St. George's Finest....

[muhockey86]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...117&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

 

[mjthomas59]

I hope i don't turn out to be a cop like that. ALthough i will say this, i saw the video last night on channel 5 news. First off they didn't play the whole video, and i just don't see anyone other than someone with some sortof medically diagnosed medical condition flying off the handle witoutout some provocation. Secondly, why in the world would you be driving around at 2am and parking in a commuter lot. I'm sorry but with the increase in theft in the saint louis and st charles county areas its no wonder he was stopped. Its people about his age(atleast the ones i know of and have personally caught in the act) that are ripping people off of items inside their cars at night.

I"m not saying the cop was right or wrong, but the tape i saw on the news only showed half the story, and i've got to say that if some punk kid were smarting off to me i'd be finding a reason to hold him there all night. And i will also say, if you are driving around late at night you better make damn sure you have your stuff in check. Drivers license current, insurance card current, no illegal things in your vehicle because in times like that if the officer had found anything wrong other than just suspicious circumstances for driving around with a video camera and stopping in commuter lots the kid would have been taken to jail. You can go for anything including speeding, Its the schmucks like that kid that need to be careful because regardless of anything else, the cop is in control(right of wrong)

 

[ME812]

I hope i don't turn out to be a cop like that. ALthough i will say this, i saw the video last night on channel 5 news. First off they didn't play the whole video, and i just don't see anyone other than someone with some sortof medically diagnosed medical condition flying off the handle witoutout some provocation. Secondly, why in the world would you be driving around at 2am and parking in a commuter lot. I'm sorry but with the increase in theft in the saint louis and st charles county areas its no wonder he was stopped. Its people about his age(atleast the ones i know of and have personally caught in the act) that are ripping people off of items inside their cars at night.

I"m not saying the cop was right or wrong, but the tape i saw on the news only showed half the story, and i've got to say that if some punk kid were smarting off to me i'd be finding a reason to hold him there all night. And i will also say, if you are driving around late at night you better make damn sure you have your stuff in check. Drivers license current, insurance card current, no illegal things in your vehicle because in times like that if the officer had found anything wrong other than just suspicious circumstances for driving around with a video camera and stopping in commuter lots the kid would have been taken to jail. You can go for anything including speeding, Its the schmucks like that kid that need to be careful because regardless of anything else, the cop is in control(right of wrong)

Is this still a free country? Well more free than most anyway. If the kid wants to drive around at 2am he can. As long as he is not breaking the law of course. Should the cop have stopped him? Sure, just to make sure he is not up to any trouble. The kid asked why he was being stopped and asked for his ID that he has a right to do as well.

The cop got pissed cause the kid questioned him. It's the cop mentality thing that all cops seem to have. Nobody should question them, why? Cause I have a gun and a god complex, thats why.

FWIW, the kid mounted the video camera in his car over a year ago. He got a ticket that he thought he should not have gotten and put the camera in the car so he would have evidence if anything else ever happened. For normal everyday citizens if we get pulled over or are arrested for anything it's the cops that have all the evidence. Even if there is no evidence it's the cops word against ours. I think the kid just evened the score. Hell some departments have dash cams why shouldn't we. Because we might catch some a@&hole cop thats why.

I hope you don't become a cop like that either, but unfortunately you probably will. Anyway if you ever do become a cop I can only hope that you don't abuse your power given to you in a manner that would make people think your a a-hole. You may read this and think I am a cop hater, and well I guess I am. I think cops play a pretty important role in this society. There does have to be enforcement of the laws created by this country. I just get pissed when that leads to abuse of power for the sole benefit of getting even with someone cause you don't like what they did or say, especially if it's not against the law.

73's

 

[JoeyC]

The cop got pissed cause the kid questioned him. It's the cop mentality thing that all cops seem to have. Nobody should question them, why? Cause I have a gun and a god complex, thats why.

You make some broad accusations based on the actions of a few and you think the cops have a god complex? :roll:

I hope you don't become a cop like that either, but unfortunately you probably will.

Nice of you to label this guy as an a-hole before he even starts his career. Again...:roll:

You may read this and think I am a cop hater, and well I guess I am.

Thats obvious.

I think cops play a pretty important role in this society. There does have to be enforcement of the laws created by this country. I just get pissed when that leads to abuse of power for the sole benefit of getting even with someone cause you don't like what they did or say, especially if it's not against the law.

73's

When it leads to abuse of power? I thought it always led to abuse of power based on your summarization of the profession. :roll:

 

[justinnmr]

Who the hell are you to say that "all cops" have this mentality that you speak of that they are better than the average citizen? If you were in trouble, most cops would drop everything they're doing to come to your know-it-all rescue.

