in general the people that corrupt cops most enjoy dealing with are citizens who do not know their rights because they can level whatever accusations they want against them and exploit their vulnerabilities sometimes however these corrupt cops are confronted by lawyers perhaps their least favorite profession so what happens when 200 IQ lawyers destroy corrupt cops on January 8th 2024 law student Joel Martinez was working with a locksmith to access his vehicle after losing his keys at a junkyard in Anthony Texas a deputy from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office arrived on the scene to respond to a call and the encounter was captured on the depuy's body camera hello V noes how you doing brother doing good all right right I lost the keys and the junkyard over there okay so I called them to come and get the to come open the gate no the key the the car the car is the one that lost the keys oh like you went into the property and you dropped the keys yeah the I was in there doing you know like regular junk start looking for my parts uh when I was leaving is when I found out I didn't have my keys they let me go in look for them over the 30 Acres of cars they have okay they didn't find them so they just grabbed the tractor and mooved move the car outside so I can call them blocksmith that's yeah cuz we got a call with a gentleman with your description that's why on the property were you the only one on there yeah I was here the car was closed so I couldn't get out so let me understand this this car is yours I just bought it you really bought it okay but they closed the gate behind you or what yeah they just move the car here and they Clos okay what's your last name brother uh just my I'm sorry uh I don't want to get any I didn't any information I'll just give you my first Ino well I need your info man cuz I'm talking to you brother cuz you're the person that they called on so I'm not going to give my information right now okay why not just I'm just asking you because you're the person they called on I I need to find out who you are and you're telling me one thing so I got to call the property manager and ask them if they were the ones that allowed you on the property yeah that's that's the investigation right yeah yeah so I need your name brother you could just call the the property man and and you have an idea I do you mind if I see it I do okay why is that brother I I'm not legally provided to give you the full name I'll just just leave it at the last name bro since I'm investigating what's going on in this property and you're the one that matches the description I need to know who I'm talking to now if if you want to take this further you want to complain you want to whatever if you fail to ID yourself I'm asking you lawfully to see who you are if you want to impair my my my investigation that's fine that's on you okay but I don't think you want to take it to that extent brother for giving me your name and date of birth okay so I'm going to warn you now I'm going to warn you now brother you don't give me your ID or your full name I'm going to arrest you for failer to ID okay this is I'm investigating brother that's all I'm doing okay okay okay all I need is your name and date of birth brother that's it I'm not asking you I'm not and I'm a loost student here too so I'm I'm not asking you for blood s I'm not investigating calls are not are not reasonable articulable suspicion to suspect crime under Florida versus JL under the but I'm not here to argue with you yeah I'm not here to argue I'm going to defend my rights I'm ask ask and it's not impeding your investigation cuz it's not a physical or it doesn't or it doesn't my you my ID you you're a law school you're a law student now you're making it bigger than it is because all ask for name and date of birth D you have to identify yourself man you're making Texas Texas is more you got name you're making this bigger than it is okay we go on our way man all I have is Martinez okay my name is not going to help you in your investigation first of all yeah but I made contact with you brother only contact is not enough Reasonable Suspicion for you to seize my identification you're not being placed on arrest or anything brother okay I've investigating okay okay ask ask for my identification or I'm asking you for name and date of birth that's all I'm asking for ask asking right that's it brother I'll don't answer questions this what's going to happen is dude I'm going to place you under arrest for failure ID okay and that's going to be on you not me brother you already said that it's going to be under arrest I will be under arrest if I don't give you my go so I'll give you my no no no put your hands on the car you already failed to identify yourself okay give me your left give me your right arm you got you want to play games brother I'm I'm here being nice and you don't want to give me your name and date a purse and then all this just for a car bro that's it after Mr Martinez refused to provide his full name and date of birth the deputy placed him under arrest under Texas law a person is only required to provide their name address or date of birth if they are lawfully arrested since Mr Martinez was not under arrest at the time of the request the arrest was likely unjustified furthermore the law also states that interference with public duties must involve more than just speech so simply refusing to provide information or engaging in verbal disagreement would not typically qualify as interference