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Completely different situations here. Comparing filming someone just walking down the street for no reason would be like filming a cop eating donuts for no reason. Now if you witness someone comitting a crime, then you need evidence so film away.
If you jump into the middle of the lake only to find out you can't swim maybe figuring out why you jumped in would help avoid future repeat occurrences.
Everyone is talking about him un-holstering his gun, which is pretty shocking, but even if we give the cop the benefit of the doubt and assume the guy filming gave some reason to make the cop nervous the way his hand was in his pocket, what's up with mocking the Constitution, which represents the laws he's sworn to uphold.
The following definition perhaps extreme, maybe what's on his mind:
"A constitutionalist is an American gun owners who carry everyday, they have proven that crime reduces according to studies." Urban Dictionary: Constitutionalist
While I think that constitutionalists mostly are everyday folks who believe that the Government ought to be limited by the constitution on the other hand are the extreme end including apocalyptic preppers, survivalists, Sovereign Nation types to the ordinary paranoid. Considering this wide range of folks cops have to deal with on a day to day basis, I read the cops comment as dismissive as in "seriously?". He can't figure out what this guy's issue is. If the cops goal is to intentionally harass him why not just drive away when the camera broke out rather than make contact and give a recorded encounter which tells one side of a story and potentially lose your job?
If it appears to him that the cops are harassing him by driving by his house, it's not like there aren't at least four other houses down that culdesac, how does he know that they aren't watching his neighbors? I am pretty sure this weekend, this guy thought I was looking at him when in fact I was looking past him, from his perspective and the distance between us there is no way he could tell. Now if he had been a black guy who is color sensitive he may feel that I was targeting his because he was black, likewise the guy has a strong opinion that the cops are after him ergo any time they are in the neighborhood they are hassling him. There is a lot more to this story that the guy has not told neither have we heard from the officer. So much more necessary to fill out the story, like below.
I just saw the dramatic headline "Cop shoots dead unarmed black teen" (my English teacher would have flunked that copywriter)/ This paints a helpless teen minding his own business but what people do not understand is that unarmed is not UNdangerous. Now that everybody's emotions are jacked up over an unjust killing then the news on TV shows the surveillance video of the guy jumping the crossing guard style gate of an auto dealership. Then punching a window of a car and stomping on a windshield until he could get into the car then it shows him driving his jeep through the gates and reportedly into the show room floor. The shooting happens off of the lot's view of the security cameras (no idea if the cops are wearing cameras yet). Given the 'back story' of the incidents prior to police encounter is it likely or unlikely that the college young adult will go peacefully?
The following definition perhaps extreme, maybe what's on his mind:
"A constitutionalist is an American gun owners who carry everyday, they have proven that crime reduces according to studies." Urban Dictionary: Constitutionalist
While I think that constitutionalists mostly are everyday folks who believe that the Government ought to be limited by the constitution on the other hand are the extreme end including apocalyptic preppers, survivalists, Sovereign Nation types to the ordinary paranoid. Considering this wide range of folks cops have to deal with on a day to day basis, I read the cops comment as dismissive as in "seriously?". He can't figure out what this guy's issue is. If the cops goal is to intentionally harass him why not just drive away when the camera broke out rather than make contact and give a recorded encounter which tells one side of a story and potentially lose your job?
If it appears to him that the cops are harassing him by driving by his house, it's not like there aren't at least four other houses down that culdesac, how does he know that they aren't watching his neighbors? I am pretty sure this weekend, this guy thought I was looking at him when in fact I was looking past him, from his perspective and the distance between us there is no way he could tell. Now if he had been a black guy who is color sensitive he may feel that I was targeting his because he was black, likewise the guy has a strong opinion that the cops are after him ergo any time they are in the neighborhood they are hassling him. There is a lot more to this story that the guy has not told neither have we heard from the officer. So much more necessary to fill out the story, like below.
I just saw the dramatic headline "Cop shoots dead unarmed black teen" (my English teacher would have flunked that copywriter)/ This paints a helpless teen minding his own business but what people do not understand is that unarmed is not UNdangerous. Now that everybody's emotions are jacked up over an unjust killing then the news on TV shows the surveillance video of the guy jumping the crossing guard style gate of an auto dealership. Then punching a window of a car and stomping on a windshield until he could get into the car then it shows him driving his jeep through the gates and reportedly into the show room floor. The shooting happens off of the lot's view of the security cameras (no idea if the cops are wearing cameras yet). Given the 'back story' of the incidents prior to police encounter is it likely or unlikely that the college young adult will go peacefully?
