Cop: "You're Recording Me? I Will Pull My Gun On You."

[SGOS]

Maybe it was baiting, but he really did do nothing wrong, which is the only thing a police officer should be concerned about.  Or us, for that matter

The video doesn't show anything prior to the engagement.  I don't know what he was doing prior to the video.  I can't just assume the cop stopped him for no reason.  All it shows is the video guy claiming he was doing nothing wrong, which is what a thief or vandal would say too.

[PickelledEggs]

Yeah. You can't lie to a cop though. That would be cheating. And cheating is wrong...

[PickelledEggs]

All we are going by is the info in the video, which eliminates any assumptions if the cop was called there or on the flip side, if the cop was just patrolling (which patrolling is his job... just a reminder)

When the cop was getting info for the boat guy's car, the boat guy played "tough guy" saying "Oh. Now he thinks he's funny". You don't know what the cop was getting license plate info for. It could be just to check if it was registered. Maybe there was a report for a stolen Ford Excursion. Even that is irrelevant though. The cop can get any info he can. In my area, cops have cameras to get license plate numbers as they slowly pass through parking lots. You know why? That's their job.
But anyway. Why he was getting the license plate doesn't matter. Why he was driving around that street doesn't matter. The boat guy wanted to put on a "tough guy" act and then approach the cop car with his hand in his pocket. The cop got out and told the guy to get his hand out of his pocket and the guy got defensive and the cop saw a need for caution.

[Nonsensei]

"he really did  nothing wrong"...

These are a lot of assumptions coming from someone on a forum full of skeptics.

I guess it depends on what you're choosing to be skeptical about. I am skeptical that the guy was doing anything wrong, since the police officer didn't arrest him. In fact, since he wasn't arrested I am about as close to 100% certain he wasn't doing anything wrong as I can possibly get without traveling back in time and standing right there to witness the whole thing happening. A cop who pulls a gun on you for refusing to take your hand out of your pocket is not going to decline to arrest you if they have a real reason to be able to do it.

Seriously. Are you really fucking telling me that the guy was doing something wrong and the police officer just up and decided to walk away?

Really? Does that sound like any cop you have ever heard of? How far divorced from reality can you get?

[PickelledEggs]

No. I'm not assuming anything which way or the other. I am simply going by that he acted like a tough guy in front of the officer when all the officer was doing was getting license plate info. I don't know if he was doing anything wrong. I honestly don't care what he was doing before the video started rolling. All I am going by (and you should to) is the info we have, which is the video this guy shot and uploaded.

Was he doing something wrong or not that was specific reason for the cop to come over other than him patrolling? doesn't matter. The guy going "oh. now this guy thinks he's funny" to a COP is confrontational and a reason for the cop to be cautious. Approaching the vehicle with his hand in his pocket after his tough guy act is even more reason for the cop to be cautious. The cop didn't know if there was a weapon and he just wanted to be sure about that. When the guy yelled at the cop, refusing to take his hand out of his pocket, the cop is obligated to be ready to protect himself.

Because even if we go by the assumption that the guy didn't do anything wrong before the video started rolling, all those things that happened IN the video is more than enough reason for the cop to assume he might need to defend himself and to be ready.

[Nonsensei]

No. I'm not assuming anything which way or the other. I am simply going by that he acted like a tough guy in front of the officer when all the officer was doing was getting license plate info. I don't know if he was doing anything wrong. I honestly don't care what he was doing before the video started rolling. All I am going by (and you should to) is the info we have, which is the video this guy shot and uploaded.

Was he doing something wrong or not that was specific reason for the cop to come over other than him patrolling? doesn't matter. The guy going "oh. now this guy thinks he's funny" to a COP is confrontational and a reason for the cop to be cautious. Approaching the vehicle with his hand in his pocket after his tough guy act is even more reason for the cop to be cautious. The cop didn't know if there was a weapon and he just wanted to be sure about that. When the guy yelled at the cop, refusing to take his hand out of his pocket, the cop is obligated to be ready to protect himself.

