Is This Officer Over Stepping His Bounds: Cop Lays out a Soldier

Below you will see a video report by ABC7 and the unedited version of the video in question that has been leaked from the police department to ABC7 News. Normally I would put the video first, then give my statement but in this case it angered me more than usual and I just have to talk about it first.

Here we have a young man, a soldier, who has been beaten up and thrown out of his apartment by his roommates. His stuff is sitting outside and the roommates are in his apartment waiting for the police. It took them 45 min. to get there(okay so it is not life threatening but still). The cops show up and begin talking to the person that called.

During the conversation the cop steps up, in the face of the young man giving his statement. This is not simply stepping closer, it is stepping up to him. The young man then takes posture and states he is a soldier with the old "Do you know who you are talking too" bit(yah I know, there was no need for this but there was no need for the cop to step up in the first place either). The cop then lays the young man out, splitting his lip, and pins him to the ground with his knee on his chest making it hard for him to breath.

After pushing the young man for confirmation there will be no retaliation he is let up. The cop states he is a Marine(in my opinion it was almost like a "a soldier huh well I was a Marine" downgrade). The cop states that the contact was made because the young man stepped up which he clearly did not. After a bit it is disclosed that the young man was a reservist and the cop says it like he is a lower class(yes I do realize that active duty tend to see reservists that way but it just adds to the dominance the cop is attempting to assert). The young man returns to compliance (which he was never out of until the cop got into his face) taking the sad puppy type "yes sir" attitude.

The cop then tells him that he is not going to write a report on the situation of him stepping up to the cop because he(the cop) took him down and put him back in his place and there is "no need for further report" then repeatedly asks if the situation is over.

Normally we receive a partial video that could easily be taken out of context due to the whole video is not there, but in this case we have the entire video to evaluate. This being said, please watch the videos, if you can, and express your opinion as to whether or not the cop was within his rights to assault this young man or if he overstepped his bounds.

This is the ABC7 investigation report(actually pretty in-depth)


Here is the uncut/unedited version of the accounts

This is why i avoid cops at all costs...

So his roommates illegally evicted him (I don't know of any state where you can put someones stuff outside and make them leave without a court eviction) so the police not only don't do their job and protect the rights of this citizens who has his stuff outside and no where to go because he was illegally evicted...

They go as far to "introduce" themselves by punching and choking a guy that CLEARLY did NOTHING to deserve it. The officer stepped up to him because he didn't like his attitude, but guess what we are suppose to be living in america and you can have all the attitude you want as well as question the police as to why they took so long to respond to a call. We do pay their salary and they are supposedly around here to serve and protect us so yah I can question wtf took you so long and I can be pissed off at you also.. That doesn't give you the right to assault someone...

Also I love how they start searching him and take out his wallet without permission or cause...

Want to know what a police state it? Watch this video. Its only a matter of time until you are property introduced to the police just like this guy was.

WTF wait a minute i jus twatched the first video.. (i watch the second first)... This is the guy who is on the run right now after killing those people, the cop? darden? or no?

Some will say the young was out of line but clearly he was upset. The cop was a lot bigger and fully armed so I don't thing the little guy was much of a threat to him. Just because the cop says he was a Marine doesn't mean there are not Marines who like to play the bully. Those kind of Marines like to become Drill Instructors. They get off on stressing recruits.

This is wrong on so many levels. That officer (shouldn't even be called that) approached the situation with an aggressive, bad attitude.

So the guy was mad it took 45 minutes to respond. There are many justifiable reasons as to why the officers response was delayed. The officer should of provided him an explanation. I ALWAYS provide an explanation when it takes me more than 15 minutes to respond to a call.

The officer absolutely stepped close to the victims face. He was doing that to intimidate him. That was wrong. He did absolutely nothing to deescalate the situation. He then battered the victim.

There needs to be an internal affairs investigation and he needs to be fired. Not reprimanded, but fired. That kind of behavior is an indication as to what kind of person that officer is. He does not deserve the badge. If he is not relieved of duty there needs to be protests!

This is happening too much. I am tired of being looked at as a bad person because of my job. I am over it. There is not much I can do in this situation since I don't even live in the same state. I however will at least send an email to their chief of police to let them know my feelings.

On behalf of the bad "officers" I as an oath keeper would like to apologize.

PS please remember we are not all bad.

reply to post by dc4lifeskater


Dude you are right. He stepped up to him because he didn't like his attitude. That is not how it is supposed to go. This is happening too much.

So what he had a bad attitude. He was in a stressful situation.

We all react differently to situations. The officer did nothing to deescalate the situation.

Now don't get me wrong if this guy charged the officer and tried to attack him as he exited his patrol vehicle by all means lay down the law. This situation did not warrant that kind of reaction.

Perhaps there needs to be some kind of legislation where all officers (including myself) are required to wear these cameras. Maybe then we can catch more of these rouge bastards and relieve them of their duty.

