on February 4th 2020 39-year-old Towanda crra was leaving a store after purchasing groceries when she was suddenly approached by Officer Kevin Munger who was working off duty as store security a store employee had suspected her of theft prompting officer Munger to follow her without clear evidence he demanded to see her receip sparking understandable frustration from Miss crowl it is not your oh yes it is it is not your right yes it is do you want to sit in my car no I don't want to sit in your car and I'm not see your call your sergeant nor a a See Me Seal nothing then show me your receipt I will not show me your receipt I won't if you took it without paying for it all steal all want to do have I don't steal okay then show me your receipt I won't do that then show me your receipt I won't do that why I won't do that because do you realize you can go to jail for that oh I real if I stole it but I don't steal you're not cooperating I'm not cooperating because you ain't got no problem CA cuz they said something go watch the camera first ma'am I'll walk back in there with you and go watch the camera no I'm upset cuz I see day I don't have access to the camera so how they going to say I stole if they didn't see me still ma'am what is your name what's your name come now what's your name no that that I see this every day listen to me every day you think I want any trouble right now but do you know how many people don't walk in that stuff while you meing ma'am they simply asked if you had a receipt they didn't see you go through a register that's all why they go through all the register and ask the people if they see me ma'am I let's come on let's walk back in there where's your receipt come on let's walk back let's walk back in there bring your receipt let's walk back ince let's walk back let's walk back in there show me your receip no cuz that's no I'm not going to not let you go back in is that you receive from to it is but I'm not showing cuz I ain't got no I y'all don't can't make me show nothing I can no you actually I can and you're not giving me your ID so I can't prove that you didn't take anything so I don't know prove anyways why are we arguing about this because y'all profile black people every day like that everybody that shops in here is black everybody that shops in here is black no everybody ain't well most of them are they is I we can profile anybody I see I see y'all up here every day B people I don't bother anybody whoever can you just show me your receipt no I'm not going to do that cuz that makes absolutely no sense at all I'm not going to can I see your receipt mm no cuz they if they call if they sent you out here that that means they saw me still they didn't see you go through a reg so why not do that protocol is crowl was understandably upset at being accused of theft and saw it as racial profiling pointing out that officers in the area frequently targeted black residence she refused to show her receipt arguing that officer Munger had no legal authority to demand it instead she suggested reviewing the store CCTV footage to prove she had paid and even offered to go inside with him to check she later stated she feared handing over her receipt worried he might destroy it rather than escalating the situation verifying the footage would have been a straightforward and lawful way to resolve the issue without unnecessary confrontation to go look on the camera step out of the car step out of the car and come with me steing out no car then you're going to go to jail well then you going to have to take me to jail okay step out of the car I'm not stepping out no car okay you got kid you all these kids in here you left in here by yourself do you want me to push this further when you went in the store they they not little kids oh they are little kids and you left them all in the store and what are you going to do when you go to jail and they're all here so I call DCF to come get them all my mom will stay right around the carold okay so I don't have to call your mom to come get them I can call DCF what you they my sister kids they they'll call her to come get her children why don't you show me your receipt because public and everybody in there okay step out of the car I'm not stepping out of the car you have to step out of the car no you have to call your sergeant or your Lieutenant come on you're going you're going to go to jail no I'm not you're going to go to yes you are no I'm not give me your receipt I'm not give you my receipt no I'm not no I'm not you're going to jail I'm you're going to jail I'm not no I'm not you are going to jail no I'm not I'll tell you what I'll do no I'm not you're going to jail no I'm not call your mom M come on no I'm not you're going to go to jail I'm going to taser you I'm going to taser you right here right now I'm going to tase you right nowas me get out of the car me get out of the car get out of the car you're under arrest you're under arrest I'm under rest for what get out of the car I'm underr For What Turn Around call your mom turn around right now what I'm for turn around right now for not cooperating cooperating I didn't steal take you right now officer Munger confronted Miss crra solely based on a store employees claim that they hadn't seen her go through a register without verifying whether this was true this made the stop questionable as it lacked any real evidence Reasonable Suspicion requires specific facts not just speculation or a hunch yet officer Munger acted on the employees weak claim things escalated further when he forcibly pulled Miss crwl from her vehicle and placed her under arrest without clear justification get down on the ground get down on the ground right now get down on the ground put your hand behind your back right now right now give me your other hand right now lay on your face oh wow that's really nice thank you thank you ma'am give me your other hand give me your other hand right now I didn't steal nothing it is it's fine