There is a disturbing case out of New Mexico where police fired into a van full of children after the mother tried to drive away from officers. As shown on the video below, an officer stopped Oriana Ferrell on a routine traffic stop only to see her drive away. What followed was a chase, smashing windows of the van, and the shocking decision of an officer to fire into a vehicle with kids in the backseat.
First and foremost, it should be noted that Ferrell had violated a host of laws. She fled the scene, engaged in a high-speed chase, resisted arrest, and police say that they found two marijuana pipes in the car. However, it is the discharge of the weapon that shocked many of us.
Ferrell was originally pulled over for going 71 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone. She argues with the officer who goes back to his car only to see Ferrell drive away. At this point, he is aware that there are five children in the car aged 6 to 18.
He then pulls her over again and yells at her to get out of the van. When she refuses, he tries to force her out. When her teenage son gets out to confront him, the officer pulls his taser and the teen goes back into the car.
He tells her that she will be charged and to get out as she argues with him. She inexplicably insists that she did nothing wrong and “didn’t run away.” She gets out of the car and the officer tells her to face the van to be cuffed. After she locks herself back into the van, the officer takes his baton and starts to break windows even though he knows that children are seated inside. The flying glass constitutes an obvious threat to the children and this is the first serious breach that I can see. I do not understand why they do not immobilize the van or why he decides to break the window next to the children rather than the driver.
As he is smashing the windows, she drives away. That is when another officer fires three shots directly into a van filled with children. It is a shocking use of force with no concern for the children inside the van. At this point, Ferrell is only accused of a minor traffic stop, leaving the scene, and resisting arrest. There has been no weapon or attack on the officer. Yet, this officer put three slugs through the back of a van filled with children.
Ferrell then leads the police on a 10-minute chase before turning herself in. The New Mexico State Police have not removed any of the officers from active duty.
Ferrell was charged with five counts of abuse of a child, aggravated fleeing an officer, resisting an officer, reckless driving and possession of drug paraphernalia. The abuse of a child is interesting given the fact that it was the officers that fired into a van full of children. Moreover, it is not clear what the basis is for the charge against her teenage son for battery of an officer.
As the video below shows, there was ample reason for an arrest, but the excessive force used by the police is very disturbing and warrants a full investigation. The officer firing the weapon could have killed three children with this unjustified use of force. The police had multiple cars and could easily stop a minivan without resulting to the use of potentially lethal force.
What do you think?
Kudos: Michael Blott
Blouise/Bouise,
Bouise? (:
Bouise 1, November 18, 2013 at 3:01 pm
ap,
“I can’t imagine why she initially pulled away”…
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Nor can I. The facts will trickle out, I suppose.
Update:
Tennessee mother indicted for high-speed chase in Taos County
http://www.taosnews.com/news/article_401433ae-4d74-11e3-9e84-001a4bcf887a.html
I too wondered why she pulled away in the first place. If she wanted to outrun him, why did she pull back over again? Maybe she heard about the strip searches, or had vibes that she and her children were in danger.
I too had been curious why she finally stopped at the hotel.. Also curious about the obvious editing gaps in the dash cam video. While the video above gives mention of an argument over the ticket. What it does not say, and from what I have gathered reading this story on other sites, the cop was apparently demanding the woman to pay 130$ on the spot for the alleged speeding violation.. While this does not excuse the womans’ behavior, it does lend to her motivations in taking off..
ap,
I can’t imagine why she initially pulled away, but I made note of bettykath’s comment as an alternative to my suspicion.
I can sure as hell understand why she took off after the baton and gun were used and why she drove from that quiet road (I saw no other cars on the video during the initial confrontations) into Taos and pulled into the hotel entrance before surrendering.
Those cops are all dorks.
They will bring shame on the community in due time.
Like Zimmerman is doing.
randyjet,
What I was implying, oh kneejerk one, was that perhaps there was something in the car that after the highspeed chase by the Keystones was no longer in the car which might explain why “the escalation was started and continued by the woman,”.
Blouise 1, November 18, 2013 at 1:54 pm
I keep wondering why she drove off in the first place and note that she finally stopped in front of a hotel where there would be lots of witnesses.
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Good point, Blouise. Fear sometimes causes people to react in strange and unpredictable ways.
bettykath, When you get just outside Taos you find some regular folk. In the town itself and the ski area it is expensive. I like the mix actually, of new agers, artists, cowboys, Mexicans and Indians. One time I was in Taos there was a yarn spinning convention. Now, there’s a wild bunch!!