"How dare you question how long I took to respond to this call"

Sure, that's deserving of a smack down. :shk:

The kid did have a pretty poor attitude but, I think he's entitled to be pissed at the world when he's beat up and thrown out of his apartment by roommates. Cops need to realize that most people they meet will be upset and ready to lash out at anyone and everyone. They're just expressing their frustration at the situation and the cops should be more understanding.

They should have explained their responce time and allowed the guy to vent until he calmed down so they could get a clearer story from him. Instead, the cop acted like the typical jackbooted thug and smacked him down. He's the victim here and the cops decided to kick him while he's down.

Is it any wonder the ex-cop from California snapped and started shooting his fellow officers after he was fired for reporting the abuse of another officer?

Cops can't continue to abuse the public like this and expect no reprecussions. Eventually people will begin to snap and start taking the law into their own hands when the police fail to police their own.

I have a question. I may have simply missed it but who sent a copy of the video of the incident to the police department?

The investigative reporter stated he was unable to get copies of all videos where the officer was involved in other physical confrontations. So obviously it wasn't him.

The victim also stated that he did not see the video until the reporter showed him.

Who sent it to the department? Perhaps another officer who saw it? Maybe an officer that works there is trying to expose this rouge bastard. If so I wish he wouldn't remain anonymous.

However trying something is better than just sitting back and not bringing attention to the issues.

reply to post by TorqueyThePig


From what I understand it was sent anonymously from within the department. Apparently in the letter, the video was shown and laughed at by other officers so it could have been another officer or someone else privy to it within the department. I think, with the other accounts mentioned in the news report in regards to police involved shootings in the last year someone has finally gotten fed up with the actions of their fellow officers making them all look bad.

Sadly when police brutalize us they get a paid vacation . When people brutalize out of line pigs we get thrown in jail.

I am for an eye for an eye , and why I choose not to go to protests because when these pigs act like this I would be the first one to be thrown in jail .

I for the life of me wonder why people just sit there and watch these pigs act like this ( I say pigs because that is what they are there are a few decent cops out there , far and few ) abusing people , excessive force . All because there is no real back lash from the public many people are to afraid to stand up to these thugs

We dont know the situation of the guy's stuff being outside and the reason for him getting kicked out, and we dont know why it took the police 45 minutes to get there. So we set all of that aside.

I understand the desire that the cop had to put the guy in his place, but it was not the right thing to do here. This cop has been taught to deescalate situations in several different ways, and he simply did not follow those procedures.

Should the cop be fired? Unless this is part of a pattern of abuse or bad reactions on his part, no. What needs to (and likely will) happen is that he needs to be re-educated on how he needs to respond to situations like this, and he should have a written reprimand on his record. This may not seem like much, but a formal written reprimand can (in some cases) be a near death sentence for an officer's career.

This kind of thing happens again with this cop, he's got no career left to go back to.

Originally posted by freedomSlave
I for the life of me wonder why people just sit there and watch these pigs act like this ( I say pigs because that is what they are there are a few decent cops out there , far and few ) abusing people , excessive force . All because there is no real back lash from the public many people are to afraid to stand up to these thugs

Because when you're in a prison such as this, to do anything means you get the next dose.

Better, some would think, to let the guards beat that one guy and they'll leave them alone.

Even recording them doing something they shouldn't gets you their abusive attention. Thugs. Plain and simple.

The kid was a little punk. The cop stepped closer to him because the kid was yelling and cursing at him. The kid DID step to the cop declaring if he knew who he was talking to.

All of you that have a problem with police, do you act like like a little punk when dealing with them?

And for all of you complaining that it took 45 minutes for police to respond...do you know what they were doing before this? Maybe they had a real call and not some idiot that got kicked out by his roommates.

There have been very few police videos posted on ATS where I have actually agreed that it was brutality...this isn't one of them. You act stupid, you get what you deserve.

So merely engaging in conversation deserves a punch to the face?
Even if the young man was upset or cursing, it entitled the officer to strike him?

WHY, since the LEO was wearing a helmet cam, did he blatantly use excessive force!?

This is a clear abuse of power.
No exceptions to the rule.

The officer clearly tried to intimidate the young man.
Terrible display of no self control.

Typical these days...

Originally posted by havok
So merely engaging in conversation deserves a punch to the face?
Even if the young man was upset or cursing, it entitled the officer to strike him?

WHY, since the LEO was wearing a helmet cam, did he blatantly use excessive force!?

This is a clear abuse of power.
No exceptions to the rule.

The officer clearly tried to intimidate the young man.
Terrible display of no self control.

Typical these days...

The kid was being stupid. That doesnt mean that the cop should have done what he did, but this kid DOES need to grow up a it.

The cop screwed up, no doubt about that. If he wants any sort of a career in this field, this type of thing will not happen again. But just as with most situations, a second chance should be given and he should have a chance for redemption.

