Excuse me, ma'am. What are you going to do? I want to talk to her. You just was talking to her over there. You weren't on a traffic stop. I'm investigating the traffic stop, okay, ma'am? >> He was just over there. Y'all walked up on me. I was here first. I don't have to pull his hair. It don't You WAS JUST OVER THERE. >> WE HAVE A LAWYER. I'm investigating the traffic stop right now, okay? You need to walk across the street or you're going to get a citation for obstructing. If you continue to refuse, you're going to go to jail. Am I clear? I am the sergeant. Excuse me, ma'am. What are you going to do? I want to talk to her. You just was talking to her over there. You weren't on a traffic stop. I'm investigating the traffic stop, okay, ma'am? Please let me do my job, okay? >> over there. Okay. Well, I need to We We need some space, okay? Don't Don't touch her. Don't touch her. >> our traffic stop, okay? So, then we're going to ask you to You just asked for her license. You just gave you her license. Now, what's the problem? Why is he trying to open her door? 47 traffic On April 23rd, 2022, a routine traffic stop in La Crosse, Wisconsin, turned into something much bigger. A woman who wasn't even involved decided to step in. And what happened next raises a question we need to answer. Where exactly is the line between observing police and obstructing justice? Hey. Officer Rosner, La Crosse PD. Do you know why I pulled you over? Why? Cuz you're driving uh one against one-way traffic here. I was coming to get my niece out of that bar. Probably coming to get her out of the bar. Okay. Yeah, that's fine, but do you know that this is a one-way street? I was just walking my way a half a block. My bad. Huh? I got by now. You can walk my way a half a block. No. you can't you can't drive against traffic. It's a violation. It's a traffic violation. You can't drive against traffic. >> just Is that really why you just did this? Can I have your Can I have your driver's license, ma'am, please? Have you been drinking? Who, me? Yeah. No. Come on. Come on. Okay, where are you coming from? Why does that matter? I'm not talking to you, I'm not I'm not talking to you, ma'am. I'm not talking to you. Hold on for a moment. You asked for her license, she was going to give you her license. I don't Yeah. I'm not I'm not talking to you, okay? >> talking to you, so I have to tell her to stop talking. So she can stop so we can go. Hey, ma'am. Hey. Who's driving the car, please? I just >> Cuz he cuz he on [ __ ] That [ __ ] don't even make sense. What what Maybe I can help explain it to you. If it doesn't make sense. >> it. He just asked for her license, she was going to give it to him. We didn't even do nothing else. He asked her I was like, "What you doing down here?" She picking me up. >> Hold on, ma'am. Where you coming from? WHY DOES THAT MATTER? Like you her daddy? Come on. You can't even ask for her social security. We don't need the social. He just said, "What are you doing down here?" She said, "I'm going to pick my niece up." And then yeah, anytime we ask where you from Why does that matter? Every traffic stop an officer makes, we always ask where they're coming from, where they're going to. It's just basic questioning, okay? And are you family or Ma'am, are you family? Yep, I'm her niece. Niece, okay. How much have you had to drink? I had nothing to drink. What's that? That's not mine. I had somebody with me. I was in a concert. Okay. Can I have you step out and talk to me, please? No, I won't. Okay. Talk to me, ma'am. What are you going to do? I want to talk to her. You just talked to her over there. You weren't on a traffic stop. I'm investigating a traffic stop. Hey, man. Please let me do my job, okay? Okay. Well, We We need some space, okay? Don't don't touch me. You don't have the right to obstruct a traffic stop, okay? So, then we're going to ask you to You just asked for her license. You just gave her her license. Now, what's the problem? I'll step >> Why is he trying to open her door? I'm just going to ask her >> have the right for that. He don't have the You don't have the right to block our traffic stop, okay? Your point is what? We We would appreciate some space, okay? We It's a It's an