veterans have made many sacrifices for this country and protected Us by putting their lives on the line but sometimes as they continue their broken lives in the hope of a quiet rest Misfortune strikes and they encounter corrupt police officers today we will look at three incidents between veterans and corrupt police officers on October 13th 2021 officer Sierra Brooks of the Gastonia Police Department responded to a 911 call about someone allegedly using dogs to solicit money she found disabled veteran Joshua rorer and his service dog sunshine on a road median the interaction was recorded on body camera I just saw you take money from that car yeah you saw me take money but you didn't see me ask all right let me get your ID okay you can't ask for my ID giving me money okay get your dog okay yes I can it's called pain handling but it's not pain handling if I didn't ask for it is it ID you can give me your ID or you can go to jail for RDO which one you want to do what's the ID for that because I'm about to write you a citation for what for panhandling that's not panhandling yes it is no it's not if you come up to me and give me money you walked out to the car because they stopped did you see them stop give me your ID you saw the whole situation give me your ID or you're going to jail for RDO which is resist the layup stru okay you're going to write a disabled veteran that's living in the woods a ticket yes because I asked you not to do it and you did I didn't do it you here packing my stuff up I sit there and watch you you watch me walk up the sidewalk thir City I'm out with that that subject like you literally watch me walk up the sidewalk stop give me your ID you're going to write me a ticket yes yes I didn't commit a crime you violate a city no I didn't there's no city ordinance that says somebody can't give me money cuz I traffic no I didn't they did they did they obstructed traffic the one in the car give me your ID sir I'm not giving you my ID because I didn't break not doing it no Channel but I probably need a sergeant out here he's refusing to give me this now now you see we got a sergeant and multiple units on their way out here I can almost guarantee you it's it's not going to go the way you want it to go I want to talk to the supervisor he's on his way out here he's on his way out here requested all right sir well just out with him I told him he couldn't be on the median yeah that's why I was packing my stuff up out to a car to get money yeah I saw him at the Circle K the other day uh with a car yeah yeah so now he's refusing to give me his ID because I'm going to write him she's trying to rank me a ticket because I was walking up this packing up she told me to pack up and I my and somebody stopped and gave me money you saw it yesterday he saw it too people give me money without me asking I don't because because because you're first of all I mean it it it can be inferred okay because that's the way the law works can be inferred so if it appears that you're violating ordinance that's how that works right but so so so let me tell you cuz cuz you're not a lawyer you can get one but I can tell you how the law Works you're in the median right you're waving at people in the Medan after after I told you down like this I sit there and observe you and that lady is a witness down there yeah and I walked up there I packed like you told I just want you to know you can go to jail for this ordinance if you if you listen if you if you continue argue with officers you're going to go to jail and and we're going we're and we and we are and we are going to call animal control for your dog you got it that's that okay so so no you canot you cannot be you cannot you cannot be here that's fine I told her I was leaving I inter you asking for money because like this and you walk out to the car dude you saw it I was standing here talking now you don't give me your you wouldn't get call animal for what you're weing ticket for all day dude I didn't commit this crime but you're also in the median after I've told you not to be here before officer Maurice Taylor arrived on the scene and officers alleged that Mr rora had violated a city ordinance by panhandling Mr rora argued that he had not committed a crime he was merely accepting money without asking for it sections 5 and 17 of the Gastonia ordinances prohibit soliciting money in a manner that creates fear or coerces obedience while Mr roer's actions do not fit this description the relevant section Within chapter six prohibits accepting donations from Vehicles while standing in the street or median in Reed V town of Gilbert the Supreme Court held that content-based laws targeting specific speech are unconstitutional unless narrowly tailored to serve compelling State interests given this precedent it is likely that a court would find the Gastonia ordinances is unconstitutional and inapplicable to Mr roor have I not said that and that's why I was vacating because she asked me to leave and I was literally walking up here I didn't ask anybody for money okay that's right I'm taking this to trial you can that's fine you can it's going to go to trial anyway you don't even have to ask oh it's going to trial you're wasting taxpayer dollars okay I pay my taxes too there you go no we your state a not your VA this isn't valid it's not valid I need your state a not your VA a I'm going ask you one more time it's not even valid give me your turn around you're being arrested dud are you kidding me turn around turn around see this turn somebody help me hey what are you doing what are you doing M what are you doing call your dog off call your dog off call your dog off call your dog off call your dog off sir call your dog off call your dog off he just bet me he bet me call your dog off to Charlie call your dog off call your dog off call your dog off we need we need Charlie City we need more units we need more units what are you doing this somebody help me record turn around record D turn sir help me turn sir turn around turn around why are you doing this after Officer Taylor