Cop suspended after driver puts video on YouTube | KOMO-TV – Seattle, Washington | National & World News — The police themselves need to “police” assholes like this idiot cop. Why don’t they? I can assure you that the locals knew that this was going on. It’s a disgrace. Why is it tolerated? And, of course, every case involving this officer now has to be reviewed. Good waste of the tax-payers money.
Oh, and THIS is the exact reason nobody wants Americans using video cams with police around.
ST. GEORGE, Mo. (AP) – A suburban St. Louis police sergeant has been put on unpaid suspension, accused of threatening to invent charges against a driver who caught the exchange on videotape.
The driver, Brett Darrow, 20, recorded Friday’s exchange with Sgt. James Kuehnlein with a dashboard videocamera he installed after past run-ins with police. He posted the video online Saturday.
“I wanted everybody to see that this kind of stuff does happen,” Darrow told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Tuesday’s edition. “I thought if I just go to the chief or whatever, it would just get swept under the rug.”
found by Aric Mackey who adds:
Now, here’s the deal.. this kid seems to either be a troublemaker who like to piss off cops and video it, or trying to make a point about local cops. A simple google search finds this story about a prior ‘interaction.’ And there is this too.
So why didn’t AP or any other reports mention this prior incident? Lazy or am I nit-picking?
Only bloggers get the whole story.
#28 has a good point. I’ve seen it.
#27 MM
>>Anyone who would say that to a cop in a
>>deserted parking lot in the middle of the
>>night has obviously never seen Law & Order
FFS you didn’t just say that did you? I hope you’re not basing your real life expectations on television.
#21
>>Well, for one, he pulled over into a place
>>where a reasonable cop might have
>>thought he was up to no good.
This fellow obviously wasn’t a reasonable cop and parking in a parking lot isn’t indicative of illegal behavior.
>>And anyone who has ever been on the
>>business end of law enforcement knows
>>that you don’t mouth off to a cop with no
>>witnesses present
Thats because anyone who has been on the business end of law enforcement knows that the jackbooted thugs calling themselves police are a bunch of power tripping assholes likely to beat you for standing up for your LEGAL RIGHTS.
Mr Mustard, stop defending this asshole, he’s a menace to the public he’s sworn to protect.
#30 Raff, you stole my next rant ^^
>>”Respect… has to be earned as far as I’m concerned.”
Word!
Brett Darrow has big-brass-balls that clink and clank whenever he takes a step. My hat’s off to this kid for having the courage to stand up to tyranny at great personal risk.
That is in fact heroic. Heroism is a word too often misused of late but it clearly applies here.
>>Now, here’s the deal.. this kid seems to
>>either be a troublemaker who like to piss off
>>cops and video it, or trying to make a point
>>about local cops. A simple google search
>>finds this story about a prior ‘interaction’.
WTF? Your conclusion is unsupported. It’s equally valid to conclude that the “prior ‘interaction'” demonstrates how rife with corruption the police in ST. George. have become.
Why do people feel some need to defend this asshole because he wears a badge and a gun?
I think every interaction between police and citizens should be videotaped and recorded. It is just so easy to do these days and it would help protect all parties involved.
>>I hope you’re not basing your real life expectations on television.
Nope. Real life.
>>Mr Mustard, stop defending this asshole
I’m not defending the asshole. I think he should be fired and put in jail. However, I think the kid was a fucking moron. Entrapping a cop is dangerous business. He’s just lucky he didn’t end up dead with a nightstick up his ass.
Another Cowboy Cop exerting his ability to be an asshole. The kid baited the cop? Yeah right. The cop was power trippin’ from the moment he turned his red and blue lights on. You can actually hear the adrenaline building from the second sentence he speaks.
This guy should not be a cop, he would piss his pants in a real crisis. Remove his badge, remove his gun, remove his inflated ego, all you have left is a spineless bully that whines a lot.
The kid went farther out of his way to court a confrontation than 99% of us would have done, but that doesn’t do the cop any good. Maybe a bit of a silver lining to the surveillance society is that cops like this will realize that they just might be being recorded any old time.
Nightstar:
Take it easy princess. I’m hardly defending this douche-bag cop. He like many cops I ran into as a punk teenager were small little men on power trips. I read this kid has an agenda. He lives in a small town (I assume) with bored asswipe police force — like many small towns. However, most cops are just doing their job sniffing around suspicious cars and empty parking lots. This kid is very subtle, but his answers have a confrontational/antagonistic tone to them. And cops are trained to establish dominance. So I wouldn’t say he’s a innocent victim in either of these exchanges. No conclusion was stated. Just read between the lines.
Pissing off cops is a subtle art and I tip my hat to this kid. Well played.
#35,
Well he didn’t entrap him. Insert standard law enforcement spiel about why stings are not entrapment here.
