The recent video of an officer melting down in a traffic stop and abusing a driver should serve to draw attention to this form of abuse. The officer taunts the driver that he can just make up a violation and send him to jail. I have had a steady stream of such complaints from citizens who are arrested for merely objecting to policy conduct. They are thrown into jail and the charges eventually dropped. The officers are never punished in such cases. Perhaps this officer will be different. There is no reason why this individual would be allowed to remain on the force. For the video, click here
Video of police officer’s meltdown highlights abusive traffic stops
Published 1, September 12, 2007 Bizarre , Justice 3 Comments3 Responses to “Video of police officer’s meltdown highlights abusive traffic stops”
- 1 Trackback on 1, September 13, 2007 at 10:10 am
About 30 years ago, I listened to a retired sherrif’s deputy in Ohio brag about how he used to randomly pull over and beat up “punks” at night just to relieve the boredom and “put them in their place.”
This guy is probably lucky that the cop didn’t pull him from his car, beat him, and destroy the guy’s camera. Given that the officer’s own tape of the incident went “missing,” the police force in question has a bit of a habit of losing evidence when it’s convenient.
It is shocking to hear such accounts. However, the most common abuse remains the arresting of individuals who merely challenge police or object to their treatment of others. Some officers have developed a very low tolerance for such criticism and know that they will not be punished for filing charges under such ambiguous provisions as failure to obey an order or disorderly conduct.