Cop Threatens To Shoot Group Of Black Men For Filming Police (VIDEO)

[MrScorpio]

A police officer in Boynton Beach, FL. is under scrutiny after a video of him threatening to shoot a group of young black men who were video taping the encounter after being stopped for a traffic violation.
Here’s the video:

Boynton Beach Police Chief Jeffrey Katz defended the aggressive reaction of his officers in a Youtube video Tuesday, claiming the men in the car were “escalating” the situation by “recording the interaction,” causing one of the officers to fear for his life when a man “reached out of his window with a black object in his hand,” which was nothing more than a camera phone trying to record the cop’s name tag after he refused to provide it.

That cop slapped the phone out of his hand, then yanked the man out of the car, throwing him facedown on the grass while another cop with his gun drawn comes charging towards the other men, threatening to shoot one of them for who knows what.

“I’ll put a round in your ass so quick,” the cop said, even though none of the men in the car were doing anything more than being assertive about their rights, even if they were doing it in a profane manner, which is protected by the First Amendment.

Katz claimed there had been a home invasion in the area, which supposedly justified his officers’ behavior.

Katz also claimed that, “When I watch this video, I don’t see a car full of young men who are behaving in a manner consistent with fear of the police.”

When I watch this video, I see young men with, granted, smart mouths and a cell phone camera. Neither of which is illegal and neither of which deserves death threats.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/08/27/cop-threatens-to-shoot-group-of-black-men-for-filming-police/

[merrily]

1. Courts have held that photos or videos of police are a First Amendment right, aka a federal right, a

federal civil right.

Police threatening to shoot anyone for exercising a federal right have given grounds to "make a federal case out of it."

42 U.S. Code § 1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.

If every person who has a right to sue under 42 US 1983 does sue, you will see local and state taxes go up. If that happens, I believe fervently that you would then see changes in behavior of local and state law enforcement.



http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1983

[MrScorpio]

2. Personally, I want to see a camera on the body of every single cop in this country

One that they have no control over and will run continuously while they're on duty.

[logosoco]

3. I agree wholeheartedly!

And i think that is why they (the cops,too many of them, anyway) are so angry. They have been getting away with this crap for years and those times are ending thanks to the fact that so many people have cameras in their pockets.

[Flyboy_451]

18. Agreed!

Our department has been wearing body cams for almost two years now, and I'm an enthusiastic supporter of them.

However, keep in mind a couple of downsides. In any interaction with LEOs, you are now being recorded and the video is not considered private. It is within public domain and can be requested by anyone. Some very private and tragic moments will be available to the public at large.

Also remember that anything you say or do, will be on permanent record and will be used in any proceedings resulting from charges. This includes anything that you may say or do, in the heat of the moment, having not had access to legal representation. It may also create a conflict wih 5th amendment rights. No need for you testify against yourself, it's on candid camera.

Overall, I think it's a positive, but it is not without negatives.

Jw

[notadmblnd]

26. But the same goes for you

[Flyboy_451]

30. Yep!

I have posted my approval of body cams in a few different threads lately. The primary benefit that I have seen is that EVERYONE tends to behave a little better when they know they are being recorded.

It's not a big deal to me as far as behavior goes, because I have always strived for high degrees of friendliness and professionalism as a matter of personal pride. Sometimes a situation arises in which friendliness is no longer possible, but I refuse to be the one that initiates that behavior.

One of the interesting things that we have found is that the cameras often reveal that an officers recollection of events is more accurate than the citizens. My guess is that we are more accustomed to remembering details in dynamic situations than the average citizen. Some of us even train in detail recollection drills regularly. Check out KIMS. Keep In Memory System. Great way of sharpening your ability to pick out details quickly and remember them accurately.

JW

[TeeYiYi]

32. Absolutely;...

...and it should upload to an untouchable backup server in real time.

TYY

[uponit7771]

39. +1

[HereSince1628]

4. But are cops taught conflicting needs? Such as

the need to protect tactics, techniques and procedures?

Which devolves into the need for their behaviors to remain hidden from a confirming lens?

[Trillo]

23. As long as cops don't have to pay personally for the damages,

as you say, "local and state taxes go up", then why would the cops give a damn?

[merrily]

34. Voters would give a huge damn, which means mayors and Governors would give a damn.

Which means police commissioners would be made to give a damn and so on. Rules would change. Training would change. Etc.

And it is easier for a wronged citizen to sue tomorrow than to convince jurisdictions to make cops personally liable. (Legal fees are part of the recovery.) There are issues in making a cop personally liable for doing his or her job, as the cop would see it. Ability to recruit would be affected. So, in all likelihood, would salary demands.

[1StrongBlackMan]

5. I'll admit, I haven't watched the video or read the entire story; but ...

Katz also claimed that, “When I watch this video, I don’t see a car full of young men who are behaving in a manner consistent with fear of the police.”

I didn't know "fear of the police" was the behavioral standard ... Or does that just apply to young, Black men?

[socialist_n_TN]

9. Yep. That was the first thing I noticed too......

without even watching the video or reading the story. So "fear of the police" is now the standard for deadly force or the threat of same by the cops?

[Lindsay]

27. Same for me.

I suppose I should be glad that somebody's finally being honest about it, but it's a horrific standard.

[malaise]

10. Didn't you know that deference, subservience and absolute humility

aka reverence are required from African-Americans or 'we' can shoot you fugging dead.
Racism is institutionalism - these fuggers think these are slavery days.

[eShirl]

16. This! *so* this. (n/t)

[Logical]

36. I agree, since when are we supposed to fear the police? They want the fear. nt

[1StrongBlackMan]

37. Well ...

that this is the law enforcement belief is not a surprise for some communities. Black folks have been teaching our youth to fear (be wary of) law enforcement since the mid 1800s.