Because even if we go by the assumption that the guy didn't do anything wrong before the video started rolling, all those things that happened IN the video is more than enough reason for the cop to assume he might need to defend himself and to be ready.

Well I'm sorry but the city doesn't agree with you since they reassigned him to the fire department because they didn't think his actions were appropriate. Ive been reading back over some of your earlier posts in this thread and it really strikes me that your primary issue is that you don't like the camera man's attitude, and (apparently) feel he deserved to be threatened with a handgun for daring to not be respectful enough.

I couldn't care less about his attitude. I only care about whether or not he has done anything illegal to warrant the attention of a police officer, let alone warrant having a weapon drawn on him. From what I see in the uncut video, this confrontation should never have even begun, let alone escalated to the point it did and the police officer is the one to blame to allowing it and escalating it.

As a side note, my patience for the measures police officers claim to need to take to ensure their own safety has worn thin over the years. Take that story about the postman Aitm posted earlier. While they were arresting him they kept demanding he stop resisting, even though he was literally standing there letting them handcuff him. Police have learned how to use their legal right to defend themselves as a weapon to justify doing whatever they wish.

When an officer pulls his weapon on a guy, thats one fucking step away from killing a person. All he has to do is lift that gun and fire now. Hes ready to fucking gun the guy down and he has yet to see a weapon. Thats not ok. You don't get to proactively threaten someone with your service piece when they haven't done anything illegal and haven't shown a weapon yet, ESPECIALLY in a situation you, as a police officer, had no business being involved in in the first place.

[drunkenshoe]

Ive been reading back over some of your earlier posts in this thread and it really strikes me that your primary issue is that you don't like the camera man's attitude, and (apparently) feel he deserved to be threatened with a handgun for daring to not be respectful enough.

Yeah that's pretty much the situation. And they started to evolve and embellish a plot from there. There is nothing else.

[PickelledEggs]

embellish the plot? Give me a break. all I am going by is what was in the video
*guy starts recording cop all the way down the street*
*cop drives up to check out what is going on*
*while the windows are down on the cop's car, guy says "oh this guy thinks he's funny now, recording me back (like a tough guy)*
*guy approaches cop car with hand in pocket after doing his tough-guy act*
*cop gets out of car to tell guy to remove his hands from pocket*
*guy yells "I didn't do anything wrong. NO!", refusing to show that he is harmless to the cop and that he doesn't have a weapon*
*cop sees that he needs to be cautious, so he pulls his gun to be ready to defend himself*

[drunkenshoe]

Yes Pickel, embellish the plot. Because that's what you have been doing all along. You have demonstrated that you actually have no idea what is wrong in the video.

Also I find it 'funny' that the cop has been passed to fire dept like a bad cold just because he DIDN'T DO anything wrong. A department that 'allows' its personnel to carry their personal guns only.

[PickelledEggs]

Yes Pickel, embellish the plot. Because that's what you have been doing all along. You have demonstrated that you actually have no idea what is wrong in the video.

Also I find it 'funny' that the cop has been passed to fire dept like a bad cold just because he DIDN'T DO anything wrong. A department that 'allows' its personnel to carry their personal guns only.

How is going only by what information I have embellishing the plot? Embellishing the plot means to add to the plot and exaggerate the plot. How am I doing that by making my assessment only going from what is in the video which is the only information anyone has about this incident?

No shit, he passed it off as he didn't do anything wrong. Because after the guy FINALLY removed his hands from his pocket and his items, he realized he wasn't going to pull a weapon on him, which was issue #1 anyway. All the cop was doing was checking things out when the guy got all defensive about it and turned "tough guy" on the cop.

What exactly is your problem with this cop? That he was taking this guy's license plate down? That he asked the guy to take his hand out of his pocket when the guy approached his vehicle? That he became cautious when the guy shouted and refused to take his hand out of his pocket?