my dad work on the police department oh that's really nice I got go away go away keep recording recording ma'am yeah right keep recording thank you my number is stand up now you going to jail hey guys just stay there okay I'll be with you my purse you think I'm going go and steal some chip why oh cuz I'm black almost definitely can you call my family walk to the car stop doing that to me like walk to the car cooperate I am cooperating walk to the car can you call my family for me walk to the car it is thank you ma'am please put it on Facebook hey can you get out for me y'all so stupid I'm getting I guess I that's what you wanted that's all you wanted I guess so so I guess you gave me what I wanted yeah what's up yeah oh yeah hold on a second I didn't steal and you talking about to what what you holding me for just I it don't need to y'all are you serious that's what's wrong with y'all now you tightening my hand and I'm not even moving get my jacket out you doing the most you hear you here yeah you can set her in here just have a seat officer Munger completely disregarded Miss C 's Fourth Amendment rights which protect against unreasonable searches and seizures reaching into her vehicle and forcibly removing her without probable cause was a clear violation even if he had reasonable suspicion that alone isn't enough for an arrest it must escalate to probable cause which was absent in this case his actions were not only unlawful but also unprofessional as he was caught on camera insulting a bystander for recording and ordering her to leave further displaying unconstitutional behavior Can you go back over there for me and check on that car where she was in which car was it it's the uh it was a white SUV over there there's a bunch of kids in it thanks I'm recording right now she uh Anna told me that she walked by I saw her walk by with a bag I didn't see her to register so I go over there to her car just to check and say hey you got a a receipt I need see her receipt she refused to show me a receipt refused to show me her ID so I'm like listen I mean you know if you took something here you didn't pay for it they'll probably trespass you but I need to see your receipt she wouldn't show it to me and uh so so it just got ugly over there so I had to taser her and stuff she's going to go to jail I don't know if she paid for her stuff or not but hi get a phone number from her ask for a phone number something to get so they get a kid uh yeah I mean I can I can work on that should give my phone number so somebody can get and get a yeah I could work on that in a second are you going to be over there yeah I was going yeah for call somebody get okay I'll come over there in just a second okay but uh she's got to go to jail so unfortunately I got myself in the big mouse here for no reason all she had to do is show me a receipt she wouldn't do it she wouldn't give me her ID so here I am it's a mess's that other guy uh he works for us he's off duty he's got his badge with him so I just had him check on those kids I'm sorry Mike I got a water I got some here I need uh I need Anna's uh date of birth and stuff her information thanks H is 7936 7936 can you send me a supervisor another unit to Publix at 7628 103rd Street reference to a 1015 that I had a taser and also send me uh rescue you didn't have to Tas me you want to tase me you want to keep in my everything it's okaying God yeah you you should have cooperated you should have cooperated you do have to cooperate what's your first name not have to give my ID I don't have my receipt no I don't okay well that's that's why you're in the position you're in it is and I'm going to be out that's why you're in the position that you're in my uncle workb oh well that's that's the whole reason why you did what you did then it's fine it's fine with me too he is fine wonderful I didn't just profile me cuz I was black you seen me come through the let me step out Miss crowl was arrested for resisting an officer without violence but the charge was later dropped after officer Munger found her receipt proving her purchase she is suing Publix for $50,000 alleging trauma and job loss with her legal team arguing the company failed to train Off Duty Officers properly Publix denies responsibility stating Munger was not their employee his record includes 25 complaints since 2004 but the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office cleared him the lawsuit is still active with no further updates on July 15th 2018 23-year-old montra little and 21y old Jared Clinton were leaving a local park when they were stopped by Officer Kyle th of the de Mo Police Department in Iowa the interaction was captured by Body cam what's going on guys what's up how you doing is this your car well it's a rinse right now my car shot okay did you it break down yes sir got you you guys just came from Over the park right yeah we're just hanging out that's it well that's what is this your car I just told you my car is in the shop this is a wren okay how do you start it what do you mean I just put my foot on the brake and put it in drrive okay so it's your car though did they give you a fob or something my car officer did they give you a key fob or something or yes sir offic like what does it do does it you see this this let this I should let you know that officer the's question about starting the vehicle was a tactical probe if Mr little hesitated or seemed unfamiliar it could suggest theft while nervousness might indicate intoxication both providing Reasonable Suspicion for further investigation though Mr little remained composed the officer questioning led to him surrendering his keys cases like Florida V Bostic 1991 and United States V mendenhal 1980 highlight that police questioning is legal unless a reasonable person feels they must comply if officer thigh's actions implied coercion a court could rule that Mr Little's rights were violated why you okay do you have any weapons on you or in the car no