Just recorded my first-ever cop-stop.

[Aristus]

A couple of uniforms from Tacoma Police Department stopped a guy on the sidewalk right outside the clinic. They did the loudspeaker thing: "Lay down on the ground, face down, and don't move!"

As soon as I heard that, I grabbed my phone and started recording. The cops snatched up a bag the man had been carrying; I guess they thought it was stolen goods. A backup vehicle pulled up, and they all got out and conferred for a while. I recorded them just in case they decided to mistreat him. They huddled around, talking, laughing, and yawning as if they had all the time in the world, while the poor guy lay down on the sidewalk.

After about fifteen minutes, they gave him his bag back and let him go.

I hope they saw me through the clinic window, recording them. In times like this, we have to police the police.

[In_The_Wind]

1. Good thing you were there.

[Aristus]

2. I'm just glad they didn't hurt him.

I couldn't tell if he was one of my patients, but it doesn't really matter. In almost any situation like this, I'm coming down on the side of the detainee, not the cops.

[In_The_Wind]

3. Just knowing a responsible individual is watching may slow down the incidents.

Why did it take 10 minutes to let an innocent man go.

[Aristus]

5. It's interesting.

Reducing violent crime in the general population came by switching to unleaded gasoline.

Reducing violent crime in the law enforcement profession will be achieved with a camera in every pocket.

[7wo7rees]

4. +1

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. The cost of apathy is much higher.

[Lars39]

6. The ACLU has an app

so the video is automatically uploaded in case your phone gets confiscated etc.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/31/us/aclu-mobile-justice-police-misconduct-app/index.html

[KS Toronado]

12. That's thinking outside the box, bet the cops hate that app.

[Lars39]

14. Yep!

[zipplewrath]

17. Notable that Florida doesn't have one

They have apps for each state, but it's well short of all 50. I presume it has something to do with varying laws in each state and each states chapter having to develop the app.

[Lars39]

19. I didn't realize that!

[druidity33]

20. No Massachusetts either. nt.

[Phoenix61]

7. Yep, until they start policing their own it's up to us. mt

[DENVERPOPS]

8. Sorta reminds me of

Hitlers storm troopers, SS, or gestapo...........

sickening

[Alliepoo]

9. Good for you!!!

I’m glad you were there to see and film!! And I agree about having to police the police.

[iluvtennis]

10. Great job Aristus. Thanks for policing the police - it's needed at this time. nt

[Ohioboy]

11. When I was in my early twenties I had a cop that got mad because I talked to his girl friend

He and I were around the same age, and it was a fairly small town where everyone knew each other. One morning he and his partner ran me off the road while I was riding my bicycle. They did it on purpose. I remember them looking back, and laughing giving me the finger. I never reported the incident, partly I knew it would have been their word against mine.

[AwakeAtLast]

13. Post it on Social Media

I'm glad you recorded it, but others need to see how POC are treated, even in a lower escalation event. I mean, would they have had a white person on the ground like that?

[JackInGreen]

15. Bravo!

They're trigger happy today n feeling twice as justified.

[C Moon]

16. They were probably waiting for the guy to start getting up so they could beat the hell out of him.

[frazzled]

18. Harassment

Why is this sort of unprovoked harassment legal? Police should need a warrant to search someone's personal property or car. The typical MO is to allege (whether true or not) that someone in the area has stolen something (or passed a bad $20 bill) and then use it to detain, or sometimes abuse or actually kill, the "suspect."

This is what needs to stop. Recording it is necessary, but it's not sufficient. Legal redress for the police offenders is not enough. We need to end these warrantless searches and stops. If someone's taillight or brake light is out, that is not sufficient for stopping and/or searching. Record the license plate and send a citation to the registered owner. Even minor speeding could be handled in this way. Only in rare instances should traffic stops be undertaken. There are better things the police could be doing, like protecting neighborhoods from shootings.