The kid claimed that he questioned the officer because he claimed there was no probable cause for the officer to stop him at 2am alone in a parking lot, and now this punk is trying to get the officer fired. Why WOULDN'T the police question you if you were doing this activity? I would personally question why an officer would pass that activity up. Should the cop have said what he said, no she shouldn't have. Was he probably just having a bad day? That seems likely, because if he always conducted traffic stops like that, I'm pretty sure that at some point in his 2 years on the force there would have been a complaint.

 

[nascarfan999]

That seems likely, because if he always conducted traffic stops like that, I'm pretty sure that at some point in his 2 years on the force there would have been a complaint.

I believe FOX2 has reported another person has stepped forward with a similar experience with a St. George cop that "has the same voice" as the one in question. I can't attest to the accuracy of this second report, but it is possible this isn't his first blow up.

Just to quickly clarify my position, I do believe this officer should be fired. These actions, isolated or not, cannot be tolerated by someone who is supposed to uphold the law. However, I also do NOT think all cops are like him, and think most cops are outstanding public servants.

 

[mjthomas59]

I think it is great that everyone, or not everyone but a lot of people love to question how the police conduct themselves, and how they handle situations. I also find it humorous how no one would dare question a firefighter who is putting out the flames in a house or an EMT who is giving CPR to an unconsious person.

The reality is 99% of the people in america have absolutely no clue about any of the above. You don't know anymore about how to police the streets, or what it is like to put up with bums who hate cops, then you do about how to fight fires. SO why is it that people love to soundoff about police issues?

I don't disagree that some officers take things a little too far, and i know a few that have a very short fuse, but seriously ALL cops have a god complex? Are you kidding? Count up the instances of times the police actually abused power vs. how many officers there are in the United States and you would see that doctors "accidentally" kill patients for whatever reason (wrong surgery, botch a surgery, wrong medicine, whatever) than do cops go anywhere near as overboard as this ST George cop did.

But for all of the other screwups in everyother profession nothing is said, it gets no media attention, nothing. I don't agree with what the officer did, but percentage wise the police do a pretty darn good job of keeping their cool and handling tough and uncertain situations.

And for the record, yes i will be a cop(in training now) and yes i will love the day when some retard smarts off to me and i find every minut thing wrong with his car to ticket him over. Now i won't go yelling and screaming, i'll be too busy sitting in my car writing you out tickets.

 

[justinnmr]

Amen to that mj.

 

[ME812]

Should the cop have said what he said, no she shouldn't have. Was he probably just having a bad day? That seems likely, because if he always conducted traffic stops like that, I'm pretty sure that at some point in his 2 years on the force there would have been a complaint.

If you me or any other person who works for a living acted like that at our job to a customer, boss, other employee, or the just the general public, we would be fired on the spot. No internal investigations no if and's or but's, get your crap and get out.

 

[ME812]

I don't disagree that some officers take things a little too far, and i know a few that have a very short fuse, but seriously ALL cops have a god complex? Are you kidding? Count up the instances of times the police actually abused power vs. how many officers there are in the United States and you would see that doctors "accidentally" kill patients for whatever reason (wrong surgery, botch a surgery, wrong medicine, whatever) than do cops go anywhere near as overboard as this ST George cop did.

But for all of the other screwups in everyother profession nothing is said, it gets no media attention, nothing. I don't agree with what the officer did, but percentage wise the police do a pretty darn good job of keeping their cool and handling tough and uncertain situations.

And for the record, yes i will be a cop(in training now) and yes i will love the day when some retard smarts off to me and i find every minut thing wrong with his car to ticket him over. Now i won't go yelling and screaming, i'll be too busy sitting in my car writing you out tickets.

You can only count up the instances of abuse of power if they are actually reported. And if they are reported not every single one is going to make the 10 oclock news. Truth is most people are intimidated by police and just take the bad experience they had with a cop and just chalk it up. Granted that kind of outrage is probably not something that happens all the time. I don't know a single person who has not had a bad run in with a cop, wether it be just a traffic ticket or something else. All the other screwups in every other occupation get taken care of by getting rid of the screwup.

I hope you do become a great cop. We need all the good ones we can get. But just remember the day some retard (funny how you call anyone that would talk back at you that) smarts off to you, he may be having a bad day too. Funny how that works isn't it? Cop has a bad day and let's just all forget about it. Joe citizen has a bad day and lets sit in my car for about and hour while drug deals, murders, thefts, and rapes are going on and write some tickets that I normally would not write. Not really painting a good picture of your soon to be profession.

 

[JoeyC]

But just remember the day some retard (funny how you call anyone that would talk back at you that) smarts off to you, he may be having a bad day too. Funny how that works isn't it? Cop has a bad day and let's just all forget about it. Joe citizen has a bad day and lets sit in my car for about and hour while drug deals, murders, thefts, and rapes are going on and write some tickets that I normally would not write. Not really painting a good picture of your soon to be profession.