okay can I be honest with you it smells like marijuana in the car and I can see Shake on the ground and your buddy's giv me the your buddy's giv me the idea that maybe he's got a gun you know what I mean like that's what I think how I don't know just the way I mean just the way you're holding yourself man like that's why I'm that's why we're nervous man that's it I mean if you're scared cuz you got a little bit of weed that'll be one thing no weed okay there's no shake on the floor don't have aun okay there's there's no shake on the floor hly okay okay and you don't have any weapons on you you said that is correct okay do you have your ID on you police often use the smell of marijuana as probable cause to search a vehicle without the driver's consent officer thigh quickly claims to smell marijuana notices Shake on the ground and suspects Mr Clinton has a gun all within 2 minutes before even asking for ID he admits the gun suspicion is just a hunch in United States V Ross 1982 the Supreme Court ruled that probable cause allows officers to search a vehicle without a warrant but it must be based on objective facts not just a hunch also an anonymous tip alone without independent evidence doesn't justify a stop and frisk if officer thighs lacked clear evidence Beyond his Instinct a court could find his search unconstitutional doing I live in the mo I go to work okay you a got no weapons on you go ahead and step out montre yep I just told you why three times you want me to recap again obviously look my hands is up yep your hands are up and I'm asking you to step out of the car I gave you my ID you gave me your ID go run it yep I don't want to I'm not walking away from this car off going to ask you why yep cuz I just told you step out of the car if you don't want to go to jail I would I would I would expect you to please listen I mean I I I told you on a cop face the car when you step out face the car when you step out face the car when you step out don't flex don't flex I don't know what you're doing man but you need to knock that off stop pulling on your arms what's going on dude where are you trying to what are you doing dude officer I'm not doing nothing to you okay well you're making me think something funny is going on man come on now you're not under arrest you're just you're just you're just like you're like pulling away like you're going to do something silly and I don't want that what nothing I W I'm not even I'm not I'm not even going to okay well you're not under arrest man we're just trying to figure out what's going on okay sure okay so slide over here I mean your heart is thumping dude like you're beating officer don't don't please don't don't what have a seat have a seat I want I think that your buddy has a gun so I need you to step in the car you think Budd has a gun he's acting funny step in the car please if you if you don't step in the car you're going to jail for sure okay that's step in the car step in the car listen listen I I don't I'm not I'm done listening I just told you I think that your buddy has a gun I'm KN it off can you spread your feet just a little bit all right come back and stand with me okay you're not going to run from area how old are you montre you supposed to be March 2 of 1995 you supposed to be drinking in the park there officer I don't officer that's just in there okay there was no gun there was no weapon to harm you officer we didn't do anything wrong we stopped at the stoplight we pulled over when you pulled over I did everything you asked me to officer you thought there was a weapon there's no weapon we wasn't doing anything wrong officer I'm not sure why you pulled me over at your rental everything is fine there's no break and tail light or nothing officer I did nothing wrong with you got for the night you might try call a cell phone thank you how's your day going officer I'm good brother that's good that's good man um if I take them handcuffs off you you going to can you dump out that bottle of alcohol for me oh I could do it anytime I is that good yeah of course it is good we St okay so here's the deal like you and I know I mean let's let's let's start over let's let's r with each other did I make anything up when I said the car smelled like marijuana yeah a little bit a little bit hold on hold on hold on because there's nobody car is there marijuana Shake on the floor of the car oh so that was cigarette Ash okay there's no you didn't find no marijuana I did I'm not charging with marijuana but here's here's what if if you want me to if you want me to be real with you like I want you to be real with me for a second like did I make that up you know what I mean did I did I just did I make it up I believe so officer okay so you want me to just write you the ticket for the stuff that I have to write you tickets for if you think that I'm lying like then we'll go to court and we'll we'll talk about it then okay or do you want to just be real with me and I'll be real with you right I I would like to pull out my alcoholic reactions officer you didn't find anything we wasn't doing anything officer so you're not going to admit that you maybe were around people smoking or something like that officer thev never publicly stated the reason for the Stop and based on the video there appears to be no valid just J ification for it the car a rental had no apparent registration or equipment issues and the open container was only discovered after the search not as the basis for the Stop simply leaving a park is not a crime and is not warrant a traffic stop in Delaware V prous 1979 the Supreme Court ruled that officers cannot stop a vehicle without Reasonable Suspicion of a law violation stops based solely on a hunt violate the Fourth Amendment if officer thighs lacked a clear reason for pulling over Mr little the stop may have been unconstitutional all right where the car go ahead and go grab it justy and then it won't make us okay usually when we see that with somebody