officer caught on tape threatening to invent charges to arrest driver

[Ino]

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/19/1961.asp

A motorist who refused to discuss his personal business with a St. George, Missouri police officer was threatened with arrest last Friday. Brett Darrow, 20, no stranger to unconventional encounters with police, caught a St. George Police Sergeant James Kuehnlein stating that he had the power to invent charges that would put Darrow behind bars. Update: Sergeant Kuehnlein was placed on unpaid leave Monday pending an investigation.

"Try and talk back... to me again," yelled Sergeant Kuehnlein. "I bet I could say you resisted arrest or something. You want to come up with something? I come up with nine things."

The incident began at around 2am. Darrow was to meet a friend who was working late and was going to pick him up. Darrow headed toward a 24-hour commuter parking lot in an unincorporated part of Saint Louis County in his 1997 Nissan Maxima. He put on his turn signal and entered the lot which, aside from Kuehnlein's cruiser, was essentially vacant. After stopping the car, the police officer approached and began questioning Darrow about what he was doing. When Darrow declined to discuss his personal business, the police sergeant exploded. Although the video clearly shows Darrow driving properly and using his turn signal, the police officer insisted that Darrow had broken the law.

"Oh, while you were coming towards me you were swerving back and forth within the roadway," Sergeant Kuehnlein said. "I might give you a ticket for that. You want me to come up with some more? When you turned in, you failed to use your turn signal, your right turn signal."

more story, video, transcript at above link

Officer is now on unpaid leave
http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=129127

[MadMaddie]

1. The guy that the police officer pulled over has a camara in his

car...

I agree that it is not the policemans business...where you and I go..it is America after all..

however; it seems that the driver's goal was to antagonize the officer....

The officer should have been more responsible and come up with a better response....

[Mojambo]

9. Are you kidding me?

That kid did absolutely nothing to antagonize the officer.

Except ask what exactly he did wrong.

[MisterP]

10. he has a camera! you can record evidence with it! not in this Homeland!

[MadMaddie]

13. I am not defending the officer nor the kid..

The cop was out of line for stating he could make up charges....

And as I stated we are in America and we can go where we please....

The camera in the car raises an eyebrow...that's all

[Mojambo]

16. It tells me that kid was sick of getting harrassed by fucking psychotic cops

It's not just the threat of making up charges. That cop was showing a level of anger that was DAMN frightening.

That cop was ready to go off and I'm damn glad the kid caught it on video.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

17. He explains why he has a camera in the car.

An off duty cop beat him up & then lied. Brett prevailed in court, but still ....

Sheet. I'd have 3 cameras in my car. And being the mother of two sons, I can't count the number of times they were pulled over for driving while young, late at night.

[proud2BlibKansan]

37. Same here

My two kids were walking down the street a few months ago and a cop pulled over and demanded ID. They asked what was going on and he said my kids didn't look like they belonged there! This was 2 blocks away from the house we have lived in for 14 years. And my hubby and I grew up in this neighborhood - just a couple blocks from where we live now. I was just incensed. Is it fascism yet?

[notadmblnd]

42. I can really relate to your story

my son and his friend went for a bike ride. They were on a corner deciding whether they wanted to ride to the park or go up to the college. They decided to head off in different directions and apparently the police thought it was a drug deal and chased my son down. They accused him of being a drug dealer and thought the small bike wrench in his pocket was a crack pipe. The police brought him home and then had the nerve to tell me that it was my sons responsibility to get to know the cops in the neighborhood. When I made a comment to them about why he was harassed (my son is multi racial) they told me that it might be that way where I come from but the police in my town wasn't like that. I didn't argue, but I've lived in this neighborhood longer than those officers have been walking the face of this earth and I know exactly how the police in community are.

[NOLALady]

18. He said he'd received a "questionable" ticket

about a year ago. He put the camera in the car just in case something like that would happen again.

[John Q. Citizen]

20. Out of line? Like in criminally out of line? Like in abuse of power out of line?

I hope you don't have a camera. It would be very suspicious.

Someone might mistake you for a Japanese tourist, and raise some eyebrows...

Actually, if you read the transcript, when the cop discovers the motorist has a camera is when the cop stops threatening the motorist with false arrest.

In fact the cop suddenly gets much more reasonable and much less verbally violent, and hostile.


It think that motorist is on to something, here. It could forever change driving while black.

[Mojambo]

21. I suspect if there were no camera he would have gone to jail, or worse. n/t

[Downtown Hound]

22. The kid has stated that he put the camera in the car

precisely because of police harassment. This wasn't the first time something like this has happened to him.

[LisaL]

32. LOL. The guy is smart to have camera in his car. Cause without

the camera, it would be police officer's against his. And if police officer said, for instance, that the guy didn't use his turn signal, or was resiting arrest, or whatever, who do you think the court would believe?
Why shouldn't the guy have a camera in his car? Smart move on his part.