officer safety thing you being this close, okay? He was just a [ __ ] over there. Y'all walked up on me. I was here first. I don't have to [ __ ] move his ass. Hey, dog. You was JUST OVER THERE. BACK UP. Back the [ __ ] up. Back up. Back up. Back the [ __ ] up. Back up. [ __ ] your ass. Ain't got [ __ ] better to do. Watch out. How much have you had to drink? That's my drink. She just said she picking me up. That's my ass. Come over here. No, I'm not. You're in our space here, okay? First of all, I'm not. He just walked up on me. I was here first. You don't have the right to obstruct >> you recording y'all ass? Y'all ass spaz the [ __ ] out. Ugly ass. I'm not moving, so. You don't have the right to open her door. No, she don't have to do that walk [ __ ] Who the [ __ ] you think you is? It's my drink. Tell me to do walk. We need you to give us some space, okay? I'm not. Do you realize you're obstructing >> up on me. This So, give me my space. We made a lawful traffic stop. >> up on He was just over there and you just walked up on me. So, y'all can give me my space. >> Step out. >> 6 ft, thank you. So, I can talk to you. She don't have to step out. Well, >> asked for her license. She gave it to >> given me your container, okay? It's mine. >> Is there anything that I can >> You're driving against a one-way street here. I need to make sure you are safe to drive back. You have a right to talk with the driver. Hey, don't. He was just talking to her from over there. right there, the one that you just hit. We need to He can talk to her from over there. That's my drink. What you want? What you want? What you want? But that's why we need you to separate from here, okay? That's my drink. She just came to She just came to pick me up. No. The one that you just moved that was over there. I left my phone in there on the table. Here's the one that stands out to me. If you don't get out of your car, we're going to ask you to step out. Ma'am, so If you If you don't If you don't step out of the vehicle, okay, I'm going to arrest you. For what? >> to arrest me? Yes, because you're not You're not giving me a chance to run you through fields or talk to you to see if you're impaired to drive, okay? You're driving against the traffic here. You're not cooperating with me. Eventually, assisting officers detain Keywana for hindering the investigation of the traffic stop. We're asking you politely to step out, okay? If not, we're going to ask you to step out. You're going to ask me to what? So, you're resisting. He was close to my partner here, okay? Your partner walked up to me. All right. So, you're involving yourself, so we're going to grab onto you. Don't hit me. You're under arrest. You're under arrest. Stop resisting. Stop resisting. You're under arrest. Stop touching me. I'm not. LET ME GO. GO. LET ME GO. NO, you're under arrest. See, this could all been avoided if you just worked with me. This This didn't have to happen. Okay? You're resisting. Quit resisting. This is going to hurt you. You're under arrest. Quit resisting. You're under arrest. In cuffs. LET'S GO. HEY, QUIT TO GRAB IT. Quit resisting. Okay, we'll just get her back. 55. We have one under arrest. While searching Keywana, she was resistive and began kicking at officers and threatening to spit in THEIR FACES. DON'T TOUCH ME. Go ahead, ma'am. Search. Stop kicking. Knock it off. Sergeant, you want to lock the car so you can put her in? Okay. Put her in the car, whatever works. She's being under She's being put in the car. She kicked an officer and she resisted arrest. Please step back. She involved herself in a stop. Okay, but here, let's go to this one then. Okay, here's what we'll do. Hey, hey, HEY. WE NEED YOU TO RELAX A LITTLE BIT, OKAY? BEFORE WE SIT YOU IN we're going to check your hands, okay? Yeah, let me check. And we need you to relax. Let's be clear about the foundation here. The Fourth Amendment protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures, but it doesn't protect us from lawful traffic stops. When Officer Lizano saw that vehicle driving the wrong way on a one-way street, that's probable cause the stop was legal from the jump. Now, here's where it gets interesting. Once he approaches, he spots a half-empty