If the cop would have just minded his business he would still have a job. Instead he thought it would break the boredom if he hassled some kid who was committing the nefarious crime sitting in his car listening to music.
The point being, if the cops are bored, it is time to reduce their numbers and get rid of (here in Monroe country Michigan it was determined to be about 30% of them) them and their jobs.
St Louis should consider hiring a new Chief or electing a new Sheriff.
Also… Something I have noted… If the police “just want to talk”, they typically don’t turn on the cherry bombs. They typically just knock on the window and say, “Hey everything OK?”. This cop was all about hassling this kid.
#21 – If I did that, I would expect the first thing to happen would be that the first cop to drive by would pull over and check me out.
Me too.
And I’d expect him/her to be courteous, careful, professional, etc. I expect to show my ID and answer some questions, and once I demonstrate that I’m okay, I expect to be wished a good night and left alone.
#27 – then you end up dead with a nightstick up your ass.
You seem to be very focused on things going into the ass… :-/
#38,
Oh BS. When a cop askes, and i feel asks unjustly, I always hand them my passport, because my passport doesn’t have my ss# or drivers license number on it, which is what they are after. When they invariably ask “why are you carrying a passport?” I ALWAYS say “I am planning on leaving the country.” This invariably frustrates them, which is my intent.
Don’t take me wrong. I am all about good law enforcement. But the other half of good law enforcement is all about getting rid of abusive cops, and a populace willing to assert their rights.
Oh one for the gun nuts out there… Just to drive you insane. FBI statistics show that the gun mostly likely to kill a police officer is the officers own gun. Like 3 to 1.
#30 – Respect… has to be earned as far as I’m concerned.
Oh Jeez…. What the fuck is up with uniquely American attitude? Everyone always has to be tested and forced to “earn” respect…
I offer respect to any police officer (fireman, salesperson, waitress, mechanic, teacher, etc.) that I meet. It’s just easier, friendlier, and more likely to produce a positive experience. In the case where the cop (or whoever) proves to be an asshat, I can easily withdraw that respect.
It just seems like we are always in a confrontational mode by default. We just aren’t getting anywhere by acting that way.
+++++
And look… I think this cop was a jerk and this kid wasn’t doing anything wrong… But generally, the higher road of just being respectful isn’t that freaking hard to take.
That’s why they’re called pigs. And you can bet your ass that his fellow members of the “blue code of silence” will never take out the trash in their midst. It’s common knowledge who the crazies are but they serve a purpose – they take orders and don’t ask questions.
The criminal element is infiltrating – from the top down. When control is at the senior levels, an honest police officer doesn’t have a chance. The honest cop will find himself dressed in drag standing on a street corner until he gets tired of it and finds himself an honorable job.
I’d trust a member of organized crime before I’d trust a cop. (local, state or federal)
May be it is the way police officers are trained that makes a few of them into assholes. Are officers trained to treat everyone as a criminal first?
Why do officers feel the need to dominate and scare the hell out of everyone? If an officer yells questions at people and expects decent answers then he is a fool.
If enough of these stories get out onto the public, the police will not be trusted by anyone. Disorder will follow.
#43 OFTLO
I accord police officers the same respect I do Wal-Mart greeters and Jehovah’s witness’ at my door; the same respect I accord to the cashier at the supermarket and a pedestrian at a crosswalk.
I am not confrontational, argumentative or disrespectful to any of these people. I treat them all as individuals regardless of station or status.
If a someone feels a sense of entitlement for some greater measure of my respect cop or otherwise they must demonstrate some compelling reason for me to give it.
Oh Jeez…. What the fuck is up with uniquely American attitude? Everyone always has to be tested and forced to “earn” respect…
I can’t speak for everyone, Maybe its just my having be in the service and having been forced to respect a bunch of dumbass knuckleheads who outranked me due to time in service. They always said you don’t have to respect the man, but you have to respect the rank.
So Cooperate.. sure.. respect? I’ll respect him because he has a gun.
If a regular joe came up to me and started talking to me like a bitch because I was minding my own business in a commuter parking lot you can certainly expect a throw down.
The cop is a bully you can hear it in his voice with his aire of superiority. He knows he’s safe Because he can hide behind that badge and call in the rest of the gang of thugs if need be.. .. 99 time out of 100.
I’m glad he was caught on candid camera, people who act like that don’t deserve respect or a job with that kind of power.
That cop sounded a lot like the crying Britney Spears guy. This idiot needs to be fired. Instead he got a paid vacation.
It seems like every third comment here includes the phrase “nightstick up your ass”.
Y’all get a grip.
Get a grip on his night stick? No way man!
#44, bac,
May be it is the way police officers are trained that makes a few of them into assholes.