[JTFrog]

33. The camera in the car raises eyebrows?

The cops have cameras in their cars when they pull people over and can use that tape in court. But we can't have that vice versa? WTF?

[LisaL]

34. In fact car cameras also protect the cops when they are falsely

accused. It happens too. People who have been stopped by cops can then turn around and accuse the cops of wrongdoing. Just watched the show about it recently. It's good to have these cameras all around.

[FREEWILL56]

14. Antagonize the officer?

How do you know the officer didn't do this crap to him before and he just wanted a way to prove the officer's abuse of power? The officer shouldn't have bothered the guy without cause, but when asking questions you don't throw your weight around saying to the civilian you better let me in on your business or I'll make something up, what was it, 9 times? That officer can watch him if he likes or even make nice conversation, but to throw your weight around and threaten somebody with false charges and false arrest is bullcrap and against the law the officer is supposed to be upholding.

[Gman]

15. Sorry, but think about it...

what you're saying is the same as saying illegal wiretapping is OK because if we're not doing anything wrong then we don't have anything to be afraid of.

The fact of the matter is that the cop represents the government at some level and the government had absolutely no right to know what this guy was doing.

[JTFrog]

31. self delete replied to wrong message n/t

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

2. I know who's gonna have a fucking bad night & it aint

Brett.

Gawd. That cop is in for it now (if there's any justice, which sometimes I doubt)

[wildbilln864]

3. who videoed(siq) this?

Police cam or the victim? This happens regularly in my area. Some cops think the are above the law too. I'm glad he was caught.


on edit: ok, the victim did. thanks.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

8. The vic. Brett

was assaulted by an off-duty cop & then put a camera in his car. If you read the transcript you can see the cop trying to back pedal as soon as he realizes there's a camera, but he also seems to be hoping that the camera is a fake.

[wildbilln864]

23. thank you. n/t

[AndyTiedye]

4. The "Show Me or I'll Arrest You on Trumped-Up Charges" State

[MannyGoldstein]

5. And Which Red State Would This Be In?

Can't be Texas - if it were, the cop would be tasering the fellow while screaming threats to execute him.

[Mojambo]

6. What a fucking psychopath!

Man, that's exactly why I don't trust cops.

They are power tripping douchebags.

[FREEWILL56]

7. That kind of thing is more prevelant than it should be.

The power just goes to some people's heads and they forget that they aren't more than they are and because of that they can't do their jobs correctly. Yes, I'm thinking the same thing.

[msongs]

11. this behavior is NORMAL for police in the USA sorry to say nt

[niceypoo]

26. Yes, I agree, this is normal for American cops.

They call it God Complex. When we go to Canada the police act almost apologetic when they confront someone.

[uppityperson]

12. Last month I ranted about an officer that pulled me over on a bogus charge

Said my license plate light was out, but come to find (when I took car in to get the 2 lights replaced) that they were fine. I was told that I was bad for being upset, that they were just "doing their duty". I tried to explain that they LIED and was told "perhaps they were out then and just came on again later." Well, here it is, a month later. The lights still work and yes, I check them regularly. Oh yes, I was also told that I "should've" gotten out to check like and "normal person" would, but the cops here get realllly upset if you try to get out of your car. If they had allowed me to check, and I found them on, they'd say "oh, well they were off when I pulled you over."

It pisses me off to no end that they do this. IF you are going to pull someone over, make DAMN sure what you pull them over full is real and DON'T harass us.

Rant off.

[Swagman]

19. use technology to protect yourself..just like they do

Governments are determined to investigate every single moment of our lives and snoop on us. This guy was clever having a camera in his car and more should do it.

The recent APEC demos in Sydney have produced remarkable results and embarrased the police badly-by one demonstrater being asigned to only photograph policeman who had illegally removed their identity badges. He produced over a hundred clear photos that identify police who had taken their badges off and finally exposed this common practise with politicians and police bosses no longer able to lie afterwards like they always do.

Get clever and don't give up your freedoms so easily..a cop haranging and innocent driver is a cop not doing his job.

[Nevernose]

24. In defense of the cop:

1. If the guy in question hadn't done anything wrong before, he probably wouldn't have had a video camera. We're not talking about a young black man, mind you, but an Anglo -- so racism wasn't an issue. White guys who don't break laws don't usually carry cameras with them whever they go.

2. A young guy (young guys do most of the random crimes, btw; most old men are in jail, dead, or have outgrown stupid shit like car theft) is driving apparently aimlessly, late at night, in a remote area where there are known to be unattended cars. Sounds like a perfectly good reason to ask some questions. That's why I pay taxes.

Okay, it's harder for me to go beyond that. The cop was wrong, both morally and legally. For instance, the last posted paragraph: "Oh, while you were coming towards me you were swerving back and forth within the roadway," Sergeant Kuehnlein said. "I might give you a ticket for that. You want me to come up with some more? When you turned in, you failed to use your turn signal, your right turn signal." For the police to pull you over, they have to do it for the first thing. They're not allowed to cite you for subsequent violations (unless you';re running from them).