You have a very disturbing view of law enforcement personnel. It would appear to me by that sour opinion that you've been in trouble with the law in the past. This is the usual story behind cop haters - you don't fool anyone.

When you act like an asswipe to the cops they'll make a point of making your day less than pleasurable. (Sounds like you've been mouthy to the police in the past by your tainted opinions of them all.)

It sounds to me from the video like this cop needs to be fired, don't get me wrong here, but to make blanket statements about the profession as you do is immature.

It is apparent by your summation of the ticket writing scenario that rapists, murderers and theives being allowed to commit their crimes while the cops harrass you over your attitude problem that you don't have a clue about law enforcement, so perhaps you should quit before you make yourself look even sillier than you already do.

 

[mjthomas59]

I hope you do become a great cop. We need all the good ones we can get. But just remember the day some retard (funny how you call anyone that would talk back at you that) smarts off to you, he may be having a bad day too. Funny how that works isn't it? Cop has a bad day and let's just all forget about it. Joe citizen has a bad day and lets sit in my car for about and hour while drug deals, murders, thefts, and rapes are going on and write some tickets that I normally would not write. Not really painting a good picture of your soon to be profession.

So a citizen smarts off to a cop, a child smarts off to his parents, a student to his teacher, an employee to his manager.... it really doesn't matter which scenario you look at the person doing the "smarting off" is a retard and the "authority" side is going to respond negatively with firing you, grounding you, giving you detention, etc etc That is just the way it works. Just as mentioned above. If you have a badday do you take it out on your boss? absolutely not, so why should a police officer be any different? You take it out on your kids, or your dog, or wife, or girlfriend, or whoever only because they can't do much of anything back. I'm not saying you beat up your wife but you have a pissed off attitude and you yell and get boligerant because of that bad day but you do that because those types of people can't do much back.(like fire you or throw you in jail, and a wife or girlfriend won't just leave you over something like a bad attitude)

An officer doesn't have to tell you why you are being stopped, and he certainly doesn't need a reason to see your ID once you've been pulled over. People who meet in vacant commuter lots and other areas that have little to no traffic are almost always people who are up to no good, or have warrants, or whatever. Basically people who meet in an unsafe area like a vacant lot have a reason to stay away from people at say a quiktrip or walmart.

One of the reasons people hate cops is because they don't want anyone to have control over them. They don't want to follow the rules and they certainly don't want to respect the people who hold power over them. ANyone who wants to try and hold court with an officer on the side of the road or in a vacant parking lot is asking for trouble. You can't win, but then you get pissed when you test that statement and get the short end of the stick.

I mean seriously, you are driving around at 2am, meeting some supposed friend in a vacant lot, baring in mind st george ain't no picnic area, and then you act all innocent and wonder why you are being stopped. That my friend is really retarded.

 

[shaft]

An officer doesn't have to tell you why you are being stopped, and he certainly doesn't need a reason to see your ID once you've been pulled over.

Yes they do have to tell you why you are being stopped, you have that right to know why you are being detained.

People who meet in vacant commuter lots and other areas that have little to no traffic are almost always people who are up to no good, or have warrants, or whatever. Basically people who meet in an unsafe area like a vacant lot have a reason to stay away from people at say a quiktrip or walmart.

I disagree, people meet in commuter park and ride lots at all hours of the day. This kid was parked for 19 seconds before the cop came up to him. There was no probable cause for him to conduct an F.I. on the kid.

I mean seriously, you are driving around at 2am, meeting some supposed friend in a vacant lot, baring in mind st george ain't no picnic area, and then you act all innocent and wonder why you are being stopped. That my friend is really retarded.

Umm yeah, what real justification did the cop have to detain and question him? The kid wasnt in the lot long enough to observe any suspicious behavior. Driving into a commuter park and ride lot and parking for 19 seconds is simply not enough justification to for a stop no matter what time it is.

 

[mjthomas59]

Yes they do have to tell you why you are being stopped, you have that right to know why you are being detained.

Thats not correct. If you pull into a parking lot, or are walking down a street a cop has the right to stop you and ask for your ID. NOw he cant bodyslam you and force you to show it to him, but it is within the law.

I disagree, people meet in commuter park and ride lots at all hours of the day. This kid was parked for 19 seconds before the cop came up to him. There was no probable cause for him to conduct an F.I. on the kid.

I've personally seen the type of people who hang out in commuter lots(i even use to myself) because people would go hang out at them at 2am to show off their cars, amongst other illegal things like street racing dealing drugs etc Either way a commuter lot isn't a very safe place and is a magnet for crime in the early morning hours. Can you still go there? Yes, but when you do that you are opening the door for an officer to stop and question you. Its just like when everyone gets in their cars and leaves a bar at the end of the night, the officer doesn't know who has been drinking and who hasn't, but you still don't have the right to complain about the stop even when you are 100% sober. Its kind of like guilty by association.

