. How you are treated is up to you. Saying your scared of police isn't going to buy you anything.
If this guy is so easily intimidated he shouldn't be a US Army Officer. I spent my time as a US Army Officer and I never met anyone in my chain of command that was intimidated by local police. EVER. Thats just BS.

 

Except, that isn't a felony stop. Thats a normal traffic stop. He blew that opportunity when he refused to pull over. Then he blew his next opportunity when he refused to exist the vehicle.

 

Like I said, even if it IS a felony stop, which seems ridiculous for this, the cop should state clearly WHY they are being stopped. I wouldn't cooperate either if I wasn't told what was happening. You'd have to be stupid to. And I'm guessing your time as an Army officer was not in these times, with today's racial problems. Sure, there has always been racial divides, but not nearly as bad as it is today with cell phones everywhere making it look like police are constantly abusing black people. I know that the vast majority of police are not like that, but the perception for many is that they ARE like that, so it is on the police to act accordingly. Telling the guy WHY he was being stopped before telling him to get out of the vehicle would definitely not put anyone in danger.

 

BS, going to a well lit area is not eluding police. He did not floor it, he just drove normally to a well lit area. Nothing wrong with that, and actually should be commended for the police's safety as well as that of the guy being pulled over.