You will find some bad examples in whatever profession you look at. It doesn’t matter if they are cops, astronauts, physicians, politicians, or even soldiers. Most are good at their jobs. There will always be that few that sneak through the vetting process though. This cop is one of those.
#46 and #47 – In the case of this cop in the story, I am NOT advocating that he deserves any respect…
I’m just saying, in general, its easier to assume the best than to always assume the worst… You know, with the caveat that the shifty guy who looks like a meth head probably doesn’t need that $1.35 to catch a bus to get to choir practice…
#49 – It seems like every third comment here includes the phrase “nightstick up your ass”.
You really got a try it a few times before you pass judgment. It might feel pretty good. 🙂
33 – I’ll rise to the bait, Greg. It’s that high because of the suicides.
Cops are in greater danger than the average citizen because they are trained to try to establish dominance and to butt in on things. The average citizen is supposed to just get out of danger (even if he is a fellow gun nut and carrying), and the heck with dominance, so they are safer.
Not that being a cop is all that dangerous. They are still better off than loggers, cross country hikers, commercial fishermen, or garbage collectors.
Come to think of it, if I had to vote which to keep on the payroll, cops or garbage collectors, I’d for for the garbage collectors. Disease has killed more people than all the violence (including wars) in history.
#51 True, there are assholes everywhere in all fields, but soldiers and police are trained to use deadly force.
Public perception can cause the policing authorities problems. If the few assholes get too much publicity, the public may think that all police act bad. A growing distrust could lead to deadly incidents
.
This was filmed at a commuter lot alongside I-55 on the south end of St. Louis. It is not uncommon for people, Mainly hookers and drag queens to be doing business in this particular lot every night of the week. This is a heavily used lot on the very edge of St. Louis City proper. The cop in question is a real douchebag, I know him and his brother who is a county cop. The “officer” doing the screaming and threatining picked up all of his tricks running details on the St. Louis city north side. It is a very dangerous and drug ridden area. Im not a cop, never was, but I know this one and his family. Generally speaking, this is SOP for any cop working in or near the STL metro area. Big Bluster, no action. Believe me, these guys don’t want to waste time filling out paperwork on guys like this. Most just want to scare em and be done with em. Yea, it’s a drag watching someone get power tripped on like this, but this is the real world. These cops will eventaully realize that they need to work within a new set of guidelines when dealing with john Q citizen. Unfortunately, this video might just get a good cop with a douchebag attitude fired. Unfortunate. There is more to this cop than just this. Everyone has a bad day. Don’t you? It would be a different story in the city, this kid WOULD have got his ass kicked and arrested, everything confiscated out of his car (never to be reported) and eventually faced with a several hundred dollar towing and storage bill. Oh, and you would have never been able to see this video! Hey, are you fucking stupid? Don’t ever agitate ANYONE with authorization to USE DEADLY FORCE!
#55 Homer
If our founding fathers possessed such an attitude we’d still formally be part of The British Empire. The “Kid” did what he should have. This PIG should loose his job. FYI you don’t need a license to drive. Prostitution is not illegal according to the constitution and neither is taking drugs. This PIG took an oath to uphold the constitution, perhaps he should read a copy.
#54 – bac – True, there are assholes everywhere in all fields, but soldiers and police are trained to use deadly force.
Doesn’t change a thing… bad people make their way into all professions. The problem with people watching this and come out with statements like “This is just standard operating procedure.” etc. lack reason. If all cops were using this as “standard operating procedure”, you would end up with the whole population in jail.
#51 – Mr. Fusion
Fully agree with you. 8)
You know something, I applaud this guy. I was stopped, cuffed, and searched by cops in NY just because someone thought I was breaking into my own car. Being on the my side of the “color” spectrum has taught me one thing…. cops, no matter where they are have this perpetual sense of law even when they’re wrong. After 20 mins of being searched and questioned, they finally realized that it was my car. I thought after seeing my keys they’d realize that.
Oh well, DWB sucks but so does driving while young. But this guy did something that I’m about to do!
KM
Ah, YouTube. Gotta love it. The power of video shown openly to the world, without the need of the mainstream press, is truly amazing.
It seems to me that the longer an officer spends on the street the more intolerant and power crazed he becomes. I am sure this guy has dealt with a lot of dirtbags in the past and it is now commonplace for him to treat ALL people as dirtbags. He should have been taken off the street and given a desk job a long time ago.
I don’t think any cop starts out bad. The combination of dealing with idiots all day linked with the power to destroy a person’s life make for a dangerous cocktail that turns more than a few into bad cops. My hat is off to the ones that can handle the burden of power without becoming egomaniacs and sociopaths.
#57,
Its funny that you would say that, because the US does indeed have the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 1 in 30 people in jail.