Cop pulls out gun on motorcyclist

[pyrocam]

http://carlosmiller.com/2010/04/16/maryland-motorcyclist-spends-26-hours-in-jail-on-wiretapping-charge-for-filming-cop-with-gun/

RK5bMSyJCsg

214235

I read on slashdot (http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/07/27/0212232/Facing-16-Years-In-Prison-For-Videotaping-Police) the guy could of faced 16 years in prison for video taping the cop, seems he got let out after 26 hours


man that's a sweet bike though, I rode one on Monday.

[Big Dave]

Do try and keep up will ya?

http://kiwiridermagazine.blogspot.com/2010/07/us-v-them.html

he got 26 hours.

[Big Dave]

And yea - it sure doesn't read like an episode of Motorway Patrol.

[Rogue Rider]

Well, I'm sorry to say, if people do things un-toward on motorways, they are always going to get nabbed..... certainly my experience lol.
Often when I'm out riding I'll get the desire to wheelie and give the triple a wurl...... however I resist the temptation and just toodle on..... next thing you know owh there be a popo hiding just around the corner........ phew that was close..... coincidence or rider intuition....
How many others out there get the 5th sense, and realise shortly after that it was divine....:scooter::scooter::scooter::scooter::sco oter::scooter:
.
With regard to that incident, someone jumpin out of a car wielding a gun at me would seriously freak me out, especially if they don't identify with sirens and lights etc........

[dipshit]

How many others out there get the 5th sense, and realise shortly after that it was divine....

I find my radar detector to be a lot more reliable. :shifty:

[pyrocam]

if someone jumps out of a car with a gun I would of thought the first thing to do would be to get the hell out of there.

[Neshi]

that's because your a kiwi, used to police that doesn't wield guns.

America a cop will pull a gun like reflex, like you see in the video. Even undercover..
I thought this video wasn't so bad.. the biker was acting quite weird on the motorway though.. speeding, slowing down, crossing several lanes at once.. no wonder he got arrested.

[Ironclaw]

I don't see much point in waving a gun at the biker(apart from scare/control tactics), he's not exactly going to pull out a concealed weapon is he? It would've been more appropriate to show his badge and put his hand on a holstered gun to show he was serious. Just my innocent kiwi opinion :innocent:

[PrincessBandit]

that's because your a kiwi, used to police that doesn't wield guns.

America a cop will pull a gun like reflex, like you see in the video. Even undercover..
I thought this video wasn't so bad.. the biker was acting quite weird on the motorway though.. speeding, slowing down, crossing several lanes at once.. no wonder he got arrested.

I just thought it was a "only in the States" kinda thing....:innocent:
When I read the cop pulled a gun, (plus the accompanying photo is a little misleading taken just at that particular frame in the vid) I wondered just what had happened. He did holster it pretty much immediately, it's not like he waved it in the guys face well after establishing that the rider didn't seem to pose any threat. With all the bad stuff you hear of over there I guess cops reflex of having weapon handy first seems to be justified. Certainly it could have meant a different outcome here in NZ given a recent event where a police dog was killed and two officers could potentially have lost their lives also.......

Have to say though, the penalty for videoing was pretty pathetic on the part of the police. I mean, how many people would say "oh, excuse me officer while i just turn off my helmet cam while you freak me out by having a gun in my close vacinity". It's not like he turned the camera on after being pulled over. Duh.

[Fluffy Cat]

Glad I do not live in the land of the free and brave. If that,s the acceptable behaviour of a police officer in the USA.
Looks like the dude on the bike was wearing the gear at least gloves and a helmet....so grabbing and using your concealed uzi would have been at the least a time consuming if not exceedingly cumbersome exercise.
He was committing the offence of backing the bike up...oooo!. For the quick get away m'lud. It did look to my non expert eyes that he was not exactly blocked in and could have escaped in a forward direction without to much effort???.
Backing away from a person wielding a hand gun albeit in a semi professional way(does that make you a police officer these days ie, don't look at my badge look at the way I carry my gun???.) seems quite rational to me, possibly instinctive in fact.

And would it be acceptable...to shoot this Al Qeda suspect if he had fled the crime scene:shifty:.

Wonder how many NZ police are waiting for this to become acceptable behaviour in NZ.

Nice to hear that they had the power to raid his home for the weapons and bomb making equipment later on.

:gob:

[scumdog]

Wonder how many NZ police are waiting for this to become acceptable behaviour in NZ.

:gob:

The sooner the better - too many on KB seem to have a life that is just begging for a burst of excitement......:blink:

[cheesemethod]

Take a look at the cop again - he's state police, in an undercover car that isn't the generic Crown Victoria. He's dressed down quite a lot - average guy on the street sort of clothes - jeans and a jumper - rather than tidy shirt and trousers. Would suggest that traffic stops aren't his usual line of work, he's probably a lot more used to dealing with a lot more serious issues than a speeding biker.

