Police Vid Update
Magus in comments alerts us to this:
Young man taunted by policeman wants officer fired
Well, I want him in jail. Continuing:
A young St. Louis man who videotaped a police officer’s angry taunts during a traffic stop, and later posting the footage on the Internet where thousands of viewers have watched it, said Tuesday he wants the officer fired.
Brett Darrow, 20, met with St. George Police Chief Scott Uhrig for more than an hour Tuesday afternoon and also filed a formal complaint against the officer, Sgt. James Kuehnlein.
During the meeting Darrow asked to see the videotape from Kuehnlein’s police car. But according to Uhrig, that footage, inexplicably, is nowhere to be found.
Imagine that.
Update: D’oh. Greg alerted me yesterday and I somehow missed it.
September 12th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
*ahem*
September 12th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Heh. Duh. That’s no excuse for being an ass. I’m still pissed about that video. I don’t even know what I’d do in a situation like that, but I can tell you it certainly wouldn’t end well.
September 12th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
“During the meeting Darrow asked to see the videotape from Kuehnlein’s police car. But according to Uhrig, that footage, inexplicably, is nowhere to be found.
Imagine that.”
It’s probably been erased. You cant find something that dos’nt exist anymore.
As to firing that asshole Kuehnlein, YES! That’s the worse case of unprofessional conduct I’ve ever heard of. Had I acted like that on duty when I was in the Fire Service I’d have been shitcanned immediately, if not sooner, for unprofessional conduct.
September 12th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
“During the meeting Darrow asked to see the videotape from Kuehnlein’s police car. But according to Uhrig, that footage, inexplicably, is nowhere to be found.”
Kind of like the front door of the Branch Davidian compound at Waco.
September 12th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Fired and commission pulled. He’s trying to incite a riot, under color of authority. I’d want his personal weapons as part of the settlement as well.
The POLICE are destroying their credibility, as fast as they can. Amazing to watch, and the only way to RESTORE respect and crediblility for LEOs is to hang officers like this out to dry, after field dressing, skinning, and de-boning.
September 12th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Not that’s it’s important or anything, but Greg’s update link doesn’t mention the video from the cop’s car as being missing [story is before the kid had his “interview” with the Chief of Police], that’s why I did an “update to the update” link.
September 12th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
The cheap video revolution is on!
Note: The FBI Tactical Team at Mt Carmel had seven video towers that fed images to the central command 24/7. (Same towers were used to project sound at the Davidians.) Mysteriously, on the morning of the final assault, all seven video feeds went dead. The Fleer video shot from far overhead, is the only remaining official footage of the raid.
Funny how those things break down at crucial moments.
September 12th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Yeah, my link was just about the cop being in trouble. Regardless, this is big news in that little town. There have been a few articles about this thing, and I wouldn’t be half suprised to see a few more. If yall haven’t seen it, there is another video posted by this guy when he was harrassed at a dwi checkpoint. You can find the link through the other links… I’m to lazy to go get it for ya.
September 12th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Oh, and here is the media report on it.
Mr. Urhig comes thisssssss close to condoning the officer in question. He only seems to have a problem with the swearing really, not so much with the THREAT TO MAKE UP CHARGES. Wow.
September 13th, 2007 at 6:58 am
I’d also say that the missing video is at minimum a cause for calling for an official investigation as that video is a legal document. They don’t have the right to purge it. Once they do that could easily be considered tampering with evidence since.
I’m thinking that cop needs some time in jail. At minimum for tampering with the tape and for criminal threatening. This smells incredibly bad. And I’ll bet he’ll get off with nothing but a talking too and a letter in his jacket.
And the Chief should be given the boot as well. He completely ignores the criminality of the actions of his officer and the direct impact on the legitimacy of his police force by one imbecile that he gave a badge too.
Another reason why the public doesn’t trust the police. Would you want someone like that protecting you?
September 13th, 2007 at 8:21 am
[…] who recorded the scene. Naturally, the video from the cop’s car is missing. Observes a commentor here, “Kind of like the front door of the Branch Davidian compound at Waco.” Reader Doug sent me that […]
September 13th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Most police patrol car video systems require a supervisor to unlock the recorder to remove the tape. I would want to find out which supervisor did this.
September 13th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Even more of an update.
Kuehnlein’s Lawyer is blaming Darrow.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/F213F980846703A986257355000D2A5C?OpenDocument
“This is clearly a case where this young man is baiting police officers,” attorney Travis L. Noble said. “This isn’t someone who just happened upon this.”
Brett Darrow, 20, posted a video on the Internet of Sgt. James Kuehnlein threatening him as he sat in his car in a commuter parking lot last week. The clip has sparked national attention and local controversy.
…
Late last year, Darrow approached a police checkpoint with his in-car camera rolling. When the officer asked where he was going, he replied, “I don’t wish to discuss my personal life with you, officer.”
The officer ordered him out of the car, and the two argued.
Some people, including police officers, say Darrow makes a habit of baiting cops. St. George Police Chief Scott Uhrig said Kuehnlein’s behavior was out of line but questioned why Darrow’s car is decked out with scanners and a radar detector in addition to the camera.
Darrow said, “They call me ‘video boy'” on a local police Internet forum. But he denies he’s trying to entrap officers.
“They think I’m out to get them, but they’re stopping me,” Darrow said.
(“Some people” is another good example of the writer putting their own opinion in.)
September 13th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
If this kid is out baiting police, it sure is looking easy to do. Seems like it would be easy to be a professional, all the time. But as LEOs always say: walk a mile in my shoes.
Of course, then this kid would be a mile away….and he would have their shoes as well as their butts….
September 13th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Baiting the cops? Is that anything like what cops do everyday to citizens?
Don’t you feel safer knowing cops like that are The Only Ones able to carry weapons in many jurisdictions?