claimed that Sunshine had bitten him he pointed his taser at the service dog which ran away the fourth Circuit Court of Appeals which has jurisdiction in North Carolina held that dogs are protected as personal property under the Fourth Amendment the unauthorized interference with the dog must be reasonable to comply with the Fourth Amendment in Ray Fon the court found that a police officer's shooting of a dog was not reasonable because the dog's presence did not pose a threat to life in that case we can see that Sunshine was standing a few feet away from Officer Taylor was off leash but was not acting aggressively or biting anyone it was stated that Sunshine was trained to assist Mr roarer and was not a violent dog in this case sunshine did not display any threatening behavior such as growling or attack and appeared to be trying to comfort Mr roor Charlie said he T the it bit my foot and I knew it was going to bite you so 10 for it didn't break my boot but it bit my boot help me what are you doing negative relax and give me your hand why are you doing this I haven't done [Music] anything his dog record his dog me I get you but but when we are out here trying to get something from him and it won't happen I have to do what I have to do the dog bit me okay I did it cuz you shot him with a taser please help me why are youall doing this to me wa what did they ask you for they asked me for my ID and then he grabbed me and tled I was in the proc handed again to you please because been here for months his dog never okay we're doing what we have they tased my dog they tased it please record this it's really sad how the dog please record this why are yall doing this to me I get it but it doesn't change the fact that the dog bit me okay can y'all just back up please did you see the dog bite his foot dude he tased my dog of course like seriously why are yall doing this to okay but we have to do our job we have to do our job here's the thing y'all didn't see the whole story so just back up you didn't either harassing me nice right now really be nice support y support well you did not get you not you did not see the whole story do anything please help me somebody record this thank you I need your information somebody please help me they're trying to kid at me did he see the dog bite I don't know what they do with Sunshine where's my dog Sunshine Ray I need my dog she's my medical device where's my dog where's my dog where's my dog where's my dog where's my dog man what are you doing with my dog where's my dog give me a secondy I get but but when we when we're trying to detain the owner of course the dog's going and I asked him to call his dog off the dog got on the dog got on the hood of the car and the dog began barking the dog IMM the dog initially barked and B bit my boot but it didn't break my boot I don't I didn't want I did not want this dog to bite my partner you understand no I understand okay we asked for his ID he refused us to give us his ID ma'am I need your I need your help I'm not sure if she's mad because he's here all the time and they don't like they don't like the fact that we had to do what we had to do Officer Taylor claimed that Mr rora was arrested for refusing to show his ID despite Mr rora providing his Federal veteran identification card according to North Carolina law resisting an officer is a misdemeanor if someone willfully obstructs or delays an officer in their duties Mr rora provided a federal veteran ID which is a valid form of identification but does not include an address the officers might have needed his address for the citation but Mr roor explained that his state ID was expired and had incorrect information in this context refusing to provide the state ID might not be considered willful resistance especially since he did provide a valid federal ID Mr rorer has a strong wrong defense against resisting charges as he provided a valid ID and believed he was acting within his rights please help me I'll taste good yeah it didn't break but everybody's out blow everybody's out here his dog initially bit me you didn't break my running away and he shot her while she was running away I didn't shoot her I tased her yes he did he tased her for no my never hurt anybody so he was out here we've we told him I'm just going to give you a background on the whole story we told I came out here last week right he was in the median I told him to remove from the median because he is begging for money he says I'm just waving I'm not doing anything I was like okay well you at least you have to get off the median okay you can't be in the median he's like basically he's like well I I can be on the sidewalk he went over to the sidewalk I let that be okay today Brooks was out here with him she watched him she saw take money from people getting money from people you can articulate that is solicitor money because he's standing in the media and after I told him last week not to do the same thing uh I guess he refused to give Brooks his ID he refused to give Brooks his ID so he gave us his VA ID and I said no not your VA ID I need your your license okay I understand the VA ID doesn't have certain information on and I'm also I'm also I'm also a better in myself I I get it okay so um he he's he starts getting angry and what not he was like this one is not violent this one is not violent take my VA ID I was like no sir I need your state ey day that you have and I go and he starts hollering and keeps like shoving in my face saying this is not violent and I try to get it from him he doesn't give it to me cuz North Carolina cuz we're trying to identify him so I go to put him in handcuffs he starts resisting saying Help Help screaming help his dog starts looking worried and whatnot he runs over he runs over to my foot and nips it like he like he nips it my foot doesn't n but he actually bites my boot but it doesn't break my boot at that point I'm telling him to call off his dog okay he yeah at that point yeah that's exactly where it was I told him to call off his dog the dog jumps up on the hood and