[CHR1S]

Probably just another innocent kiwi opinion but should'nt he have identified himself with a badge or something? I'd have been wearing earplugs, so if some knob jumps out of an everyday car wearing everyday clothing with a gun I'd have been expecting a long walk home...

[cheesemethod]

Agreed, a badge would make lots of sence in this situation.

[PrincessBandit]

Well, not just in America. Ripper Roo92 just phoned me to say that on his way in Manukau to meet up with his girlfriend for tea he was surrounded by 6 or 7 police cars after a van. He pulled over to let them pass and apparently three cars boxed him in while an officer pulled a gun on the van. (His words). I asked him what they said to him, and he said "nothing, I just weaved my way through their cars and took off". Needless to say I was a bit testy with him at this point, trying to tell him that perhaps they were attempting to contain him in what could have been a potentially dangerous situation. In the indignation of youth he huffily got off the phone! As a mum, I'm now trying to calm myself - both over the situation and my son's blase attitude. Eeeeek and arrrrgh.

by the time he gets home hopefully I'll have less desire to kick his bum.

[Toaster]

How many others out there get the 5th sense, and realise shortly after that it was divine

The only other sense I get is the urge to pee.

[toycollector10]

What happens next if the "offender" flees. Is it a shoot to kill situation? Is it a capital offence to run, without the right to trial by jury.

"He was fleeing the traffic stop your honour, so I popped a cap in his arse and two in his lungs just to stop him. He's now dead, of course"

Total madness, no wonder they're all going to hell in a handcart.

I think in New Zealand the cops will only present a weapon if they intend to use it. And rightly so. If you're not prepared to pull the trigger leave in out of the situation.

[spacemonkey]

Not the first nor the last of this sort of thing over there..... Check this one out.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/death-of-teen-on-bike-shows-risks-of-expanded-use-of-tasers/1112106

Love the comments on the bottom of the story.
Lots of folks over there seem to feel that killing someone who fails to stop is a perfectly acceptable response.

I completely agree. Shoot first, taser second. Stop being a dirtball fleeing felon



He refused to stop when it was requested by the police. Therefore he was a criminal. If he would have stopped he would still be alive. It seems to me it is nobody's fault but his own.

It seems to me that had all of these people not been CRIMINALS they would be alive. Not one ounce of pity from me.


*shudder* what a great place to live.... Not!

[scumdog]

Not the first nor the last of this sort of thing over there..... Check this one out.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/death-of-teen-on-bike-shows-risks-of-expanded-use-of-tasers/1112106

Love the comments on the bottom of the story.
Lots of folks over there seem to feel that killing someone who fails to stop is a perfectly acceptable response.




*shudder* what a great place to live.... Not!


Well for me so far (in Carson City, Nevada at the mo) I have had a good run - polite, helpful people here and so courteous with their driving habits, seeing that kind of driving makes me realise how immature/inconsiderate most Kiwi drivers really are.

Haven't seen anywhere near as much foul-mouthing in public and no tizzy-fits being thrown in bars, on the road etc.

And I see so much stuff that seems common sense that I wonder why it has not been implemented in NZ.


NZ only has a slight amount more going for it than does the USA I.M.H.O.

[p.dath]

So at the beginning of the video isn't that the cop we hear over a loud haler from his car ordering the motorcyclist to pull over? And then the motorcylists continues on, at speed?

Although a gun was pulled, it does not look that threatening to me. However it's not my face that it was pulled on.


The more interesting bit is weather the video broke their wiretapping rules. This seems ludicrous to me. That would suggest you could not film somthing that you were aparty to - even when on public property.

Would this surely not make the filming of all movies on private land, such as in a movie studio in the US illegal now?

[avgas]

if someone jumps out of a car with a gun I would of thought the first thing to do would be to get the hell out of there.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing - but when you pause the last few seconds you realize there is an official cop car behind him so you would suspect something was legit about it.
But yeah - if there was a circumstance where some random guy jumped out of a car and pulls a gun I would try like hell to outrun bullets.
Fuck hanging around to get shot.

[The Pastor]

And everyone wants the cops to have guns >_>

[Patrick]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing - but when you pause the last few seconds you realize there is an official cop car behind him so you would suspect something was legit about it.
But yeah - if there was a circumstance where some random guy jumped out of a car and pulls a gun I would try like hell to outrun bullets.
Fuck hanging around to get shot.

KInda follow ya.... but bullets are so much faster than even the best and biggest FZR...?

[pyrocam]

I hear upsidedown forks would help with that.


I would guess its hard to hit a fast moving target, but if you have to drive past the shooter it reduces your chances. especially when they have had regular firearms training (although you wouldn't know that in this case)

[pyrocam]

if anyone was interested the charges against the biker for recording the cop doing this have been dropped
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/story-lab/2010/09/wiretapping_charges_dropped_ag.html

sanity prevails!