Medford cop goes berserk, on video (Boston, Winthrop: 2015, construction, live)

[Amontillado]

I'm just astonished at this. We have to worry about the kind of mental state these guys are in, if a police officer can go from normal off-duty behavior into a screaming rage so quickly. Since he was in civilian clothes, what if the man he'd pulled over had a gun and thought he was being attacked? And of course, if it hadn't been for the video, how would this incident have been reported by the policeman, or by the other cops who showed up--even if there had been violence?

Cop caught on dash cam threatening to

There is a follow-up article in the Globe about the legality of filming a police officer (yes, it's legal, at least if the camera isn't hidden):
http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...ure_stack_5_hp

[BostonMike7]

My first thought was his statement about putting a hole in his head (shooting him) was a threat against the guy's life. I mean how else do you take that?

I have a CCW and if I walked up to someone and said that, i'd prob be arrested, charged, and have my CCW taken away.

[edwardsyzzurphands]

If you react this way, you should not be a police officer. Bottom line.

He is fortunate that this didnt happen in another State, where more people are armed. That is a direct threat on their life and it could have gone really wrong, really fast.

[vtecluder617]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

My first thought was his statement about putting a hole in his head (shooting him) was a threat against the guy's life. I mean how else do you take that?

I have a CCW and if I walked up to someone and said that, i'd prob be arrested, charged, and have my CCW taken away.

Same here, and my thoughts exactly. In addition, you'd probably have your guns confiscated as well. This a$$ clown will most likely keep his job, his guns, and get a paid vacay while they "investigate"

[Parsec]

I saw somewhere the cop had another incident with a dashcam a few years ago and got reprimanded. The incident from a few years ago didn't go as far as this one, but it shows he has a history w/this type of stuff. I hope he's fired.

[Amontillado]

Now it's "Medford mayor ‘fully shocked and saddened’ ".

Medford mayor

I wonder who'd be saying what if there hadn't just happened to be a video camera running. At least nobody ended up dead.

[charolastra00]

Thank goodness no one ended up dead.

I live close by there and am very familiar with that rotary. It is poorly marked in the best of circumstances. I've seen multiple people go the wrong way into the rotary as if it was a wide intersection. You come up on it fast. Any Medford cop should know it was an honest mistake. Give the guy a ticket, at most.

As a young woman, if a pick up truck followed me and then a man in a pick up truck jumps out screaming at me that he's going to put a hole in my head (or, you know, screaming in general), I am going to assume my life is in danger and do what needs to be done. That might include running down the man. I could care less if he says he's a cop - if you're in an unmarked car without a uniform, I am not going to believe you. This "detective" is lucky he didn't end up dead.

[Amontillado]

The latest Globe article isn't about the Medford cop, but about the location where the incident happened. It was the intersection of High St and Winthrop St in Medford, a place I go through reasonably often. As the article says, there was construction there recently, and so far they don't seem to have put back all the Rotary and Yield signs that would tell people what to do there. In fact, one of the last times we passed there, I mentioned to my wife that the signs weren't in place, and I added "It was bad enough even with them there". So if someone unfamiliar with the area went down the wrong road, I'm not surprised. (Click on "Here" to see the article.)

Here

[wolfgang239]

Even people familiar with this rotary act like morons. Nobody yields because you can't see any of the other entrances so everyone just goes and acts like the other person screwed up.

I live right up the street from there and go through that rotary daily. If anyone pulled that on me they'd be a speed bump in 2 seconds. This guy should be fired and permanently stripped of any ability to carry a weapon, and zero pension or publicly funded benefits.

[bohemka]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

...snip... so everyone just goes and acts like the other person screwed up.

Is that not the only rule of driving here?