based on these factors it's likely the deputy did not have probable cause to arrest Mr Martinez for any crime so it yeah say he just purchased it no no you're staying right there cuz you're going to my unit all right going to take a step in there there first time on the back of the car you see a lawsuit BR and you how to do you see when we get to the station you see when you get to the station that was in his wallet yeah impound it yeah impound the vehicle it's his so he can tell this guy to take off he doesn't need a be all right Mr Martinez before we go to the station I'm going to read you your rights okay with these rights in mind you wish to talk to me no I don't answer questions okay perfect I'm might to take him to the to the station okay hey uh what's up hold on searching your did he have keys on him no there's no keys supposedly he he was telling me that he lost them inside he just bought this car from inside he was in there looking for parts and he dropped the keys in there so he's waiting he was waiting for locksmith to start the car so um I need to call the owner to see if it if it's true so what do you want to do you want to impound it or what this car yeah yeah yeah deputies searched Mr Martinez's vehicle and planned to impound it while the Supreme Court has allowed warrantless inventory searches of vehicles being lawfully impounded to protect property and the police there are several reasons why this search could be illegal first since the arrest of Mr Martinez likely lacked probable cause the impoundment of the vehicle would also be unlawful making the search invalid Additionally the deputies began searching before confirming the vehicle would be impounded which further undermines the justification finally since Mr Martinez was not near the vehicle during the Sur and there was no reason to believe it contained evidence related to the arrest it is unlikely the search would meet legal exceptions this means the search of Mr Martinez's vehicle likely violated the Fourth Amendment hi sir so I'm the supervisor here I was just made aware of what happened um so I don't think he qualifies for any crime okay doesn't qualify for Crime I'm going go ahead and release it of course um I I want that number it did not constitute a crime look what what he did talk over here oh the lights working uh my belongings let me go get yeah like I said I just got here yeah and I'll was just brief of the incident I'm trying to get all the facts of what happened yeah what happened L to through what happen Okay so as s in the junkyard you seen how big it is I lost my in part yeah lost them couldn't find them they gave me a chance it was like they close at 5: it was like 4:30 I was like please let me I find going they looked and they picked me up on a truck and said hey the alarms are going to activate automatically you need to get out what about your car cuz it was parked inside the property so the owner or one of the employees gave me three choices like okay or we can get a tractor or one of the forklifts to move your car right outside and like if you can move my car right outside so I call the lock me it would be fine the locks me got there we did everything right and then I just see a patrol like whatever I get down it's like hey like oh we got a call and you're that you were inside the property and then they say okay what's your name what he's like what's your last name martinus he's like okay what's your first name like I'm not going to give it right now he's like okay he's like why not but I'm not going to give you my name out cuz I'm not legally required to give it to you right now I'm a law student I let him know too and MSU criminal justice major Anonymous call or a call is not enough Reasonable articulable Suspicion to articulate a crime because ra is only based on the facts known to the officer right you're asking if you're asking what's your name I just say I don't answer questions but if you demand me my ID give me your ID or I'm going to arrest you or give me your ID I'm going to arrest you I that's enough that's all I need I can get that on the phone and be like okay that's enough show it to my attorney that's enough for litigation he said you threat me with the rest I I'll give you my my wallet right I'll give you my ID right now like no turn around push me right through the car boom put your phone down set it up on the windshield put your phone down grab me type me up he arrests me makes fun of my studies makes fun of everything he's like okay you think it's funny now when we were over there too I told them call your supervisor you don't need a supervisor just turn around and put your hands I this all this could have been saved if you would have called you they all have searched my car without without consent as far as searching it I understand that the deputy made a mistake mm from but when it's a when it's an unlawful arrest that makes an unlawful search it's an unlawful was this this whole thing was unlawful the moment he put his hands on me that was unlaw be this whole situation became unlawful do that mistake that's going to be addressed of course well where's the deputy you said he was going to be here he's here but I want to meet with you first okay well I gave you my side I would like to hear the deputy side right here okay if that's fine fine um I'll Forge your car there's your property I have your stuff right here your phone your W your airpods yeah you hand over yeah thank you yeah I have I have the videos here I have I believe you