I'm thinking it's going to bite Brooks at this point as we're doing this because the dog is obviously worried it's trying it's going to try to protect his owner it already B me so at this point once the dog looked like it's about to get close to Brooks I tased it because that was the logical thing to do so my partner it ran away that's a logical thing to do instead of shooting the dog you you get what I'm saying and so I can protect my partner cuz I'm not about to let my partner get bit by a dog a German sheerer how big is dog uh it's about this big and it's a very well- trained dog I asked him multiple times to call his dog off I was like sir call your dog off call your dog off after bit me yeah after it bit me I said call your dog off call your dog off I did not want it to bite Brooks cuz we cuz we were yeah came up and this can all be seen on camera that's the ID he tried to give us and I told him I was like hey can I get your state ID and he kept anything else good in the back did y ever get a is that okay this is the one he just being very argumentative like very tense say again what's the call the call was him so I spoke to him and then I went off to speak to the wh you have you told him today get off the medium I told I told him a few days ago okay and it's on camera I can find it it was on the other shift I you you told I've told him before to get off the med looking back at him and he walks from there down to here with his hands like this and then goes and gets money from okay a car now the lady that was is that the lady that wanted talk no he wanted a sergeant oh he did okay she's witness all seen see it all they didn't they didn't see anything the all they saw was the aftermath for me tasing the dog and everybody say the dog bit me and then I could feel the dog comeing between yeah I I did not want the dog to bite my partner while we're trying to detain a man and we don't know what he has on him of course that's that's that's that yeah and you seen the dog go which way it ran down this way somewhere let me get his info and yeah my body I'm I'm good but uh you miss no it's I'll I'll talk to you later good after his arrest Mr rorer was charged with soliciting arms soliciting from a highway and resisting officers on July 6th 2022 all charges were dismissed in a plea agreement and he plad guilty to driving with a revoked license resulting in 2 years of probation on June 30th 2023 Mr rorer filed a lawsuit against Officer Taylor officer Brook and the city of Gastonia alleging violations of his rights and defamation the lawsuit claims the city harassed and defamed him on social media the case is pending while in custody Sunshine escaped and was killed by a vehicle Mr rorer claimed her death was due to being tased following her death Mr rorer attempted suicide and began intensive therapy officer Brooks was suspended for 3 days and Officer Taylor resigned in August 2022 the district attorney announced no charges against the officers Mr rorer hopes his lawsuit will bring Justice and accountability highlighting concerns about the officer's treatment of him in sunshine before we move on to the next incident don't forget to write down what you think about what happened to Mr rora and sunshine on May 1st 2021 Navy veteran Mr James was sitting outside a closed bar waiting for an Uber to take home safely after having a few drinks a responsible decision however an officer from the wheat rdge Police Department driving by in his Patrol vehicle found Mr James suspicious the officer approached him and immediately demanded Mr James's ID the entire encounter was captured on the officer's body cam how you doing what's going on waai Uber waiting for your Uber yeah you have an idea I can take a look at me no you don't I don't I'm not doing anything wrong well you're sitting in front of a closed bar and I can see Uber my friend let me see your ID no okay we can do this one in two ways sir we can do this I'm being respectful to you I'm sitting here waiting on my Uber I am doing nothing WR show me on your phone that your Uber's coming you know what I want to break out my camera right now go ahead mine's running I'm start filming you mine's running as well I am not doing anything wrong okay well I'm doing everything right not drinking and driving and why are you why are you messing with me I'm not messing with you sir said you're sitting in front of a closed bar you are messing with a navy veteran that is waiting on an Uber sir I'm going to ask you one more time done nothing wrong can I see your ID no you can't you're drunk in public no I'm not drunk and public give me your ID I'm giving you a lawful order you're not getting anything dude okay stand up I am not doing anything stand up stand up stand up stand up what are you doing the officer immediately violated Mr James's rights Mr James had done nothing wrong yet the officer demanded his ID calling it a lawful order Colorado law allows officers to stop someone they reasonably suspect of a crime but Mr James was simply sitting outside a bar which is not a crime the officer had no Reasonable Suspicion to detain him making this and unlawful detention despite this the officer escalated the situation by restraining and handcuffing Mr James when he started recording the incident on his phone I'm sitting here put your hands put your other hand behind your back set your phone down sir and put your hand behind your back I'm sitting here doing nothing waiting on neber SE protected custody huh all asked for was to see your Uber and you want to argue and you're intoxicated I don't think I don't think you're making good choices sir I'm waiting on my Uber which is the best choice sir all I was trying to do was very the worst choice would be driving sir all I was trying to do was verify your Uber was that right or wrong well if you unlock me I'll show you the Uber well that's what I how many times I asked for that sir huh sir yes sir if I have I done anything illegal well you're intoxicated in public I'm sitting on a waiting on my U at a closed business in a high crime