sitting there like that like there's a gun right where you you know what I mean like I'm telling you like that's what happens okay that's the only reason that's the only reason that happened is cuz like you were just making it seem like something crazy is going on when it could have just been something little as that or like a bag or something like we jump automatically to what yeah I already know you have any questions have a great night all right thank you guys feel like I was missing something after failing to secure a confession officer thighs let Mr little and Mr Clinton go instructing them to dispose of the alcohol months later they filed a law suit with Iowa citizens for Community Improvement claiming the stop lacked reasonable suspicion and the search violated their rights in June 2019 the de Mo City Council settled for $75,000 with $25,000 each going to Litt and Clinton officer thees was removed from Patrol duty but not fired and the city kept the review findings confidential under Iowa's public records law on January 26th 20120 Melissa Hughes was pulled over by multiple Grand Rapids police officers hands on their holstered fire arms just minutes from home she was wearing a black lives matter sweatshirt honoring her cousin Darius Wimberly who was fatally shot by police in 2016 the encounter was captured on body cam pulling down the alley west of hello my name is Officer venberg Grand Police Department reason for the stop today I'm sorry can you roll your back windows down roll my back windows down yeah just so we can see um reason for the staff today is your license plates expired you have your driver okay do you have a driver's license proof of insurance they're all miners all three of them are minors all three of them are miners they're all minors all in my care okay if you have your proof of insurance no no no I'm I'm going to do it on Monday okay my registration if you have it yes where are you guys coming from today I was picking them up from pizza from Little Caesar and going right here to my house which is right there okay they all miners a question correct correct we're just asking for their information they're all Min no I don't have to give them y information y'all miners all y'all miners okay did you get his no that's my son okay and and and they both in my care so my two friends okay we're we're just trying to figure out who everybody is okay this is my son and his two friends that's it all right go all right back up with you in a minute the officers informed Miss Hughes that she was pulled over due to an expired license plate tag which legally Justified the stop however their focus has quickly shifted toward identifying the three miners in the vehicle despite them having no apparent connection to the violation Miss Hughes asserted that the miners were not obligated to provide identification or answer questions which is consistent with Michigan's passenger rights under State Law Officers May request identification or a search but without probable cause or Reasonable Suspicion they cannot force compliance additionally p court rulings in Michigan have deemed certain passenger searches unconstitutional in this situation the officers lacked any legal basis to demand the Minor's personal information as the fourth amendment protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures want to speak with police for at we've been following it since uh Eastern [Music] 394 a dark silver Chevy Malibu 2017 I believe it'll be unnown [Music] we got to give her opportunity to pick it up though hea 123 she's expired anchor out at this point we can yor she's expired ma'am could you roll your back windows down again for what just to make sure I can see back there a Nobody Got no weapons or okay why do I got to keep rolling my windows off like I said so I can see back there what I'm going to have you do is step out of the car right now why your driver's license is expired my driver's license expired yes it is I have till 10 days after' step out of the caret put your phone down step out of the car step out of the car why face forward for what put your hands on your head I told you your license is required so I'm get arrested put your hands on your head I was my birthday put put your hands on your head they're right there okay walk back with me for real we go on this side go where right over here trying to find a spot where there's not as much snow that'll be good for now hold on about press the Buton okay we get it off okay keep your left hand on your head okay as long as you're calm I'll be calm okay I don't have a problem keep keep your left hand on your head uhhuh I understand why I'm being put in cuff well I told you driver's license has expired I was taking care of it all on Monday I thought I had 10 days for the 31st I thought I did okay can you bring your left hand down for me my aunt just died yesterday so I was out of town all day at the hospital all day to day with my pan I'm sorry to hear that y I've never been put in cup a day in my life all right I'm going to double lock these so they don't tighten up on you okay all of this were expired for my license being expired yes oh I'm sorry I had a I said my an Friday I've been at the hospital all day today okay do you have anything illegal on your map no ma' no sir okay no I got my phone no I don't even have my phone in Michigan officers can order a driver out of a vehicle during a traffic stop if they have Reasonable Suspicion or probable cause that the driver poses a threat is involved in criminal activity or if it's necessary for officer safety however Michigan State Police Lieutenant Mike shaww has clarified that there is no specific law requiring people to exit their vehicles instead a 1977 US Supreme Court ruling in Pennsylvania V Mims allows officers to order drivers out of the stop is lawful and there are safety concerns in Miss hughes's case there was no clear justification for removing her from the vehicle as she was not under