White cops harass and pepper spray Black Army Lieutenant in Windsor, VA

[Anonymous]

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- A second lieutenant in the U.S. Army is suing two Virginia police officers over a traffic stop last December during which the officers drew their guns, pointed them at him and used a slang term to suggest he was facing execution before pepper-spraying him and knocking him to the ground.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lawsuit-virginia-police-officers-threatened-man-stop-76982103

I'm really curious as to what the motivation is to treating a military officer in uniform like this. Why the nasty tone and language and threatening gestures? Is a black man not deserving of respect no matter what his station in life is?

[Anonymous]

He is in UNIFORM. This is insane. They were so aggressive and they pepper-sprayed him. Isn't that a crime? To attack a U.S. soldier in uniform?

As an aside, the police officer closest to the back tire looks like he's 19.

[Anonymous]

If you just watch the video it looks like he's just disobeying. You can't hear what he's saying.

Read the article and it sounds like he was behaving reasonably given the situation, and that the cops are idiots.

[Anonymous]

Poor guy is afraid to move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poor guy is afraid to move.

And the more senior cop says 'You should be [afraid]!'

How helpful...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- A second lieutenant in the U.S. Army is suing two Virginia police officers over a traffic stop last December during which the officers drew their guns, pointed them at him and used a slang term to suggest he was facing execution before pepper-spraying him and knocking him to the ground.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lawsuit-virginia-police-officers-threatened-man-stop-76982103

I'm really curious as to what the motivation is to treating a military officer in uniform like this. Why the nasty tone and language and threatening gestures? Is a black man not deserving of respect no matter what his station in life is?

This is exactly why Black Lives Matter started. For all you All Lives jerks... Yes, it DOES need to be explicit because obviously cops don’t think so. This is just so disgusting.

Oh, I can’t wait to hear MAGA’s “but he...”

[Anonymous]

I’ve done the exact same thing. Slowed down until I got to an area where I felt safe. The cop had attitude but he didn’t pull out his weapon.

[Anonymous]

As is so often the case with these videos we don't know the full context. What we see in the video is a felony stop where the police officers are approaching the suspect with guns drawn and order the suspect to exit the vehicle. This is not the default approach to a routine traffic stop, which tells us something has transpired before the arrival of the officer wearing the body cam that we have video of.

The suspect is non-compliant and argues at length with the officers that he doesn't have to follow their directives, refuses to leave his vehicle, tells the police to "keep their hands off me," resists arrest, etc.

That the suspect is in the military and in uniform has nothing to do with anything.

Being in uniform doesn't change a thing when you are interacting with the police. Tons of service members get arrested off base for all manner of things in uniform and out. (and yes, largely for traffic violations, drunk driving, etc)

Characterizing this as "white cops harass and pepper spray black Army lieutenant," is characteristic of just how screwed up our society is on race relations right now.

Why insert race into this? Are white cops allowed to enforce the law? Are black army lieutenants obligated to follow the law and obey lawful directives when interacting with the police?

What if the police are -gasp- white, does a black army lieutenant still need to obey their commands at a traffic stop?

There is no evidence that race played a role in this interaction evident in the video.

Finally, he was not "attacked." He refused to comply with the police at length during a traffic stop. He was eventually pepper sprayed, which seemed to prompt him to at least get out of the car, after which point he refused to cooperate further and resisted arrest, before finally being taken into custody. The one officer should be counseled on his language, but this is hardly a case of police brutality.

All the suspect had to do was get out of the car and cooperate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As is so often the case with these videos we don't know the full context. What we see in the video is a felony stop where the police officers are approaching the suspect with guns drawn and order the suspect to exit the vehicle. This is not the default approach to a routine traffic stop, which tells us something has transpired before the arrival of the officer wearing the body cam that we have video of.

The suspect is non-compliant and argues at length with the officers that he doesn't have to follow their directives, refuses to leave his vehicle, tells the police to "keep their hands off me," resists arrest, etc.

That the suspect is in the military and in uniform has nothing to do with anything.