area waiting on my so sir sir I have no idea who you are or what you're doing and it's my job to find out so all I did was wanted to have a conversation with you and you won't give me any information at all and it's obvious that you're intoxicated right that is why I am waiting on Uber right and how many times did I ask you to see your Uber I tell you my body camera all well unlock me if there that big a deal and I'll show you and all you want to do all you want to do is fil me and argue with me I have done nothing wrong I'm sitting here minding my own business sir I'm just I'm just doing my job Mr James was placed in handcuffs for being intoxicated in public while he was clearly under the influence the officer did not have the right to detain him for public intoxication according to Colorado revised Statute local governments cannot adopt laws or rules that criminalized drinking being intoxicated or having an alcohol use disorder as an offense leading to criminal or civil penalties this means it is illegal to punish someone solely for being intoxicated if no other crime is committed therefore the officer's Detention of Mr James was unlawful you are fing with a navy veteran sir step over here just sitting here minding my own business step over here sir you can't even walk I I was I'm sitting here minding my own business even walk sir what are you guys doing you can't even walk you're intoxicated where you're a danger yourself no I'm sitting here minding my own business what are you guys doing I'm waiting on my Uber you're going to go to detox you can't even walk oh my dude I me and let me know if I can walk or not well it's pretty obvious that you can't you guys are are you serious I have an Uber coming I have an Uber coming double locked those are not double locked guys seriously stop is stuck you in the car I have an Uber coming please stop and just let me go home I have an Uber coming I have I was sitting in the chair not bothering anybody sir I was trying to be reasonable with you oh my it's obv I am a Navy veteran okay thank you for your service and I'm just sitting there minding my own business right at a closed business waiting on my Uber and all I asked all I asked was for you to verify it all I asked you was show me it on your phone and I'm good with that okay but you refused to do that so you couldn't Pro that are mean really you can do this to a Navy veteran sir I'm sitting on a a seat in the car Mr James was not obligated to prove to the officer that he had booked an Uber or explain why he was sitting on a bench the officer had no reason to question him and by demanding information the officer violated Mr james' Fourth Amendment right which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures without probable cause since the officer had no probable cause it is clear that Mr James's rights were being violated oh my God man are you guys serious I've done nothing I have no idea who he is do you have any weapons on you sir no I don't have any weapons on me just hold on before you step in I have no weapons on me I mean I can't believe you guys are doing this I seriously can't do a Navy veteran are you really doing this to a n I'll grab his [Applause] phone I was trying to be reasonable Cod for he'll be going to detox here in a few minutes the officer turned off his body cam after unlawfully seizing Mr James's phone 3 minutes later the cam was back on and the officers muted their discussion they then asked Mr James to show proof of his Uber booking backpedaling on their unconstitutional actions one officer stated he would let Mr James go if the Uber was confirmed indicating they realized the detention was baseless and were trying to release him while appearing procedural you may also have noticed that Mr James has often mentioned that he is a veteran we can attribute this to his being drunk are you [ __ ] serious James James listen to me didn't drink and drive made the right choice and you guys come up and just [ __ ] shake me down James Navy veteran James combat medic James talk to me I mean I'm just sitting there waiting on my Uber my Uber is is there anybody sober that can come get you you're not listening you're not sir I called an Uber well you can't call Uber was 2 minutes away you can't you You Shook Me Down James we've been here for 10 minutes and they're not here you can't call Uber okay that's not the way that's not not the way Uber Works he's got your phone he's got your phone right there look it up whether I calling the Uber or not you can't call them on the phone did you do it through an app or did you I do the Uber app all right so how do I get into your phone 6969 if they're coming man I'll release you to them but if not 69 but if they're not you're not leaving us much Uber listen fellas a green I am a former combat medic James thank you for your service how do you uh I'm not going to lie to you how do I go 6969 Uber where do I search that I don't have this go the Uber out just scroll through till you find your out listen fellas you should not be doing this to a combat medic veteran I was sitting there mining my own business is he coming J I respect you guys James I respect your job James listen to me for a minute I appreciate that it says it's 5 minutes away if he's here in 5 minutes we will release you to that Uber okay the officer acted more reasonably once Mr James proved he was waiting for an Uber scheduled to arrive in 5 minutes although the officer said he would let Mr James go the continued detainment remained illegal and unnecessary okay please let me out of here tell me I didn't do when when the Uber gets here we'll do that okay this is James James listen James James James James listen to me all you had to do was show me this in the first place listen okay and I would have waited with you listen here's the problem okay you're not you're not hearing me sir no I'm hearing you brother yeah I mean yeah but I but I'm a former combat medic that's thanks for your service and I got a little I felt little intimidated man like I wasn't respected sorry you felt