arrest at the time despite this the officers proceeded with their investigation searched her for weapons and placed her in a patrol vehicle okay I don't have nothing else on me sir I don't have no other pockets okay all I'm use the back of my hand where it's appropriate I don't even have my bra and I just ran to pick up the boys okay they walked all the way to Burton in eastern to pick up a pizza I said Mom can you come get us it's cold that's it well we're not lying it's a little chilly out here down Pi up think about my same thing back of the hand work appro okay it's going to be a little slick this way so be careful I'm going to hang on to you we're going to go back this way have you yeah want miss me your offense I got you can I have my phone oh I got I can't call somebody I don't need to be bail out of jail am I going to jail we'll talk about that in a minute okay need to know if I call my mom well we haven't decided that yet okay I mean I got my daughter in the house okay just give us a minute yeah all right Melissa come on step on out I'll help you once you get part way y yeah all right I'm going to do your right hand first when I do just take it and put it on top of your head okay same thing with the hand all right you can relax okay still stuck all right so I got your driver's license and your registration back so this is actually going to be two citations so there's one that's a civil infraction for the expired registration plate and then there's the Mis meanor which is for the expired license you have 10 days to take care of each of them I went ahead and circled the phone number there go ahead and call that on any business day so if you want to call that Monday morning after I've taken care of it or before that that's to take care of it so call that number and they'll tell you the terms and what you need to do to take care of it okay okay all right did you have any other questions for me okay and then still make sure you get those up to date okay yep I will morning all right your uh is on Hood you Miss Hughes was cited for an expired tag and license but instead of a routine stop officers removed her from the vehicle handcuffed her searched her and placed her in a patrol car raising concerns about racial bias in June 2020 the Michigan Department of Civil Rights filed a discrimination charge against against the Grand Rapids Police Department over 3 years later in July 2023 the city settled for $45,000 while denying wrongdoing as part of the settlement Miss Hughes withdrew her complaint leading to the case's dismissal on August 12th 2018 Louisville resident Anthony Parker senior was traveling with his 8-year-old son and girlfriend Demetria furan when he was stopped by Louisville Metro Police Officers for a allegedly failing to use his turn signal however surveillance video later showed that Parker was using his turn signal correctly Mr Parker immediately pulled over and police officers approached from both [Music] sides what's up man how much how y'all doing today leaving church how just leaving church awesome man awesome not you didn't use your turn signal he was already over I got I got to do it like that for it's broke I got you that's the reason why man the only [Music] reason do I yeah just cuz your turn are there any weapons or drugs in the car anything like that I just left church my son so there's no guns in the car any knives no no no narcotics like awesome man your hands are shaking like a leaf brother even your faces I just like people to be honest and straight up with me right do you have your driver's license no sir my license okay I paid the reinstatement license Okay aw I don't have [Music] no is this your vehicle or somebody else myf okay is this your son or that's my that's my Jun yeah we just literally left church I just gave that guy some chain damn working now man do your favor put your hands on steering for me appreciate it before I have you exit vehicle you have any weapons on you any guns awesome man mainly concerned about chur hey I'm going to get him out I'm get Dad out and we're going go to the back and then we'll get you out here in a second okay all right man when you ask the vle keep your hands visible all times all right don't put your hands in your pockets I'm not up yeah I'll get them so not KN you get in trouble you might have a check real quick go ahead anything think the car gets in trouble nothing check appreciate we get youment than spr field in more for sprad your feet oh yes sir thank Sor we're just going to come back to the car after falsely claiming Mr Parker failed to use a turn signal an officer removed him from the vehicle and asked for consent to search him Mr Parker agreed and the officer thoroughly patted him down and searched his pockets the officer then asked for permission to search the vehicle but Mr Parker's response was unclear he either consented or simply stated there was nothing illegal inside even if he had given consent any evidence found could be inadmissible in court due to the fruit of the poisonous tree Doctrine which prevents the use of evidence obtained through illegal stops or searches since body cam footage confirmed that Mr Parker had properly used his turn signal the officers had no valid reason to stop him step on out real quick got your ID on you you just leave there live there it's fine Step on out let's watch this gr come back here for me pass you got anything on you okay I spin around real quick I'm ride down your quick okay who's the gentleman in the car with you okay all right what's your last name fman last name is Ferman first name fman d t r i a what's your uh middle initi birthday9 your social Lon Lane Department okay we do this is how we conduct all our stops we do so different hey big guy hey I'm going have you hop out with Dad and everybody okay hang out right next to him just hang out with [Applause] despite the uncertainty of Mr Parker's consent the officer proceeded to search the entire vehicle including