I'm not I don't as far as us my understanding someone called MH and said that there was suspicious activity m i get it it's not a crime it's not but that's enough reason to detain someone not it's enough to make contact when you IL legally detaining someone that's already a cease of someone's person because you temporarily are ceasing that person on your cuz if you tell me I'm detained I can't walk off right but if someone calls and say oh I saw this guy that looks like like me right now a jumping offense that is not that's enough for you to say hey you're matching a description where were you that's that's a consensual encounter you don't you don't go and say hey you're detained because we suspect you of trashing because suspicion is based on the facts known to the officer not to the not not to the that's enough for what that's enough for so the detention was off for you saying the detention was the F ID in the arrest was not the supervisor claims that while Mr Martinez's arrest was illegal his initial detention might have been Justified though the arrest likely violated the Fourth Amendment due to a lack of probable cause it's unclear if the deputies had Reasonable Suspicion based on the 911 call courts would assess factors like The caller's credibility the tips specifics and whether officers could verify the information without knowing more details about the call it's uncertain if the detention was lawful this whole thing became unlawful cuz he first off he never said that I was detained so as far as I'm concerned I could have walked off cuz if you're just asking or it's a consensual encounter I can make it UNC consensual and just walk away what are you looking for uh I'm looking for your story now and then I'll tell you what I'm after it I I'll let you know what's going to happen Okay let me with him and then I'll be back okay his story is basically your story pretty much okay let's put it this way if he comes here and apologizes to me I won't litigate this whole thing it's up to you since I'm obligated to investigate any type of complaints um I don't think it was best but if you want to go that rout we can definitely that give me one second yes so have anything to say to me no didn't I tell you that what you were doing was unlawful did you believe me no it's not that I didn't believe okay did you did you get the supervisor when I asked you to no you said I didn't need one no I said I never said it's on your body camera it's on my phone don't lie you asked for supervisor Bo what did I tell you you said you don't need one you don't and I'm in the wrong I really am I'm not going to lie to you brother okay you are in the wrong and I told you you were in the wrong and I told you you were going and I told you all this and you thought it was funny and I never thought it was funny no laugh because you unlawfully arrested him it wasn't a mistake he broke the law it's not a mistake that's going to get for you that request your dash cam in your car everything and that's going to go straight to my attorney and you lost your qualified immunity right now so it's get out control um you said something different to me before take off I'll take you complete uh do you have the complain for I can fill out no I have to fill out myself uh so you take you your car as far as the lock me I'm actually getting picked up here you want to get picked up here or do you want I don't I don't I was working there was a lock me there helping me get a key for my car cuz I lost mine in the junkard so like dark car is in Mobile right now I can't move it that's another you need him well I really don't get after obtaining and sharing the body camera footage of his arrest on his YouTube channel Mr Mar marz's complaint results remain unknown although he expressed intentions to file a lawsuit during the incident there have been no updates regarding any legal action taken by Mr Martinez at this time on February 26th 2020 Sergeant Becker from the Wilmington Police Department with assistance from New Hanover County sheriff's deputies initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle after observing a man leaving a location associated with drug activity the driver Jesse brgh an attorney and part-time Uber driver explained he was simply providing an Uber service and had no connection to his passenger during the stop the passenger was asked to exit the vehicle and Mr brgh began recording the interaction on his phone so I'm driving Uber and uh my passenger is getting arrested hey B turn that off okay no I'll keep recording thank you it's my right don't record me you got me I I will look you're a police officer on duty I can record you and if you come to this side of the vehicle I can keep recording you turn it off I can keep recording you turn it off jail for recording you I'm sitting in my car holding my phone record what what is the law what are you what are you resting me for I'm sitting here in my car I'm just recording in case anything happens I'm surrounded by five police officers you're being a jerk I'm scared right now I'm not being a jerk I want to I'm recording it in case anything happens well you better hope we don't find something in your car okay they're not searching my car cuz going to search car you're not searching my car Sergeant Becker instructed Jesse brgh to stop recording the traffic stop unaware that brigh a practicing attorney knew his rights in North Carolina and under federal law individuals have a First Amendment right to record police officers performing