that way James yeah James that wasn't my intention never do it to you guys we were concerned for your welfare that's why we contacted you we didn't want you walking off into the street thank you and now that we know that there's a sober driver we're okay with releasing you all right you understand that I'm a former combat Navy medic yeah I understand that and thank you for your service and you just okay and made the right choice we appreciate that sir and I appreciate that really all right all right that was you know the ubber com yeah now like I said I have no problem releasing you to Uber man at all but here's the thing are you guys bedroom but here's the thing is is a lot of people lie to the cops and as far as I know I I'm contacting you drunk which is it's fine you're drunk that's not a big deal but if you wander out in this street and get hit I understand then it's on me man I understand okay it's on me and I don't I don't want you to get hit by a car I understand I it I understand so hang tight as soon as Uber gets here dude I have no problem I have no problem releasing you to the Uber did you give me a favor not cut me before because this shit's uncomfortable brother I've broken laws get I get you you going to be cooperative absolutely I'm good with it if you are I'm good with that man okay just hey as long as you and I agree that that you're going to be cool right the offic admitted there was no issue with Mr James being drunk and falsely claimed he was ensuring his safety Mr James was finally uncuffed and the officer showed exaggerated kindness after violating his rights I want to have one more thing to say brother no you can talk all you want first I make about you what years yeah seriously I haven't been in handcuff in about 35 years wait for me so that I can uncuff you or if you just want to step out if that's easier that's pretty T easier right that I understand you have a job to do oh Terry one of you no not me like I said Army for me whole family is arm me you what oh family's arm okay I was the only I'm the only Navy all right I got one more anyway just turn spaceart from me so we can get that other one off man it's easier if he spins you around so you're not anyway I didn't listen I didn't mean to be offensive I get you man was doing the right thing I was sitting and I and I commend you for that I I really do I commend you for that you're good so hey you something give it pull up that Uber app Ira veteran okay thanks for your service man pull up that app on your phone again so we can see how far that Uber driver is it's up here it said 5 minutes when we looked at it so let's see where they're at do you have a good time tonight just minding my own business no I just asked if you had a good time I didn't ask what you're doing I just an average time just an average time yeah want to xat in view how many minutes cool I'm good with that man I just wanted to just because it said 5 minutes and they must be I didn't mean to be offensive man you wer offensive my own business you're not offensive but you have to understand man the wrong thing to do is drive right I agreed so let me let me tell you wor thing to do let me tell I won't do let me tell you a quick story um few years back I had somebody over here that was stabbed just like that so I wouldn't be doing my job man if I didn't check to make sure you're okay like I said if you didn't have Uber coming and you walk out into 44th and get hit by a drunk driver or somebody's not paying attention then that's on me man and I'm not and you're a veteran dude I'm not going to I don't want that on my I don't want I don't want that on my conscious maybe your thing got a little out of hand D I should there was nothing out of hand no maybe you shot I I didn't understand what was going on I understand what I thought was I'm sitting on a CH in a bench not driving as a veteran because you know what when I was in the military I was a crazy you know drinking all time but I thought you know I'm sitting here minding my own business and you know waiting on my Uber and I'm sorry dude if I offended you no you dude you didn't offend me see the thing is you're like an hour past last call so well like it once again choices life is about choices I agree man and the choice is don't drink and drive agree and that's a smart choice Smart Choice smart choice and I that's a choice I make all the time good that's a good choice to make man when I was in the military in my 20s I didn't make those those choices I didn't care anyway I appreciate you know what I'm sorry I said no apology necessary man seriously no apology necessary but I didn't lie to you you did not lie to me and I appreciate that I told you the Uber was coming but you don't have to apologize to me either there's nothing to be sorry for man all right that's the first time I've been in handcuffs in about 26 years hey let's get hey reminds me I don't want to be in them [Laughter] anymore are you Uber yeah my gu your guy's over here is he okay yeah no he's just he's sitting in front of a closed bar uhhuh punched over a little bit he's had a little bit to drink so okay he's good okay he's good he just had a good time he's not he's not creating any problems but as a police officer I drive by and see somebody hunched over on a bench outside of a closed bar and that's a clue all right man here you go dude hey they're going to get you home brother never lying to you nope you didn't I appreciate that they're going to get you y That's James thanks man hey thank you guys appreciate it thanks soon after the incident Mr James allegedly filed a formal complaint with the wheat rdge Police Department their response claimed that state statutes allowed them to detain anyone suspected of a crime or intoxicated to transport them to a detox center Mr James was interviewed stating he believed in the Bill of Rights and felt there was no justification for showing his ID since he wasn't committing a crime he affirmed he wouldn't do anything differently and wouldn't hand over his ID without cause as of now Mr James is