Miss Fan's purse without obtaining her explicit permission as the vehicle owner courts have generally ruled that a driver can consent to a vehicle search even if they don't own it however personal belongings like purses often require separate consent from their owner in this case the officer saw Miss Forman with her purse and instructed her to leave it in the car before searching it a court could likely rule that her purse was unlawfully searched even if Mr Parker's consent was valid for the vehicle itself [Music] yeah give some a couple more minutes and be out of here man I got to double push my a lot of the money CR right man I got to double push the hazard like sometimes it'll work you know you hit the hit it like normal but then sometimes I got to double push the hazard for the clicker to even come in so that's probably what happened like I didn't even know I didn't you know I used it I didn't know it didn't come I got you you're good yeah sweet all right man I'm not going to harp on the o and it like that you guys are good to go have a good day after a thorough search found nothing illegal officers released Mr Parker Miss fan and Parker's son without issuing a citation on August 7th 2019 Parker and furan filed a federal lawsuit against the officers police chief and Ninth mobile division leader alleging intimidation and deceptive Tac ICS during traffic stops the lawsuit claimed officers boxed in vehicles surrounded suspects made baseless accusations and used confusing language to gain consent for searches on September 9th 2021 the city settled for $75,000 without admitting wrongdoing also barring Parker Furman and their lawyers from publicly criticizing the police or city government on November 24th 2022 Braxton Smith a military veteran left a gas station after buying cigarettes he briefly spoke with an acquaintance in the parking lot noticing a patrol vehicle circling he didn't think much of it after pulling out Smith saw the patrol car tailing him with lights and Sirens activated he slowed down to indicate he wasn't evading but continued for 300 yards to find a safe place to pull over as the officer approached Smith began recording the stop on his phone while the officer's body cam captured the [Music] interaction off out window put your hands out the window news there have you seen under Cadillac Williams ever since they fired Brian harson they're playing hard for [Music] Cadillac moving what's up huh right there man you keep your freaking hands out the window and shut your mouth I'll [Applause] figure I am moving what's up it huh where's my there man don't wor about it you keep your freaking hands out the window and shut your mouth I'll figure it out got something about or whatever yeah we can sech it okay yeah we're good did you ask him about medical marijuana car he said no right he said no that yeah he said what's him I think he was trying to figure out if 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 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 pi what's a safe spot for me to stop you never thought that once huh 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 when lights come let 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 okay L I apologize 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 from the start Mr Smith was met with aggressive treatment during what was clearly a high-risk traffic stop ordered to turn off his car and put his hands out the window he was quickly grabbed silenced and pulled from the vehicle Peppers forcefully restrained Smith searched him and asked about a medical marijuana permit though marijuana had nothing to do with the stop he never explained the actual reason for pulling Smith over as Smith sat in the patrol vehicle Peppers read him his Miranda rights confirming that he was now officially detained and under questioning what's going on what's up how's you going what is going on come on you going to B me I'm CH I'm chilling what's up I'm chilling what's up I am chilling I'm Co that I'm doing that look at me I'm doing that what's up come on man he resisting y'all Wilding come on y'all Wilding I ain't doing [ __ ] now come on F what I did you didn't want to stop what you mean I got put up in the same spot okay doing how y'all doing you have a medical marijuana card sir no no it's want VOA put no how's it going how's it going J you SM okay put your foot on the ground you smoke H or not what you mean what's that all right sounds good what's what's what's up with this eat keep your feet out is that something he has or is that you that sound I don't know what was that I I heard itn'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 397 I got everything out of his pockets all right give me your shoe some well right now you might be going to jail for what I'll talk to you about that in a second okay going to jail I got a l of D li no CS I'm sure you don't [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] yeah yeah all right you're not under your rest okay but after have read your right so that I can let you talk to me and ask you questions okay you have the right to remain silent anything you say you can be 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 an attorney one it be appointed for you at no cost for question begins and if you answer questions now you can stop at any time of cons attorney you understand all that so what makes this spot safer for you than the where I tried to stop you I mean I Hit the Lights some I a want to pull in middle of the road that's dangerous for y'all I just want to put in a well lit area get y a lot of traffic I ain't 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 a think it require authorization I'm trying to be S just like y'all I ain't posing a threat I se y'all you're 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 do you see all those do 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 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 lights 