Originally posted by flyswatter
The cop screwed up, no doubt about that. If he wants any sort of a career in this field, this type of thing will not happen again. But just as with most situations, a second chance should be given and he should have a chance for redemption.

It happens and keeps happening this guy should have his badge removed and thrown in jail . make him an example to the other cops that this not to be tolerated , throw him in general population in a fed prison maybe that thug mentality he has will disappear when the hardcore thugs get a hold of this pig might be enough motivation to the other pigs to how they handle themselves with law biding citizens who pay their wages instead of treating everyone as a criminal that they come in contact with . These are supposed to be the people setting the example they should be held to a higher standard than us citizens and when they screw up like this it should be a harsh and stiff punishment but instead he will only receive a paid suspension. If I screw up at work I get fired , I don't get paid suspension . Guess some people are ok with that

Even if he was a soldier, he's off duty and off base, and still subject to the same laws as everyone else.

What the cop did appears to be incorrect, but the fact that this kids is claiming to be a soldier shouldn't have any bearing on the situation at all.

He's lucky that they didn't call the MPs on him if they thought he was in violation of the law. If they called the MPs and he was NOT a soldier, he could be charged with impersonating one.

Originally posted by freedomSlave

Originally posted by flyswatter
The cop screwed up, no doubt about that. If he wants any sort of a career in this field, this type of thing will not happen again. But just as with most situations, a second chance should be given and he should have a chance for redemption.

It happens and keeps happening this guy should have his badge removed and thrown in jail . make him an example to the other cops that this not to be tolerated , throw him in general population in a fed prison maybe that thug mentality he has will disappear when the hardcore thugs get a hold of this pig might be enough motivation to the other pigs to how they handle themselves with law biding citizens who pay their wages instead of treating everyone as a criminal that they come in contact with . These are supposed to be the people setting the example they should be held to a higher standard than us citizens and when they screw up like this it should be a harsh and stiff punishment but instead he will only receive a paid suspension. If I screw up at work I get fired , I don't get paid suspension . Guess some people are ok with that

So you want to take things that other police officers have done and hold them over his head? You want to make an example of him, which is essentially stooping to his level because he was making an example of this kid. That is no better than discriminating against a person for being black or gay, or for arresting a muslim because there are bad muslims on this earth. All of these things are wrong.

I am not OK with the cop doing this sort of thing, any more than I am OK with racism, bigotry, or other type of discrimination. If this is an isolated incident on his part, he deserves a chance to redeem himself.

Ive actually seen something like this happen before, minus the soldier aspect. I had a neighbor in a downstairs apartment from where I live who had his house broken into. Somebody litterally broke through the door while he and his wife were not home.

So they called the cops, which took forever to get there. Long story short, he ended up being taken down, then taken away, because he was on edge and happened to get 3 'tough guy' cops as responders.

Ive been pointing it out for a long time, and now it seems others are finally catching on. When the aim of police departments went from "To Protect and Serve" to "Crime Prevention", things changed. Everyone now is considered a potential suspect.

Originally posted by flyswatter
The kid was being stupid. That doesnt mean that the cop should have done what he did, but this kid DOES need to grow up a it.

Again...so it deserves a punch or perhaps a chop to the face?
The cop was the adult in this situation.
The young man was agitated because took a long time to respond.
Maybe he felt threatened by the fight earlier.
But this particular LEO clearly couldn't make rationals decisions.
He acted purely out of being offended from a citizen.
Poor judgement by a person of granted "authority".
So he should've handled it much better.
That's the entire problem!

Where does this LEO (and alot more) get off thinking he can do what he wants?
This "entitled" power over citizens...this blatant abuse of power they don't have!
He is there to investigate a call and calmly at that.
The young man made NO threats or had NO weapons.

The cop screwed up, no doubt about that. If he wants any sort of a career in this field, this type of thing will not happen again. But just as with most situations, a second chance should be given and he should have a chance for redemption.

"The cop screwed up" is putting it lightly.
He went far beyond the call, and instigated a much worse situation.
Just because he felt offended or whatever his reason was.
Bull crap. That LEO was twice the size of the young man.

There are a lot of LEO's out there that have this condition.
Almost like a disease of sorts.
They all think with their "power".
Of which they have little.

Much respect to those who work within their own limits.
Few, but there are some, who would've treated this differently.
And now look...it's got national attention.

Firstly if you call the police listen to what they have to say.
The thing starts with the kid obviously frustrated and swearing at the officer. I thought he was confrontational and he did step up to the policeman after he was stepped up to.
I'm not saying he deserved a smack in the face, but if you start off confrontational and the big I'm a soldier bs you're asking for trouble.
So he waited 45 minutes no bigee. He was obviously acting up to the camera.
It was always going to end like that, it just happened sooner rather than later, I'm not surprised his roomies kicked him out with that attitude. What a and what a wimp when he saw the video, if you're a drama queen be prepared for drama.

I dislike the police with avengance but at the end of the day if need to call them for help I'll listen first and get attitude when necessary and then only with independent witnesses.