did you not see this bright yellow vest standing in the middle of the street this means stuff this means stop I didn't already passed and then you still drove by me sir license and registration now around noon on December 13th of 2022 Officer James Hinkle of the Waterbury Police Department was directing traffic due to a mechanical failure of the traffic lights at an intersection the traffic lights were in flashing mode as he directed the traffic this officer stood almost in front of his Patrol vehicle which likely made it difficult for all drivers to see him making his traffic signals at one point a woman who probably didn't see him or his signals drove a vehicle through the intersection immediately officer Hinkle saw that he commanded the vehicle to stop and struck the driver's side with his hand he then abandoned his duty and angrily approached the vehicle as the driver pulled over a short distance away before we continue let me shout out to Waterbury Police Department for sharing this video on their YouTube channel thank you up here okay for the area of 2003 Coast break I'm straight in the air [Music] Alpha three give me pull over the parking lot the first issue which was even the main cause of this incident was the positioning of Officer Hinkle as we all saw in the video officer Hinkle didn't think of his own safety when he charged towards the moving vehicle thereby risking getting hit he also stood in front of his vehicle which contributed to the driver not clearly seeing him and his traffic signals in fact this image illustrates the position that officers are supposed to be in and the kind of intersection we saw in the video officer Hinkle took what looked like position two however his parked vehicle partially blocked him from being clearly seen by every driver when he got to the vehicle he started yelling at the woman and berated her for allegedly trying to run over him the woman seemed sorry for what happened and even explained that she was confused by the traffic signals despite her explanation in please officer Hinkle turned the encounter very personal and accuse the woman of trying to run him over just before Christmas we're in this parking lot right now pull over pull over now no pull over God damn it I'm not repeating myself get out of the roadway and pull over [Music] turn the car off I'll open three I'm already got one unit stop license and registrations now [Music] did you not see this bright yellow vest standing in the middle of the street no I did I thought you were leaving no this means stop this means stop and then you still drove by me sir license and registration now no license registration now you almost ran over and officer standing in the middle of the street I'm so sorry I'm sorry I thought that was very it's a bright yellow jacket stand in the middle of the street what don't you understand no they weren't you were the only vehicle coming from that way you almost ran me over in the middle of the street out of your car and stand next to the fender [Music] leave your purse in the car where you work I work for a clothing company in California what are you doing here today I'm going to Target you're going to Target let's do a pickup what is such an important factor that me standing in the middle of the street I'm stopping you and you try to run me over sir I swear and then you looked at me you waved at me and then you kept going anyway I swear I was not trying to find numbers we're going I'm telling you to stop in the middle of the street and you wave at me and keep going I I saw your hand before and I was too late to stop no it wasn't you were doing 10 miles an hour and you still drove by me you didn't even attempt to stop your car sir you're lucky you're not in handcuffs right this second I'm very sorry sir I really explain it to my kids why why did I have a dad a week before Christmas because you're trying to run somebody over you see the bright lights flashing in the middle of the street that makes you just caution there's a cop out there I got kids at home and you almost ran me over a week before Christmas sir when I see it's not pleasant it's red and blue that's a cop car stand in the middle of the street flashing lights I promise I was not [Music] no it's not an accident you're just being irresponsible the woman claimed she saw flashing yellow lights which explained why she didn't stop at the intersection her claim was also reported in an investigation carried out by the Waterbury Police Department according to Connecticut General statutes section 14-299 subsection C2 states that when a yellow lens is illuminated with rapid intermittent flashes drivers of vehicles facing such signal May proceed through the intersection or pass such signal only with caution this means if drivers see flashing yellow lights When approaching an intersection it is not compulsory that they stop as long as they proceed with caution when other officers arrived at the scene officer Hinkle continued to take the whole encounter very personally exhibiting a high level of victimhood and claiming he was hurt emotionally his statement suggested he wasn't having a good day at work at one point one of the other officers pleaded with him to calm down three and then ways that man still tries to drive by me run her please and make sure she's valid [Music] I can't believe you a week before Christmas I almost get ran over I got two kids at home waiting for me to come home tonight you looked right at me and still decided to drive by me no you weren't I was in the middle of the intersection emotionally thank you you got a summons book [Music] would you mind filling this out for me my hands are a little shaky right now officer reckless driving see this is why I was trying to direct traffic because it's yeah they've been out they had to pick up a part they're going back to get a new part to fix the light I was out here for 25 30 minutes 30 minutes doing traffic and almost got ran over once everybody else no problem no problem [Music] around 25 minutes anytime you see flashing red and blue lights in the middle of the street it means there's cops present no stop talking stop talking and it means you need to pay attention because there's going to be police officers you're out and about okay this bright yellow vest it's very very bright it's neon yellow because it stands out okay I'm standing in the middle of the street telling you to stop that means I'm not waving High Merry Christmas this means stop listen this means stop okay when you've seen me do this and try to get your attention and stop you again it doesn't mean way back to me and keep driving by me it doesn't mean that I'm not waiting Merry Christmas keep driving stop stop then what were you doing in your vehicle there were no cars in front of you there were zero cars in front of you you were the only vehicle traveling on that road for 500 feet there were no vehicles in front of you no there wasn't it okay she almost runs me over we need to calm yourself on January 9th 2023 officer Hinkle was terminated after the investigation concluded that his conduct actions and behaviors were in violation of departmental policies according to the Department's chief chief Fernando spagnolo his conduct during this encounter with a citizen of the community is unacceptable and not representative of the men and women serving the Waterbury Police Department WPD officers are trained to demonstrate the highest level of professionalism when performing their duties that response was highly commendable especially for the safety of our society I hope more police departments follow this path