I keep wondering why she drove off in the first place and note that she finally stopped in front of a hotel where there would be lots of witnesses.
She probably had a room reserved, and thought she could just check in. Unfortunately, by her actions, she made another more important reservation at the local jail. I see that many folks have a problem understanding the FACT that the woman put her kids in just as much if not more danger by her actions. Then that does not even take into account the danger to other kids and people by her reckless driving. The cops would have been justified in shooting the kid when he attacked the cop in conjunction with his mother. So while I disagree with many of the cops actions, the escalation was started and continued by the woman, and she has to bear the most responsibility for the situation.
Rick in Salt Lake 1, November 18, 2013 at 12:30 pm
What, no 20 person SWAT with armed assault vehicle?
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John Whitehead, this morning:
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/drones_tanks_and_grenade_launchers_coming_soon_to_a_police_department_
“Drones, Tanks, and Grenade Launchers: Coming Soon to a Police Department Near You” by John W. Whitehead, November 18, 2013
“The argument for up-armoring is always based on the least likely of terrorist scenarios. Anyone can get a gun and shoot up stuff. No amount of SWAT equipment can stop that.”—Mark Randol, former terrorism expert with the Congressional Research Service
Excerpt:
In addition to being an astounding waste of taxpayer money, this equipping of police with military-grade equipment and weapons also gives rise to a dangerous mindset in which police feel compelled to put their newly high-power toys and weapons to use. The results are deadly, as can be seen in the growing numbers of unarmed civilians shot by police during relatively routine encounters and in the use of SWAT teams to carry out relatively routine tasks. For example, a team of police in Austin, Texas broke into a home in order to search for a stolen koi fish. In Florida, over 50 barbershops were raided by police donning masks and guns in order to enforce barber licensing laws.
Thus, while recycling unused military equipment might sound thrifty and practical, the ramifications are proving to be far more dangerous and deadly. This is what happens when you have police not only acquiring the gear of American soldiers, but also the mindset of an army occupying hostile territory. In this way, the American citizen is no longer seen as an employer or master to be served by public servants like police officers. With police playing the part of soldiers on the battlefield and the American citizen left to play the part of an enemy combatant, it’s a pretty safe bet that this particular exercise in the absurd will not have a happy ending. (end of excerpt)
After this and the forced enemas, x-rays and colonoscopys……..New Mexico tourism is ruled out for this Millennium.
Wow
Granted mother shouldn’t have driven off, but that does not justify in any way, shape, or form any of the subsequent actions taken by the officers. [Breaking in the rear passenger window, physically dragging her out of the vehicle, shooting at the vehicle.] They are professionals, there is no excuse whatever for them to act like hired thugs. There are plenty of great, outstanding officers out there who patiently and professionally put up with far worse sh*t than this officer without going ballistic. The judge needs an oxygen tank, and apparently glasses, too. The officers should be charged with child endangerment, not the mother. Any idiot with two eyeballs can see that the officers clearly and without excuse escalated the situation when they should have been calming things down. There are plenty of great, professional officers out there doing a professional job…these idiots are not among them.
Seems most likely to me that the cop was shooting at the tires since it makes no sense to just shoot into the van and he apparently missed the van and definitely missed the rear window, which would have been difficult to do from that range if he were trying to shoot into the van. Not sure shooting at the tires makes everything okay, however. That still seems like an overuse of force to me, but I’m willing to be persuaded otherwise. Regardless, if that is what happened, then it is no where near as egregious as shooting into the van would have been.
What, no 20 person SWAT with armed assault vehicle?
Nick, Taos is absolutely great if you’re white and/or you’ve got money. And like too many other places, not so great if you’re not.
The more Monday Morning quarterbacking I read the more I long for a cop to comment.
She should not have driven off the first time, utter stupidity, but what came after is far worse. The first officer shouldn’t have reached in and manhandled her, naturally her children were upset. He could’ve reached in and taken the keys away, couldn’t he? He could’ve kept his demeanor professional, instead he acted as if he was insulted by her, now he’s darn mad, he’s going to show her! What a clusterpuck. Then the other two officers totally overreact, what did the first officer tell them? Shouldn’t he have said there were children in he car? Or did he and the cops didn’t care? Why are police officers going ballistic with such minor provocations?