There is a bizarre story out of Fort Worth Texas where a driver videotaped a police officer spraying what appears to be pepper spray at a group of oncoming motorcyclists. The video below is slowed down to show the officer clearly spraying what looks like mace at the group as they drive by.
The group was composed of 200 motorcyclists and were traveling up northbound U.S. 287 in Fort Worth on Sunday afternoon. Before the incident, the police officer pulled over one of the motorcycle group’s “safety vehicles,” which follows behind bikers in case of an incident. Three of the people in the truck were given citations: the driver, for not having a license, and two others, for riding in the bed of a pickup truck.
It is not clear why the officer was spraying the bikers. One possibility is that he did not want bikers to get close to the side where he was dealing with the driver. If so, it is remarkably dumb since bikers would not react to the spray until they were passing. More importantly, if you blind or interfere with the control of the drivers — causing an accident.
Forth Worth police say that they had calls about reckless motorcycle drivers on the highways and videos show bikers doing wheelies and weaving. That hardly justifies random pepper spraying of drivers however.
Yesterday, Fort Worth police announced the officer in the video has been taken off patrol and put on administrative duties. He is a six-year veteran with the force.
Assuming that the officer did pepper spray oncoming bikers, what should the punishment be? This created the chance of a serious accident and, as an unjustified or unprovoked use of force, could be viewed as assault.
What do you think?
Texas Police Officer Caught On Tape Allegedly Pepper Spraying Group of Bikers On Highway
After viewing the video it is as clear as day that the professional and highly trained officer of the Forth Worth police department was Pepper Spraying the motorcyclists for their own safety.
BigFatMike,
Good suggestion. I’d like that too.
Paul, where’s that pic?
Well that’s weird. Somebody also edited out part of bigfatmike’s comment about whether I was going to do a poem on the topic??? Maybe it wasn’t the “f” word after all???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Oh my! My poem disappeared from last night! It must have been the “f” word I used, but I did put in an “*”. Oh, well, let me edit that word out. Sorry mods! I should not have used that word. Mea Culpa!
Common Scents???
A Brief Bit of Doggerel by Squeeky Fromm
Garbage smells bad,
And rotten eggs, too!
But don’t sniff a biker,
Whatever you do!
The bikers don’t like it!
Their old ladies, too!
They’d soon “eff” you up,
As just look at you!
Don’t sniff their leathers,
Their colors, or chaps!
They’ll hit you with chains!
And shoot your kneecaps!
They’ll drag you behind,
Their modified hog,
And choke you to death
On twin tail pipe smog!
Don’t be sarcastic!
Don’t pinch up your nose!
Don’t gag or throw up!
They’ll see through your pose!
Just try to ignore
The foul stinky smell!
Ignore all the flies!
And the maggots as well!
Pretend they smell pretty!
An “eau de parfume!”
And do not inhale
As you exit the room!
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
“I know, I’ll cheer myself up by imagining Penelope riding on the back of a big Harley with her diaphanous gown wind blown out behind.”
Can you draw? If so draw it. I’d like to see that.
Shadow – you could just photoshop that pic of her baton-twirling on the back of a bike.
@Shadow: “Can you draw? If so draw it. I’d like to see that.”
When it comes to artistic endeavor of any kind I am the world’s least gifted – well, at least I excel at something.
I think we will have to leave it the Squeaky to use the magic of poetic language to paint the picture in our minds.
How is this news? The USA is a fascist surveillance police state driven by a weapons manufacturing based economy…once TPP passes it will quickly become a third world country as the jobs will be performed for $2.50/hour or less by the immigrants that have flooded the country…why do you think they let them all in?
@Squeeky
Awww, now you’re making me feel sorry for poor Penelope! Sniff, sniff.
I know, I’ll cheer myself up by imagining Penelope riding on the back of a big Harley with her diaphanous gown wind blown out behind.
Many years ago I worked as an AUSA in an office next to an attorney who went on to become a federal judge. What did he do for fun? Rode a motorcycle, of course (a Harley). One weekend he and his group of bikers rescued passengers on a bus that went down into a ravine while negotiating a curve. Saved more than a few lives.