Of course, while the cop undoubtably knew this, the suspect was probably not aware of the fact of the SCOTUS decision that the police are allowed to lie...

[Mojambo]

27. "White guys who don't break laws don't usually carry cameras with them whever they go."

They do, and probably should, when they've previously been assaulted by an off-duty police officer.

[cosmik debris]

28. What a crock of shit!

Profiling is not probable cause.

Carrying a camera is not criminal activity.

Practically everyone I know carries a camera in their cell phone. That argument is BOGUS!

[Postman]

30. Amazing how some rush to the defense of assholes like this cop.

You would have made a good German citizen in the 1930's

This cop is an asshole and should be fired.

[Felinity]

35. What the hell?

your point:

2. A young guy (young guys do most of the random crimes, btw; most old men are in jail, dead, or have outgrown stupid shit like car theft) is driving apparently aimlessly, late at night, in a remote area where there are known to be unattended cars. Sounds like a perfectly good reason to ask some questions. That's why I pay taxes.


!@!%@#$%%@$%#$%# and the horse you rode in on. So if you are young, and male, you do not have the right to:

Drive around "late at night". If memory serves, we're talking 2 am; I don't know where you live, but in Austin clubs don't even start to get busy until 10, and most close at 2, creating a lot of activity at that time. There are also many people who work nights, and get off between 2 and 6 am.

Drive around without a specific destination ("apparently aimlessly"--which by the way assumes a fact not in evidence, besides being one that is disproven by reading the entire link--he said he was meeting someone there)

Visit uncrowded, remote areas. Perhaps you could draw a map of authorized areas to help people identify them.

Be unaware of problems with "unattended cars" in specific parking lots.

There's so much wrong with what you said. I pay taxes to hopefully protect an individual's right to freedom, to travel wherever they see fit, whenever they like, as long as they mean no harm, and regardless of age, sex, race, or knowledge of local police problems.

I'll bet * would agree with you though.

[ronnie624]

36. You are mistaken on several counts,

but this statement has no foundation in reality:

For the police to pull you over, they have to do it for the first thing. They're not allowed to cite you for subsequent violations (unless you';re running from them).

The USA Patriot Act and many pieces of subsequent legislation allow the police to stop you on a whim.

The fool featured in the OP's item needed no pretext at all to arrest his intended victim. And with the elimination of the writ of habeas corpus by the Military Commissions Act, you no longer have a right to petition a court for a hearing. A suspect can now legally, 'rot in jail'.

The elimination of many of the freedoms and rights that were once guaranteed by the constitution, has not yet manifested itself to most, but I think the day is coming soon when it will.

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. The tape proves he is not driving aimlessly

and it is not against the law to drive into a deserted commuter lot.

I pay taxes for PROTECTION, not harassment.

[BlooInBloo]

25. Fucking cops.

[BlackVelvet04]

29. The officer should be fired. n/t

[MadMaddie]

39. You know what' s ironic about this thread...

All of you are upset because it's a white kid that got pulled over doing nothing..

I am a black in America....don't think for a minute I don't know what it's like to leave my house at 5:30 in the morning to have a cop pull me over for some bullshit.....happened two months ago $350.00 for a lawyer...or my dad in GA driving on a hwy where the speed limit is 70 and he is going 72 and gets a ticket...and everyone else who is white is going faster....

Why are all of you so surprised this is happening? Black America has endured years of this type of shit....but you are just shocked that it is now happening to innocent whites...(innocent until proven guilty)

And I will say once again I am not defending either side....

So don't think for a minute I am stupid or naive....

[Kingshakabobo]

40. Maybe you were just "antagonizing" the officer who pulled you over...

:eyes:

[Ino]

41. Eh?!

I'm always shocked (but less & less surprised) when it happens to anyone.

I used to work a late shift in an upscale neighborhood. I had a beat-up car. Three times I was stopped for no reason other than I pulled out of a parking garage at 2-4am. Sat there while they ran a check on my license plate (found not so much as a ticket). Then they crept up to my window with one hand on their gun. Asked a lot of questions: What was I doing in that garage? Where do I work? Do I have any proof? Where am I going?

The third time, when TWO cop cars ganged up on me with their lights going, I got tired of being made to feel like a criminal for no reason and lambasted the cop for stopping me. He told some bullshit lie about there having been some break-ins in that building (the bldg manager & my boss knew nothing about any break-ins). The truth was that my car didn't belong in that neighborhood, especially in the wee hours.

I'm white, and female. This happened in 1984.

While I don't discount that African-Americans are singled out unfairly, your claim that "All of you are upset because it's a white kid...you are just shocked that it is now happening to innocent whites" -- as if asshole cops are no reason for outrage in & of themselves -- has me scratching my head. I don't get your point. No one should be upset at cop assholery because blacks have endured it forever? No one should post an asshole cop getting caught on tape if the victim is white?

Whatever. Don't assume you know what I think.

[wicket]

43. POS cop