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 ain't do none of that come on I'm not posing the citizen shut your mouth don't get all [ __ ] loud with me they ain't going to change nothing hey 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 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 you think you think you're smarter than every what you just did to me you just snatched me out my car I roll the on down and gave my license my registration you ain't reading me no right you snatch me out the car you damn right I did why did I do that why I don't know I slightest idea how about because run my name for 300 yards I had my lights did you hear how many different sirs did I turn on listen I'm a black man I'm asking you terrified of 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 when you said pull I pulled over you said throw the keys out of the car I complied no when I said pull over was back there when I turned my license irus on get in the car okay D you know tomorrow get in the car shut your mouth it's clear that officer Peppers had no respect for Mr Smith and treated him as if he weren't deserving of basic courtesy given the hostility racial profiling seems like a reasonable concern Peppers claimed his aggression was due to Smith not pulling over immediately but this doesn't justify the stop itself the actual reason remains unknown at this stage the stop had become completely unlawful yet officers searched Smith's car without consent and peppers threatened him with jail using officer safety as an excuse for his actions do you recognize who he was talking to up there H so I saw him outside I I saw talking to m 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 you know his other names was he smoking weed huh well someone I was wondering if someone was smoking weed around your car because 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 or 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 the doubt and go ahead and say that why does the car smell like weed where you spoke of weed at the uh store got from was 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 push down like that no no we opened it to see if you could and you could so I have P up I'll call and do a uh Nationwide yeah you have be Nationwide cuz he ain't got much here no that weird was up there talking to all the D 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 whenever I finally put like lights in his back window where' you buy the firearm uh pawn shop on on L Boulevard yeah pawn shop you do the paperwork yeah it might be in the car okay when 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 BR 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 if I within my legal limit that's what I understand because I'm wondering if you're a prohibited possessor just prohibited from purchasing or let me if I prohibited know what it means I know what it means right WR 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 legal limit me if I can purchase a fire on I can ride with it in my vehicle right if it's in I don't that's why I'm asking that's the law I study the FL 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 yes right and you purchased it but you but when you did a background check for the cwl they said no well I I I don't understand where these questions going like is is is all right 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 aiming 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 when you continue to drive while the police are sounding their sirens and beeping their horns at you for about 300 yards 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 been 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 that's not a it's not a smart thing to do man it's just it's just doesn't you know it doesn't drive the safety thing look if we're in like a dark Street and there ain't no 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 Horn 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 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 have 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 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 all 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 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 attempted to frame his actions as a favor by not arresting Mr Smith for fleeing but in reality he likely knew that any arrest would be legally indefensive ible given that no Reasonable Suspicion existed to justify the stop any charges stemming from it would be unconstitutional under the fourth amendment's protection against unreasonable seizures this scenario aligns with Florida V Royer 1983 where the Supreme Court ruled that detaining a person without Reasonable Suspicion or probable cause beyond the time necessary to address the initial purpose of the stop violates the Fourth Amendment Mr Smith was on lawfully detained for over 30 minutes which could be considered a deao arrest without probable cause furthermore officer Pepper's excuse about his system not working and the sudden need to respond to another call suggests protal policing where officers prolong detentions without legal justification Rodriguez V United States 2015 reinforced that officers cannot extend a traffic stop Beyond its original purpose without additional Reasonable Suspicion face that way so I can take these [Applause] [Applause] off e all right you can put your shoes [Applause] on all right you come up here to the front [Applause] 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 you out of ticket tonight okay Mr Smith filed a formal complaint against the officers involved as of now the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has only confirmed that they are reviewing the incident administratively stating that the outcome will be made public once the review is complete Mr Smith has mentioned that he is considering legal action but no updates have been provided regarding the status of the complaint or any potential lawsuit