exploring hiring an attorney to pursue a case of wrongful detainment both officers involved remain on duty without consequences on November 24th 2022 military veteran Braxton Smith bought cigarettes at a gas station and met a man in the parking lot he noticed a patrol vehicle circling but ignored it as he drove away the patrol vehicle followed with lights and sirens on Mr Smith slowed down drove 300 yards to find a safe spot and began recording the stop on his phone while the officer's body cam recorded we walk through a of involved off put your hands out the window under Cadillac Williams ever since they fired Brian harson they're playing hard for Cadillac I moving what's up huh reach right there man just reach right there keep your freaking hands out the window and shut your mouth I'll [Applause] fig I a moving what's up it huh where man just about it you keep your freaking hands out the window and shut your mouth I'll figure it out heever yeah Mr Smith was treated aggressively during a high-risk traffic stop ordered to switch off his car and put his hands out the window officer Justin Peppers of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office grabbed Mr Smith's arms and told him to shut up when he questioned what was happening officer Peppers has a history of aggressive behavior in 2021 he ticketed a couple three times for dark tints leading them to call 911 twice and accuse him of stalking and harassment they obtained a restraining order against him which was later dissolved officer Peppers violently pulled Mr Smith from his vehicle and threw him to the ground before handcuffing him what's going on what's up how's going what is going on come on you going to bck me I'm I'm TR what's up I'm chilling what's up I am chilling of course doing that I'm doing that look at me I'm doing that what's up come on man he resisting yall Wilding come on y'all Wilding I ain't doing [ __ ] now come on wild what I did you want to stop what you mean I got put up in the safe spot okay how y'all doing how y'all doing you have a medical marijuana card sir no no it's want put no how's it going how's it going J you still okay put your foot on the ground you smoke hemp or not what's you mean what's that all right sounds good what's the what's what's up with this what he keep your feet out is that something he has or was that you that sound I don't know what was up I heard it wasn't sound thought it was coming from right here you have an alarm or something on you huh you have an alarm or something on you no 1097 I got everything out his pockets all right give me your shoe some well right now we might be going to jail for what I'll talk to you about that in a second okay going to jail I got a lot of D LIC no CS I'm sure you don't [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] yeah yeah all right you're not under arrest okay but I have to read your rights so that I can let you talk to me and ask you questions okay you have the right to remain silent anything you say can be used against you in court you have the right to talk to an attorney before we ask you questions then have an attorney present during questioning if you can't afford attorney when will be appointed for you at no cost for question begins and if you answer questions now you can stop at any time consult an attorney you understand all that uh officer Peppers forcefully held Mr Smith on the ground and searched him inquiring about a medical marijuana permit despite no relevance to the traffic stop the officer has not provided a reason for the Stop additionally officer Peppers appeared to be searching for a pretext to use against Mr Smith while Mr Smith was seated in the patrol vehicle officer Peppers read him his Miranda rights officially indicating that he was detained and subject to questioning in a typical traffic Detention officers must have reasonable suspicion that a crime is being or has been committed it appears that officer Peppers had no Reasonable Suspicion when he pulled Mr Smith over and was simply trying to justify the stop this likely violated Mr Smith's Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures especially since he was thoroughly searched after being cuffed despite this officer Peppers began questioning Mr Smith about irrelevant matters that did not pertain to any legitimate investigation so what makes this spot safer for you than the where I tried to stop you I mean y Hit the Lights some I didn't want to pull in the middle of the road that's dangerous for y'all I want to pull in a well lit area you get y lot of traic I stupid so do you think that making a safe spot for us is is uh is something that you're authorized to do I mean I don't I ain't think it require authorization I'm trying to be say just like y'all I ain't posing a threat I seen y wa sir you trying to be safe you're trying to find a safe spot for you or for me for both of us no you don't get to do that okay that's understandable you can make a claim that you're trying to make a safe spot for you is that what you're doing yeah all right why is this spot safer than that spot it's it's a Well lit area I mean it's not in the middle of the road you see all those you see all those uh street lights down there I understand what you're saying so why is this spot more well lit than down there I mean what was so detrimental between me stopping right there and stopping right here I well actually I'd like to ask you that why did you keep driving I have no I just told you that I just told you that why would there a lot of moving moving around in that car you just looked in it there's a lot of moving around whenever whenever I have my life on I roll the windows down put my driver license my registration out the window that's the [ __ ] y supposed to ask when y first pull somebody over right y'all a do none of that come on I'm not posing citizen all shut your mouth don't get all [ __ ] loud with me they ain't going to change nothing I'm just talking I'm just talking I'm having a conversation with you right no you're trying to talk over me and you're