@freedomfan
Oh, I am just funning. . . But bikers really do stink! It’s the leather.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
“But bikers really do stink! It’s the leather.”
Spoken like someone who has taken the time to carefully and personally gather the evidence.
If I were a betting man I would guess there is more to this story than we have heard so far.
So what do you have for us next – a love sonnet, or an epic?
If that spray was some variant of pepper spray or mace, then the cop is another of the hyper-privileged idiots who give a bad name to those in law enforcement. I have no idea whether or not he could successfully be prosecuted for deliberately creating a road hazard or reckless endangerment or whatever. But, I do know that if any non-LEO were on the side of the road aiming pepper spray at passing motorists (for whatever reason) and a cop came by, there would be an arrest and we all know without a doubt that the judge would be thoroughly unimpressed with the excuse that the motorists might have been guilty of some penny-ante class D misdemeanor.
For those making excuses for this misbehavior, you aren’t making a compelling case. It doesn’t matter whether the drivers were violating some road rule. Heck, assume that they were. The only relevant question is whether spraying them with pepper spray was the correct way for the officer to deal with the violation. Put this another way: If you were seen speeding and the cop came to your window and pepper sprayed you, would you be saying it was fine because of your moving violation? Would you be so charitable if he managed to spray you while you were still moving at speeds and could crash? Exactly.
The cop is creating a traffic hazard and also should be arrested for assault. In this case assault with a deadly weapon.
Oh my, haven’t you guys ever seen Chrome and Hot Leather??? It is a 1971 documentary film about bad motorcycle gangs and the U.S Army special forces having to come in and shut them down! Bikers are just plain bad!
At any rate, this deserves an Irish Poem!
They Mist The Point???
An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm
Sooo, a cop sprayed some dudes on their bikes!
And the ACLU types cry “Yikes!”
But the man “on the street”
Thinks it all pretty neat!
And the cop’s facebook page gets the “Likes”!
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
PS: Here is a trailer for Chrome and Hot Leather
That’s a very serious crime. He could easily have killed someone by causing an accident. The officer should be charged with assault with intent to cause grievous harm. Naturally, he should fired and barred from police service after he gets out of jail.
@Bams
Dang it! You beat me to it! Of course it was Fabreeze! And yes, bikers do reek to high heaven. All that leather traps the sweat, alcohol fumes, pot smoke, sexual cassolette, and body funk in, and the aroma is extremely gross. They don’t smell it when they are riding because the wind moves the odor downwind from them. That’s not just my OPINION. It is a FACT that leather soaks up odors!
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
As a Texan, I have to agree that our law enforcement and justice system are probably among the worst in the nation. This is the result of one party rule of the GOP here. It was much the same when the Democratic Party was the ruling party and it was a one party state, but as Bob Gammage once said, it took the Democrats decades for it to become so corrupt. The GOP only took a few years.
The cop needs to lose his certification and be fired. It would be a waste of time and money to prosecute the cop since Texas juries will rarely convict a cop of anything. Though there have been rare exceptions. It is more important that he lose his certification so he cannot move on to another city police force and continue to inflict his view of “justice” on us.
He could have got on his damn radio and called in another officer to pull them over if they were violating the law. He deliberately battered them and that is a violation of criminal law and he risked major accidents that would have almost certainly ended in death. He should be charged with a crime and nothing short of that will do.
Disorderly conduct at a minimum, felony level aggravated assault maybe.
The “officer” could have caused the deaths of many people. He needs to be punished.
Whatever he was doing doesn’t look like it was well thought out. Spraying whatever in the faces of someone operating a metal vehicle which weighs at the least approx 550 pounds hurling down the road is a potential accident waiting to happen. Even if those bikers should of moved over into the other lane away from the police car legally the officer should of thought of something less potentially problematic and dangerous.
If it really was a problem he should of just taken out his camera and just videoed the incident from the side of his vehicle not adjacent to the road so maybe he could get a few license plates and enlightened those folks as to why it is a good thing to move into the other lane.
I would say that officer should be disciplined but they should take into consideration however he has functioned in his capacity as a law officer in the past. Also it wouldn’t hurt to perhaps to give that officer and maybe the entire dept. that deals with things like this effective lessons as to how to deal with situations of this nature so everybody can stay safe.