[Umm yeah, what real justification did the cop have to detain and question him? The kid wasnt in the lot long enough to observe any suspicious behavior. Driving into a commuter park and ride lot and parking for 19 seconds is simply not enough justification to for a stop no matter what time it is.

As mentioned above, you pulling in there is suspicion enough. Imagine if this situation were reversed and this kid was some serial killer, or was found with 20 lbs of marijuana. Then all of the sudden the officer is a hero for stopping him but since the kid wasn't a drug dealer suddenly the officer is ridiculed for doing it. I just love THAT double standard. Like the cop knows who the person is or if the person has warrants, just killed someone, or whatever. For all the cop knew the guy just killed his family and was about to open fire on his patrol car. If you go out and cruise around in rough areas of town in the middle of the night long enough you are going to run into the law, its just a matter of time.

 

[MaximaGuy]

I am Brett Darrow, the one who made this video. I've posted here before.

Thats not correct. If you pull into a parking lot, or are walking down a street a cop has the right to stop you and ask for your ID. NOw he cant bodyslam you and force you to show it to him, but it is within the law.

They have a right to ask you for it, but they can't require that you give it to them unless they have reasonable suspicion. This was not a voluntary stop, the cop turned on his over head lights and blocked me in. He had no reasonable suspicion to do that. Being in a public place is not suspicious.

To add to the illegal detention, that commuter lot is in Unincorperated St. Louis County, not St. George. Third class cities don't have policing powers outside of their town, except when warrants are issued by judges in the county.

I've personally seen the type of people who hang out in commuter lots(i even use to myself) because people would go hang out at them at 2am to show off their cars, amongst other illegal things like street racing dealing drugs etc Either way a commuter lot isn't a very safe place and is a magnet for crime in the early morning hours. Can you still go there? Yes, but when you do that you are opening the door for an officer to stop and question you. Its just like when everyone gets in their cars and leaves a bar at the end of the night, the officer doesn't know who has been drinking and who hasn't, but you still don't have the right to complain about the stop even when you are 100% sober. Its kind of like guilty by association.

Guilty until we prove ourselves innocent, huh? I've personally seen the type of cops that are out there. I guess all of them are like that huh? I don't think that at all, but with your reasoning, I guess I should.

As mentioned above, you pulling in there is suspicion enough. Imagine if this situation were reversed and this kid was some serial killer, or was found with 20 lbs of marijuana. Then all of the sudden the officer is a hero for stopping him but since the kid wasn't a drug dealer suddenly the officer is ridiculed for doing it. I just love THAT double standard. Like the cop knows who the person is or if the person has warrants, just killed someone, or whatever. For all the cop knew the guy just killed his family and was about to open fire on his patrol car. If you go out and cruise around in rough areas of town in the middle of the night long enough you are going to run into the law, its just a matter of time.

Show me case law that says it is. Pulling into and parking in a PARKING lot that is open is not suspicious. You might have a hunch, but that is not the same as reasonable suspicion. What if I was some punk kid with 20lbs of weed? I would get off on the charge because the cop didn't have RS to make a traffic stop.

You still think all citizens are guilty until they prove themselves otherwise. That is a dangerous mindset for someone going in LE. I wish you the best in your career, but I sure hope you are tought different from what you think now, otherwise your going to end up on the wrong side of a federal lawsuit for civil rights violations.

Rough areas? St. George is a rough area? LOL.

 

[MaximaGuy]

Who the hell are you to say that "all cops" have this mentality that you speak of that they are better than the average citizen? If you were in trouble, most cops would drop everything they're doing to come to your know-it-all rescue.

The kid claimed that he questioned the officer because he claimed there was no probable cause for the officer to stop him at 2am alone in a parking lot, and now this punk is trying to get the officer fired. Why WOULDN'T the police question you if you were doing this activity? I would personally question why an officer would pass that activity up. Should the cop have said what he said, no she shouldn't have. Was he probably just having a bad day? That seems likely, because if he always conducted traffic stops like that, I'm pretty sure that at some point in his 2 years on the force there would have been a complaint.

I can tell you, this is not the officers first time acting like this. As you might have heard, he's been convicted of assault, and stealing. He got a STL county judge to expunge his record so he could be a police officer. I've been contacted by many local attorneys that have clients that have been arrested by this cop. Many have been saying this cop told them word for word some of the stuff this cop said to me. He did arrest them on false charges though.

As you also probably know, the chief tried to have sex with a 17 year old on duty, and now the mayor has been arrested for drugs and child porn.

 

[MaximaGuy]

Also, although St. George gets dispatched by St. Louis County on calls, they use Nextel radios to communicate to one another.