Being in uniform doesn't change a thing when you are interacting with the police. Tons of service members get arrested off base for all manner of things in uniform and out. (and yes, largely for traffic violations, drunk driving, etc)

Characterizing this as "white cops harass and pepper spray black Army lieutenant," is characteristic of just how screwed up our society is on race relations right now.

Why insert race into this? Are white cops allowed to enforce the law? Are black army lieutenants obligated to follow the law and obey lawful directives when interacting with the police?

What if the police are -gasp- white, does a black army lieutenant still need to obey their commands at a traffic stop?

There is no evidence that race played a role in this interaction evident in the video.

Finally, he was not "attacked." He refused to comply with the police at length during a traffic stop. He was eventually pepper sprayed, which seemed to prompt him to at least get out of the car, after which point he refused to cooperate further and resisted arrest, before finally being taken into custody. The one officer should be counseled on his language, but this is hardly a case of police brutality.

All the suspect had to do was get out of the car and cooperate.

Did you read the article?

[Anonymous]

All the suspect had to do was get out of the car and cooperate.

Two cops had guns pointed at him and he repeatedly said he was afraid for this life because of this. The more senior cop told him, "You should be afraid"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As is so often the case with these videos we don't know the full context. What we see in the video is a felony stop where the police officers are approaching the suspect with guns drawn and order the suspect to exit the vehicle. This is not the default approach to a routine traffic stop, which tells us something has transpired before the arrival of the officer wearing the body cam that we have video of.

The suspect is non-compliant and argues at length with the officers that he doesn't have to follow their directives, refuses to leave his vehicle, tells the police to "keep their hands off me," resists arrest, etc.

That the suspect is in the military and in uniform has nothing to do with anything.

Being in uniform doesn't change a thing when you are interacting with the police. Tons of service members get arrested off base for all manner of things in uniform and out. (and yes, largely for traffic violations, drunk driving, etc)

Characterizing this as "white cops harass and pepper spray black Army lieutenant," is characteristic of just how screwed up our society is on race relations right now.

Why insert race into this? Are white cops allowed to enforce the law? Are black army lieutenants obligated to follow the law and obey lawful directives when interacting with the police?

What if the police are -gasp- white, does a black army lieutenant still need to obey their commands at a traffic stop?

There is no evidence that race played a role in this interaction evident in the video.

Finally, he was not "attacked." He refused to comply with the police at length during a traffic stop. He was eventually pepper sprayed, which seemed to prompt him to at least get out of the car, after which point he refused to cooperate further and resisted arrest, before finally being taken into custody. The one officer should be counseled on his language, but this is hardly a case of police brutality.

All the suspect had to do was get out of the car and cooperate.

He was wrongly pulled over for not having a rear license plate.

He had his hands out the window.

He was afraid to put his hands back in the car because he didn't want to get shot. Don't tell me it doesn't happen because it does. More than enough black men shot while reaching for their license and registration. They admitted he "should be afraid". Therefore his fear was reasonable.

"Ride the lightning??" Really??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poor guy is afraid to move.

Really? He is too afraid to obey the police? Why do I suspect the Army might be the wrong career for him?

All he had to do was obey their directions and there would have been ample time to discuss whatever they had pulled him over for.

When you get pulled over you don't get to dictate to the police whether you will or won't obey their commands. Courts have ruled over and over and over again that the police are legally allowed to order you to get out of the vehicle at their discretion. This is to protect the safety of the police, for whom traffic stops can be very dangerous.

The police don't know who they are interacting with, what that person's state of mind is, whether they are armed, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As is so often the case with these videos we don't know the full context. What we see in the video is a felony stop where the police officers are approaching the suspect with guns drawn and order the suspect to exit the vehicle. This is not the default approach to a routine traffic stop, which tells us something has transpired before the arrival of the officer wearing the body cam that we have video of.

The suspect is non-compliant and argues at length with the officers that he doesn't have to follow their directives, refuses to leave his vehicle, tells the police to "keep their hands off me," resists arrest, etc.

That the suspect is in the military and in uniform has nothing to do with anything.