trying to set up a defense for yourself because what you did is called fail to obey it's a fleeing charge and it's a felony 3 okay if you'd like to go to jail on a felony charge I'm good with it I'm I'm not all right well then quit trying to talk your way out of this and just talk to me and actually tell the truth because I'm not stupid okay I know you're trying to play me okay so why didn't you stop I just told you why I didn't stop you think you're smarter than everyone else what you just did to me snatched me out my car I rode the one and gave my license my registration you ain't read me no wrri you snatched me out the car damn right I did why did I do that why I don't know I have the slightest idea how about because run my name for 300 yards I had my lights did you hear how many different signers did I turn on I'm a black man ask terrified to the police Mr black man I'm asking you a question how many times did how many different Sirens did I turn on and how many times did I lay on my horn I have the SL when you said pull over I pulled over you said throw the keys out the car I complied no when I said pull over was back there when I turn my license irus on get in the car okay Dam you know tomorrow get in the car shut your mouth 7 car officer Peppers showed clear disdain for Mr Smith suggesting racial profiling he claimed his aggression was due to Mr Smith not pulling over immediately but this doesn't justify the stop or explain the chase the traffic stop was unlawful and Mr Smith was illegally detained despite this officers searched Mr Smith's car without consent and officer Peppers threatened him with jail citing personal safety you got something about the hemp or whatever yeah we can search it okay yeah we're did you ask him about medical marijuana car he said no right he said no on that yeah he said what's him I think he was trying to figure out he should say yes or no to question D I thought he had like a clip right here on his belt line for like like looking like a inside the waistband holster and I thought maybe that's it was that this [Applause] sir when the lights go on and the sirens go on and you hear it all over like I know you heard the different Sirens the different tones the horn all that are indications that hey you probably shouldn't be picking what's the safe spot for me to stop you never thought that once huh a long time huh I haven't put over I haven't been put over this level of aggression in a long time well you see it as aggression I see it as officer safety lights come me find a wellit never had a problem okay so you're probably going to go to jail because what you're saying doesn't make any sense there's no more lights here there's probably less lights here than there are on the street you don't have to apologize I'm just asking you what you think man that's understand what's your F what's your last name sir what's your last name what's your last name sir so you're not going to give it to me at this point officer Peppers was clearly trying to find a reason to arrest Mr Smith accusing him of smoking marijuana in the car due to an alleged odor why does the car smell like weed where you spoke a weed at the uh [Applause] store he reach around in the back there I mean the seat go down he could have easily have reached over pulled the seat down and put it where it is look at this [ __ ] was the seat pushed down like that no no we opened it to see if you could and you could so I I'll call and do a uh Nationwide yeah be Nationwide cuz he ain't got much here no that weird was up there talking to all the he was definitely moving around and I saw his head ducking down a little bit I thought that if anything it'd be under on the passenger side floorboard or the driver side floorboard yeah just cuz I but that was only whenever I finally put like lights in his back window where' you buy the firearm uh pawn shop on on Le Boulevard store yeah pawn shop you do the paperwork yeah it might be in the car okay when did you get it car it's been within a year okay so you did all the paperwork the background check and everything yeah so why would they how come you just buy a gun but you can't have a cwl hey so what's the process of buying a gun right you go you go through the background I've bought guns my whole life I'm a veteran I'm served 10 years in a so why wouldn't you be able to get cwo is what I'm trying to get to you but why why is that an issue about within my legal limit that's what I understand because I'm wondering if you're a prohibited possessor just prohibited from purchasing or me if I you don't need to know what it means I know what it means right or wrong I know what it means you don't need to know what it means I'm just trying to ask questions to determine which category you fall into why if I'm within my legal limit why does any of that matter limit if I can purchase a firearm I can ride with it in my vehicle right if it's in the trunk that's why ask That's the Law I studied the floor the gun law That's the Law I that's the law I abide by great great do you mind if I do you mind if I ask questions to verify that of course of course so so you did the background check right and you purchased it but you but when you did a background check for the cwl they said no what I I I don't understand where these questions going like is is is all right as seen in the footage officers discovered a legal firearm in Mr Smith's trunk which was registered under his name despite the firearm being lawful officer Peppers continued to question Mr Smith about it this persistent questioning despite the legality of the situation further highlighted officer Pepper's malicious intent and determination to find any reason to incriminate Mr Smith the officer's actions suggest a clear bias and an attempt to escalate the situation unnecessarily did you recognize who he was talking to up there huh so I saw him outside I I talking with a blue sweatshirt on you know who it was okay who are you talking to up at the store there dude do you know his name huh slim what's his other names so anyone know