[Logical]

44. I agree 100%. n-t

[rafeh1]

43. i had strong reaction to "no fear of police"

Last edited Thu Aug 28, 2014, 09:30 PM - Edit history (1)

meaning those subjects were not slavish in the face of police authority.

[Downwinder]

6. Why should people fear the police?

Are they the Stasi?

[Iggo]

7. He seems a little sad that they aren't afraid of the police.

[HipChick]

13. Why should they be afraid of the police?

[eShirl]

17. because police are/symbolize The Man

History

As a phrase meaning "the boss" it dates from at least 1918.[2]

In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema. It was featured particularly prominently as a recurring motif in the 2003 film School of Rock.[3][4][5][6] The film Undercover Brother had as a plot element a fictional organization headed by "The Man", an actual man in charge of oppressing African Americans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man

[Iggo]

20. The perfect and obvious followup question.

I wonder why they didn't ask it.

[MindPilot]

8. The bolded quote pretty much sums up the whole problem.

I think the chief let it slip with that one. And I am beginning to believe it may be a coordinated effort to ramp up the brutality level. The police don't want our cooperation or even respect; they want--perhaps even need--to be feared. Which of course is exactly how one would regard their enemy.

The police chief has essentially come right out and said that failure to demonstrate an adequate level of fear of the police is in and of itself criminal activity.

That is some cold police state shit right there.

[Bandit]

11. It was reported that Dick Cheney once said

He would much rather the USA be feared than loved. The Police are just following that train of thought. That was how Cheney came up with the torture bit..

[VanGoghRocks]

15. Cheney's brilliance caused us to lose two wars in 10 short years. One would hope the

police would consider Cheney's won-loss record when considering strategy and tactics.

[merrily]

35. That is Dick's willful stupidity. No one attacks nations they love. Hell, I'd settle for

indifference. People tend to hate what they are made to fear. And, while elections may or may not have consequences, hatred usually does have consequences.

[KurtNYC]

12. the driver of the car was featured on The Today Show 4 years ago

after winning a regional choir competition inspired by the TV show "Glee"

“It brings different cliques at the school together to do one thing, and that’s to sing. They’ve formed a family. I want to let students know that you can communicate with anybody. A lot of them say to me, ‘If it wasn’t for DH, I would never have talked to this person or that person, and it’s such a shame, because now they’re one of my best friends!’ ”

Junior Jack Naubert, 16, is proof of the choir’s clique-busting power. At 6-foot-3, he was expected to play basketball, but like some of Glee’s football players, he realized he had the music in him.

“I decided I had a mind of my own and chose this. And I’ve had some low times in my life, and without this choir I don’t know where I would be. It’s what I love.”

http://www.pbpulse.com/news/entertainment/television/boynton-high-choirs-gleeful-sound-lands-it-on-nov-/nMQ3g/

[HipChick]

14. No one can deny..there is a war on black males in this country

I hope these police departments get sued out of existence

[Rose Siding]

19. They know they're being recorded yet the behavior continues to deteriorate

How blatant is that? Hard to imagine how brutal these cops would be without a visual record.

[Kber]

21. Katz also claimed that, “When I watch this video, I don’t see a car full of young men who are behavi

Katz also claimed that, “When I watch this video, I don’t see a car full of young men who are behaving in a manner consistent with fear of the police.”

Why would that be?

[rurallib]

29. Are we supposed to be in fear of the police now?

Why? Is this the new way to live in America? In fear of the police as if they are terrorists? I am missing something.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

40. IMHO they would.....

Sorry I couldn't resist.

[Rex]

24. Of COURSE the CoP covered for them! He would have done the same thing if the pigs

had shot all the men in the car!

"They were escalating matters and then one pulled out a black object that could have been a gun...my officers followed procedure. 100 rounds is not extreme, but the guys in the car were menacing and up to no good. NONE of them were angels."

[Brigid]

25. Dear stupid cops everywhere:

Having a smart mouth and a camera phone does not make somebody eligible for a summary execution.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

28. I hate violence

but in a country with so many armed people, I'm surprised that we don't see more people taking out their guns and shooting cops in self-defense. While I do hate violence, I know that if I saw a member of my family about to be killed by a rogue cop, I would not hesitate to shoot an entire magazine into that cop's head without mercy, even though I'd get shot myself by his partner.

[TeeYiYi]

31. Wow!...

Jesus Christ!...

See, bigtree,... this is why you cannot quit DU. This shit is happening everywhere (and has been happening everywhere) on a daily basis since forever...

Advancements in cell phone technology and the viral nature of social media are bringing a shift in the perception of basic civil rights for African Americans and all human beings in general.

Your voice is needed to bring this unjust crap to light and to try to work toward a better future for all black Americans through transparency. Your voice is needed right now on the internet, and more specifically, right now at DU.

Without this cell phone video, nobody would've listened to these guys. It would have been just one more day in the lives of young black men in America, being harassed (and likely killed) by jackass racist cops.

Mandatory video, strapped to cops, has the potential to bring about the much needed change in civil rights as they (should) apply to all people.

Personal cell phone video has the power to highlight injustice toward black Americans. Your voice, bigtree, is needed to ensure visibility.

Thanks for the OP, MrScorpio.

TYY

[Liberal_in_LA]

33. kick

[L0oniX]

41. They expect us to fear them? Ok. Can we run from them now?

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

42. People are supposed to fear the police now?

I think EVERYONE should start filming EVERY police/civilian encounter EVERYWHERE. And we should demand all police activity, EVERYWHERE, be videotaped effective immediately.............

[Enthusiast]

45. Just a few bad apples.