Lessee here...a cop rolls by (slowly the guy says, which is what you want from cops patrolling neighborhoods, right?) in a town where not much happens and sees a guy hooking up a boat to a truck. Could be poor writing but in the article below it says that he was hooking up A boat to HIS truck not HIS boat to HIS truck so do we really know whose boat this is? White pages says he lives on a particular street and Street View of that street does not match his video. He has no idea who this guy is, but maybe on first pass the guy does something out of the ordinary, maybe watches the cop a little too long, a look out perhaps) or who the boat belongs to etc. He decides to check up on the guy. The guy flips out and starts filming him because presumably the cops have been "harassing my family"*. Such an action filming a routine patrol would be unusual and the cop's curiosity is reinforced and piqued, is the filming a ruse to shy the cop away so the boat can be stolen? The camera clearly is not a threat as the cop does not tell him that he cannot film him or to stop. The purpose of his taking the guy's picture is to have a record from his point of view, a body cam would have been better remember we cannot see this guy's face -is it red, are his veins popping out , just how jacked up is this guy? He gets out of his car, gun is holstered thus low perceived threat. It is possible that the guy's hand was not in his pocket at that time and that his hand went into is pocket prompting the officer to tell him to remove it (we do not see it until he empties his pocket so we do not know where it was). Agitated man + hand in pocket + refusing to remove it when requested, is an increasing threat. The gun comes out after seven maybe eight steps toward the guy and only after his adamant refusal to show his concealed hand. We see a two hand grip on the gun and it is pointed low and away from the guy and never pointed AT him, this demonstrates caution. As the situation unfolds the guy eventually empties (presumably) his pocket of keys and another phone. A phone big enough that when concealed in a pocket with a ring of keys could look like a weapon, after all he does have a phone already in his hand. While some folks have two phones most have only one. The cop is still trying to figure out this agitated guy while the guy backs away around his truck - it could look like he is trying to conceal himself behind the truck or go for a concealed weapon in or at the back of the truck. These scenarios can flip on a dime cops just never know this makes them a cautious bunch. The guy keeps moving, the cops keeps following to keep his line of sight. Eventually the gun is in one hand and completely lowered but due to the guy's agitation and the close proximity of the two, the cop is not going holster it until he is out of range of an agitated bum's rush on him. When the cop left he ought to have backed away to his vehicle (clear line of sight and not retrace his steps through the boat and truck. Neither should the guy have followed to "get his stuff off of the car" (was the cop going to steal it while being filmed?) if he was so afraid of the armed cop - a fool move that in violent cities may have gotten him shot. I believe that had the guy stood his ground at his truck, the cop would have kept his distance but he backed up and the cop followed as I mentioned for safety reasons.
I am willing to bet had the guy not been the owner of the boat and the cop not stopped to check and it had gotten stolen, the guy would blame the cops for not being there, they should have been catching that guy and not harassing his son yada yada yada...I feel sorry for his family and not because of the cops.
Looks like a lot of history there with police. Wonder what all went down prior to this. It is still unprofessional what the cop did. Total intimidation, but I have seen this before when two cop cars were following a couple of Pegans and were right on their tail for no reason. Wish i would have had a camera on that, but best not to get involved.
Doesn't cut it. Cop also started video taping the guy, then said "are you a constitutionalist..." mocking the guy. Cop was clearly out of line and fishing for an incident.
Watching the video, both hands become visible. The cop knows there is no danger, he is just menacing the guy.
If I think it is odd that a cop is in an area that is unusual, or is acting in an unusual way, and I start filming, I am not "trying to start something." I am documenting something, even if that turns out to be routine or within the scope of police duties.
Nothing illegal in filming, and further, the act of filming does not in and of itself constitute "trying to start something." If I am in his face, obstructing, menacing, or in some way interfering with the cop in the line of performing duties, then yes, your point about trying to start something may be valid, but in this instance it is not the case.
Yeah.... I saw that. Since when did being a "Constitutionalist" become a bad thing?
If you jump into the middle of the lake only to find out you can't swim maybe figuring out why you jumped in would help avoid future repeat occurrences.
In this analogy, the lake is a cop pointing a gun at you? Like a lake, the gun-drawned cop's a natural phenomenon?
Apologist much? Sounds like you are making the most of your paid leave, "officer".
Just making observations based on what is to me, plain in the video. How so many miss that is hard to understand. How so many are fear and passion based thinkers unwilling to consider a whole picture is harder to understand and gives me worry about our jury system.
If the cops really are your enemy then you would be wise to understand what exactly are their if/or/and logic switches in determining a threat for your own safety which is what I was presenting above but was somehow lost on you.
Yeah.... I saw that. Since when did being a "Constitutionalist" become a bad thing?
It's like being a Muslim is not a bad thing unless you happen to be an extremist shoot em up, blow em type Jihadi. Cops deal with the whole gamut of 'Constitutionalists' from loud mouthed Mark Levin and Michael Savage types to paranoid armed lone wolfs. That dude in the video was definitely paranoid - I'd want to know why too.
Very telling, your response. Inaccurate profile though.
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Comparing filming someone just walking down the street for no reason would be like filming a cop eating donuts for no reason. Now if you witness someone comitting a crime, then you need evidence so film away.