their duties in public Becker's attempt to prevent brigh from recording rep ing not only violated this right but also raised concerns about law enforcement's adherence to standards expected of public officials officers are obligated to respect and protect citizens constitutional rights r on this way please bring the canines I don't care man like I know my rights I hope so I know I know what the law is I know the law I'm an attorney so I would hope I know the law and Uber driver and here man U you want my Barco put shoes on guess they're bringing the canines Che sir can you tell me what this new law is that I'm not allowed to record I'm sorry he he said that there's a law I'm not allowed to record the police I just wanted to know what that new law is you said you were attorning correct I am I've never heard of this law that you're not allowed to record the police anymore it must be brand new okay well they just recently passed it so like super recently seems like a strange law I man I I showed them my way bill I really am just driving Uber for some extra money I don't know where these people are going to and from are these his probably they're not mine I have nothing in my clock there's no drugs there's no alcohol I didn't say you did okay well the other officer told me he's taking me to jail so did I say that no your friend said that okay my friend you mean the sergeant the sergeant your friend somebody okay yours are his probably his nothing is that's in here is mine that's sitting right there Sergeant Becker informed Jesse brigh of his intention to search the vehicle despite brigh clearly stating that he did not consent under the fourth amendment brigh is protected against unlawful searches and seizures which means a search cannot be conducted without his consent probable cause or a warrant the Fourth Amendment ensures the right of individuals to be secure from unreasonable searches unless just ified by specific legal grounds Becker's attempt to search without meeting these requirements disregards Brit's constitutional protections and undermines public trust in law enforcement especially when such actions exploit people's potential lack of legal knowledge I never know where I'm taking my passengers man they just type in an address I drive them to there you don't mind me asking where'd you pick him up from 404 Thrasher drove him over to here he told me he's picking up a paycheck and I'm driving him back yeah he said he works as a dog groomer and that's his manager that pays him every week that he's going to pick it up from him next thing I know I surrounded by police are you from the area here you live here in wion yeah I live here I work at the courthouse work at Courthouse yeah Mr Right yes how long you been an Uber driver Mr St Pierre a year and a half two years maybe that's is have you been stopped a lot it's probably why you you've been stopped cuz you're an Uber driver right cuz there's a lot of history on the vehicle on this vehicle there's sister yeah not that I know of okay all right well here's your license we're going to wait for uh K9 because I don't know if he might have dumped something under the seat and you don't want us to look so we're just going to have K9 come out and smell if they do an indication if not then you'll be on your way okay sir okay I mean if he threw something under the seat it still has nothing to do with me like okay but it's in your I'm not saying it has anything to do with you sir I I've never said that did I no I I feel like something's gonna be under the car and you're gonna say I'm the driver it's my vehicle I'm responsible negative sir I've never said that to you okay okay can can you understand my frustration I'm just at work I should I absolutely do your registration just hold on a minute okay thanks man all right can I look under my seat pardon me can I look under my seat to see if he threw anything under there right now okay yeah what what's your what's your address on uh what's your address here is it on your registration um yeah 4521 y stoks all right cool all right make sure you get your uh license change um so I'm maintaining two active addresses I get paid out to no I work at the courthouse here okay but I get paychecks sent to Raleigh so I have to maintain a Raleigh what courtroom you work in you work in 317 317 or 200 I've seen you there Court I mean I've been in that courtroom for like around three years now so yeah yeah yeah okay why you look familiar to me yeah you just dress different usually in a suit yeah yeah yeah okay um give make sure you get that changed if you're going to stay in this area though okay as the video ends a K9 unit arrives and Jesse bright questions the officers about the dog signals for detecting narcotics but they refuse to provide details despite the dog showing no signs of detecting drugs Sergeant Becker searches Mr Bright's vehicle and conducts a body search both of which yield nothing illegal Mr bride claims his rights were violated when he was told to stop recording and his vehicle was searched without consent Sheriff McMahon confirmed the officers were wrong about the legality of recording encouraging citizens to exercise this right following an internal investigation Sergeant Becker was demoted but reinstated the following year before retiring on February 23rd 2017 after a court hearing about a protection order Lloyd Edwards gave two of his three cell phones to his attorney Victor Revel while leaving the courthouse with co-counsel Megan Garcia you I'm from