other names was he smoking weed huh well someone I was wondering if someone was smoking weed around your car cuz it smells like weed in there what why does your voice go like this like just chill dude that sounds like you're trying to like hide something then they're trying to be defensive about something I don't know man it's just weird all right so here's what we're going to do okay uh I'm not going to take you to jail for felony right a fleeing charge um even though you are eligible and it would not be hard to explain why I believe that but I'm going to give you benefit of Doubt and go ahead and say that officer Peppers founded unusual that an innocent man was defending himself after failing to find a reason to violate Mr Smith rights the officers gave up officer Peppers then told Mr Smith he wouldn't charge him with fleeing and try to justify his actions uh I think you truly just were severely mistaken about the law okay so well that's not safe for anybody it's not safe for you it's definitely not safe for me okay because when people do what you did they're usually stuffing a gun under the seat pulling a gun out from under their seat I mean I'm glad that you can laugh about it but my wife and kids don't laugh about it my wife and kids don't laugh about it okay I'm glad you can laugh about it all right but the truth of the matter is is that that's what I deal with okay so when you're driving down the road trying to be cute thinking that you're smart really what you're doing is just aing the situation up so we could have just I could have walked up to your car and said hey I stopped you because your T windshield's tinted your your front windows are too dark this is the reason for the Stop can I have your license please thank you very much we could have done all that but when you continue to drive while the police are sounding their sirens and beeping their horns at you for about 300 yard that is far too long for you to be reasonably trying to get to a safe place okay it's just as lit back there as it is here all right so I want to change your mental process about that right now because you can't do that you're you're going to wind yourself up into a felony arrest by doing what you did you say you never even stopped right you never stopped and and been aggressively stopped right all right so I'm guessing that means that you haven't done this before okay so when you're in a bad part of town yeah yeah so you just drive as long as you want to and the police don't say nothing I don't think it is man I agree I I don't think that is the case all right so I'll give it to you this time but uh I'll be honest with you man like it's not a it's not a it's not a smart thing to do man it's just it just doesn't you know it doesn't drive the safety thing look if we're in like a dark Street and they in't street lights or whatever okay if a unmarked car is pulling you over on some untraveled road all right and you want to get somewhere where there's a marked unit or you know where there's a traffic okay I get it but when there's like three police cars with lights and Sirens s you know what I mean and horns honking at you I mean that kind of means thing I should stop now it doesn't mean laugh at the police while we're trying to get you out of the vehicle like I said I don't know what you just pulled out from under the seat or something I got you but I definitely don't play like that you know what I mean so that's why I said that's why I you had keep your hands out the car I don't want you taking it takes half a second for you to grab a gun and shoot it takes me on a good day 1.8 seconds to grab my gun and shoot so that means I can get shot about 3 three or four times before I even get my gun out the holster right so these are the kind of odds that I got to deal with man and that's why what you think is aggressive right we didn't hit you we didn't bam you all right we let you go to the ground on your own right but it is what it is man like if you were intending to do me harm I can't give you that option okay so here's what I'm going to do I'm going to give you one fix it ticket you got two windows that are too dark your front windows are 20 all your windows are 20% that makes the front windows too dark and you got a windshield that's tinted okay yeah all right thanks all right so you got two windows and a windshield I'm going to give you one fix it ticket you understand what that means officer Peppers pretended to give Mr Smith a Break by not taking him to jail for fleeing knowing he had no reason for the stop after uncuffing Mr Smith Peppers claimed his system wasn't working and he had to respond to a call showing Mr Smith had done nothing wrong and was unlawfully detained for over 30 minutes face that way so I can take these off for [Applause] all right you can put your shoes on [Applause] all right you come up here to the [Applause] front all right here's the deal so my traffic program is messed up so I can't ride a ticket right now and we have gunshots down the road that I'm going to go respond to so so those two reasons are getting out of ticket tonight okay Mr Smith commented that the officers used excessive force causing him severe pain and requiring hospital treatment following this Mr Smith filed a formal complaint against the officers the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office acknowledged the complaint and stated that the incident is under administrative review with the outcome to be made public although Mr Smith says he is considering legal action there is no information about this it is always best to seek legal help to deal with this and similar police corruption but sometimes in the face of high legal fees there is nothing we can do when time passes and the case is forgotten so if you have experienced a similar incident be sure to request body camera footage from the relevant department and share it on your social media accounts if you want more people to hear about your incident you can contact us at the email address in the channel description stay safe and take care