[drunkenshoe]

My problem with the cop is his obvious, meaningless bullshit of pulling a gun, bullying and abusing a man with no reason what so ever.

Your problem is making up a scenario determined to confirm his behaviour, because you think it is very normal for a cop to spring his gun out, because a civillian 'talked back' to him.

You know what, I wish I could just say, anywhere from continent to Scandinavia people laugh to your logic with their ass, but unfortunately it is even laughable over many underdeveloped places too.

Whatever Pickel, it is useless to discuss this. I just hope you'll never exprience anything remotely close to this, because from the general picture I think whatever happens the majority will always read something in a situation that will defend a cop pulling a gun in your culture. Because most people are incapable of thinking in another way.

[PickelledEggs]

If you have a problem with a cop pulling a gun out to be ready, without even pointing it at the person, because the person he is talking to refuses to show that he has no weapon...  and that you refuse to even try to see it from the cop's perspective, that he sees that he could be in danger right then and needs to be ready with precaution. I think you're right that it's useless to discuss it.

[Johan]

Maybe it was baiting, but he really did do nothing wrong, which is the only thing a police officer should be concerned about.  Or us, for that matter

Ok story time kids. When I was young, my family owned and operated two retail store fronts in a local strip mall. We had silent alarm systems (would call our house and the local PD) installed in both properties. This was before the age of motion sensors so these systems used some sort of laser beam type detectors. Break the beam, trigger the alarm. This of course meant that nothing could ever be stacked or left in the path of the beam because if it was, the alarm would trigger as soon as it was set. That happened. A lot. And since the alarm was silent, the person locking up for the day had no idea the alarm was going off.

And so it was that this scenario played out one Sunday afternoon and the home phone rang at 2:05 which was closing time for that store. I jumped in the car and drove to the store (this was way before cell phones). I unlocked the back door, disabled the alarm and then went in to figure out what was left in front of one of the beams and fix the situation. While I was doing that, a local PD walked in the back door and in a firm manly voice said 'I HOPE YOU WORK HERE' to which I casually replied yeah. The officer then said 'OK no problem' turned around and walked out.

And that sort of scenario seems to be more or less what you're saying you'd like to happen in that situation. The officer did his job, found that nothing illegal was taking place and then kindly left. Except for one thing. The officer didn't do his job. He never even made it into the building far enough to see who I was. When I casually answer yeah as though I was supposed to be there at that time, the officer just took me at my word without ever even having seen my face. Most burglars aren't very bright nor very savvy. But some are. What if I had been one of the few savvy burglars and just casually said yeah to the officers question about whether or not I worked there? We would have ended up robbed blind. As someone with properties to protect, I want the cops to do their jobs right. Which means I want them to be absolutely fucking sure that nothing illegal is taking place when investigating a possible illegal activity. Not just oh, you say you aren't doing anything wrong? Well ok then, carry on then, sorry for the inconvenience.

The guy in video wasn't doing anything wrong. And the cop eventually realized that and therefore no arrest was made. But in the video I watched, the guy was backing away from the officer while taking video of him, not following the officer's lawful order (take your hand out of your pocket) and otherwise being dick. If I were that officer, there is no fucking way I could be sure the guy wasn't up to something at that point and neither could you. Eventually? Yeah it was worked out and no arrests were required. But I strongly suspect it could have been worked out a whole lot sooner and easier if the guy had just done what the officer asked and then politely said, what seems to be the problem officer? What can I help you with sir?

But no, instead the guy decided to be a dick and guess what? Things don't go as well for you with the cops when you decide to be a dick. In a word, duh.

[Shiranu]

Moral of the story? Being a dick is grounds to be threatened with being shot and killed.

[PickelledEggs]

No. Moral of the story is being a dick is grounds to have people take caution around you.

No one was shot. No gun was fired. The only reason he pulled it at all was because he told the guy to remove his hand from his pocket because the cop was unsure if Boatman was going to pull a knife or something on it and Boatman refused, very defensively, I might add... which is lots of grounds for caution.