Being in uniform doesn't change a thing when you are interacting with the police. Tons of service members get arrested off base for all manner of things in uniform and out. (and yes, largely for traffic violations, drunk driving, etc)

Characterizing this as "white cops harass and pepper spray black Army lieutenant," is characteristic of just how screwed up our society is on race relations right now.

Why insert race into this? Are white cops allowed to enforce the law? Are black army lieutenants obligated to follow the law and obey lawful directives when interacting with the police?

What if the police are -gasp- white, does a black army lieutenant still need to obey their commands at a traffic stop?

There is no evidence that race played a role in this interaction evident in the video.

Finally, he was not "attacked." He refused to comply with the police at length during a traffic stop. He was eventually pepper sprayed, which seemed to prompt him to at least get out of the car, after which point he refused to cooperate further and resisted arrest, before finally being taken into custody. The one officer should be counseled on his language, but this is hardly a case of police brutality.

All the suspect had to do was get out of the car and cooperate.

Did you read the article?

Yep, and I watched the video.

All he had to do was get out of the car and do as instructed. He argues and says he doesn't have to. He claims he is afraid. He claims the pepper spray is bothering his dog. He tries to argue that he is in the Army. (which changes nothing) Once he finally gets out he refuses to cooperate further and physically resists the police.

This is a classic case of how to turn a total non-issue into a huge problem through a series of really bad decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poor guy is afraid to move.

Really? He is too afraid to obey the police? Why do I suspect the Army might be the wrong career for him?

All he had to do was obey their directions and there would have been ample time to discuss whatever they had pulled him over for.

When you get pulled over you don't get to dictate to the police whether you will or won't obey their commands. Courts have ruled over and over and over again that the police are legally allowed to order you to get out of the vehicle at their discretion. This is to protect the safety of the police, for whom traffic stops can be very dangerous.

The police don't know who they are interacting with, what that person's state of mind is, whether they are armed, etc.

Philando Castile got shot reaching for his license and registration as he was directed. This man was afraid to unbuckle his seatbelt and open the door.

He clearly had his hands out of the car so as not to give them cause to shoot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As is so often the case with these videos we don't know the full context. What we see in the video is a felony stop where the police officers are approaching the suspect with guns drawn and order the suspect to exit the vehicle. This is not the default approach to a routine traffic stop, which tells us something has transpired before the arrival of the officer wearing the body cam that we have video of.

The suspect is non-compliant and argues at length with the officers that he doesn't have to follow their directives, refuses to leave his vehicle, tells the police to "keep their hands off me," resists arrest, etc.

That the suspect is in the military and in uniform has nothing to do with anything.

Being in uniform doesn't change a thing when you are interacting with the police. Tons of service members get arrested off base for all manner of things in uniform and out. (and yes, largely for traffic violations, drunk driving, etc)

Characterizing this as "white cops harass and pepper spray black Army lieutenant," is characteristic of just how screwed up our society is on race relations right now.

Why insert race into this? Are white cops allowed to enforce the law? Are black army lieutenants obligated to follow the law and obey lawful directives when interacting with the police?

What if the police are -gasp- white, does a black army lieutenant still need to obey their commands at a traffic stop?

There is no evidence that race played a role in this interaction evident in the video.

Finally, he was not "attacked." He refused to comply with the police at length during a traffic stop. He was eventually pepper sprayed, which seemed to prompt him to at least get out of the car, after which point he refused to cooperate further and resisted arrest, before finally being taken into custody. The one officer should be counseled on his language, but this is hardly a case of police brutality.

All the suspect had to do was get out of the car and cooperate.

1. He was wrongly pulled over in the first place.
2. He smartly slowed down and pulled over in a brightly lit area instead of the side of the road where it's dark.
3. They gave conflicting commands; "put your hands up and unbuckle your seatbelt"
4. They were disrespectful and used inappropriate language regarding him being executed.
5. Their overly aggressive tone and weapons were drawn made him fearful and he expressed that. The officer responds, "you should be afraid."
6. I strongly do not feel that a white military member in full uniform would be treated this way.

Of course, a (likely conservative) white person would jump to defend these officers. Aren't you tired of licking boots all day?