the Sheriff's Office do you have any other weapons on your person at this time that I didn't know about R sa no sir I do in the car okay what do you have in the automobile small pist okay you vehicle is also part of this circuit okay so I'm going have to ask you you have the keys to your automobile I need the keys to your automobile right now let me pat you down make sure you don't have any other weapon just for your safety and Ours [Applause] [Music] right Mr Edwards appeared in court over a protection order from his wife who claimed he abused her and their daughter she testified that his cell phones contained proof prompting the prosecution to seek a search warrant Mr Edward's attorney Victor Revel stated the phones had no abuse evidence but instead supported his client's innocence showing consensual messages between mister and Mrs Edwards Revel had warned Mr Edwards that the prosecution might want the phones which which were handed to the attorneys and placed in Megan Garcia's briefcase before leaving the courthouse all right you the warrants that you all have are for his person that's correct and for his vehicle that's correct so he is given the phone that's on his person okay I have video of him handing the phone to you you handing the phone to her it's in the satel right now yeah you all do have that but that is not when you that was not on his person so you are not well I think we'll go the other route to get that Mr Revel explained that the warrant only allowed a search of Mr Edward's person and vehicle not the phones as they were not in his possession the deputies had no right to seize them after Mr Revel refused to comply Deputy Ashworth contacted the District Attorney's office for advice all right you just got a we're standing here and we we have it on video that he handed his um cell phone to his attorney uh one and they handed it to another and it's in the satel that is right here well are we being detained at this moment in time they're not denying it we having a video detain you until we determine the next course B give me just a minute what I have this person and vehicle I'm going to turn this off don't know what we just done [Music] okay um okay we either need the phone out of the Satchel or we will have to detain you and give SE warrant to give the phone so you're going to well okay uh well we're not going to give you his we're not going to give you anything on our person that you don't have a a right to so if you detain a you know you got there's you you have you have to have you know C there's certain constitutional safeguards to do that but you're going to detain us and hey we're not going to run so and you all are telling us we are being detained is that right time right now you are being detained they okay you both are under arrest for obstructing government operation obstructing government operation that's correct work this is definitely an unlawful but we're under arrest we're under arrest Mr Revel is correct in asserting that the arrest is unlawful the deputies were using an irrelevant search warrant and charging him and Miss Garcia Under the relevant Alabama Code which defines obstruction as using intimidation physical force or interference to obstruct law enforcement neither Mr Revel nor Miss Garcia did anything forceful or intimidating they simply refused to comply with unlawful orders they did nothing to prevent the deputies from seizing the phones if the deputies believed the warrant allowed [Music] it you would around we don't have no weapon on your of course not okay make sure we have it on video we have not we have not broken the law so if you're arresting us I'm arrest for I'm being arrested for a stru government operation that's correct let me take this right here uh don't mind that way I want to arrest two lawyers for for this car you sure you do you Ser to the law I am Ser to the LA okay and this is and you and what's who are who are you I'm Sue Ashworth sir R and you and you're arresting up under her orders yes sir okay depy Ry I want I want to make sure that you know from our position our position was that this search warrant this uh this warrant was given to him after he he gave us some some things about to use and hit the fence and so we did not could do anything to keep you all from doing you all's job now if you all want to I'm out here and go at the we not we not we're not preventing you from search for on car from the moment he's entered the courthouse he's been under surveillance okay for the reasons of this cir all right I'm sitting here and watch you and him and her minutes you looked up you matter of fact you did look up at the camera two or three times he pulled the phone out hand it to you you hand it back to him he was fing with I'm guessing a pass keep line and after a short period of time he hand it back to you you hand it to her she put it in here okay that is evidence for this search and and you agree with me that you all serve this search War how subsequent to that after that right after we left out the bill the police officers misinterpreted the search warrant leading to the wrongful arrest of Mr Revel and Miss Garcia Under Alabama Law the defense argued that the warrant did not authorized the search of the lawyers while the prosecution cited emergency circumstances during the hearing Mr Edwards testified that he had prepared himself even though prosecutor Casey had recused himself from the case the judge ruled that Mr Revel and Miss Garcia had not obstructed the deputies and acquitted them