whiskey bottle on the passenger seat, glassy eyes, smell of alcohol. Under Wisconsin law, that's enough to expand the investigation. He's not fishing anymore. He's got reasonable suspicion for operating while intoxicated. But then Keuana Holland side walks up and inserts herself into this stop. And I want you to think about this. She's not the driver, not a passenger, just someone who knows the driver. Does she have the right to demand answers? Does she have the right to stand between an officer and the person he's investigating? The Supreme Court answered this in Pennsylvania versus Mimms back in 1977. During a lawful traffic stop, officers can order the driver out of the vehicle. No additional justification needed. Officer safety trumps the minimal intrusion that request is not negotiable. So, when Keuana physically blocks the officer from accessing Jenine Thomas, she's crossed the line. Wisconsin statute 946.4-1 is crystal clear. Knowingly resisting or obstructing an officer performing official duties is a class A misdemeanor. She just committed a crime. Now the sergeant arrives and watch what he does. He doesn't immediately arrest her. He tries education. He explains why officers ask where you're coming from and where you're going. It's basic investigative procedure, building a timeline, checking consistency. This is de-escalation done right. But she doesn't take the off-ramp. The sergeant identifies himself, tells her she needs to move across the street or face arrest for obstruction. That's not a threat. That's a legal warning. He's giving her multiple chances to comply. She refuses every single one. Now let's talk about what happens when they try to arrest her. Graham versus Connor, 1989, established the objective reasonableness standard for use of force. Three factors matter: severity of the crime, immediate threat to safety, and whether the suspect is actively resisting. K 1 is actively pulling away, refusing to put her hands behind her back, requiring multiple officers to gain control. The force they use, empty hand techniques, no baton, no taser, no pepper spray. That's the lowest level of physical force on the continuum. And it's directly proportional to her resistance. Here's the human thinking part, though. She's yelling that she can't breathe, but she's also speaking in full sentences and screaming loudly. Officers note this, because if you're truly unable to breathe, you can't generate the air pressure needed for sustained loud speech. It's physiology, not opinion. All this cuz y'all want to overpower women, black women that say y'all some [ __ ] Y'all some [ __ ] You're going to get tased. Get away! You just said YOU WAS GOING TO CHECK them and you just said you was going to tie them up! HE JUST [ __ ] TIED THEM UP! I LOCKED THEM. BRO, Y'ALL SOME [ __ ] I LOCKED THEM. I locked them so they don't tie them. Tie this up. I can fit a finger up my pinky finger in both of them. They're they are loose. No, THIS ONE IS [ __ ] TIGHT. HOW THE [ __ ] YOU GOING TO TELL ME? THIS IS LOOSE. [ __ ] YOU NEED TO GET in the car. >> Get on the ground. We're going to jail. Okay, we're going to jail. This one, this one is tight as [ __ ] bro. I can put my whole finger IN THERE. LOCK THAT ONE. YOU SAID YOU WAS GOING TO STICK YOUR HAND IN THE SAME ONE, DUMB ASS. IT'S MY RIGHT ARM. I'M TALKING TO YOU. JUST CALM DOWN. Just calm down. This is my whole finger can That's tight. Okay. Y'all some [ __ ] Come on. Step over here. All right, we got our phone. K, I GOT IT. >> JANINE FINALLY EXITED THE VEHICLE and the officer observed her placing a piece of gum in her mouth. Please, ma'am. Oh my god. All this [ __ ] going on down here. And you want to pull me over. Ma'am, step out of the vehicle, please. Okay, sir. All right, thank you. Good. You good? I have a messed leg. Okay. Do you What What's wrong with your leg? I fell. Okay. Do you have any issues balancing or anything like that? Hey, uh Yeah, can you cut my lights off? No. Okay. Are you It doesn't [ __ ] matter to you. Well, it does. I mean, if you have an injury if you have an injury, we could do it sitting down. Okay. Can you please leave this? I'm investigating what happened right now, okay? We're we're going to Due to a crowd gathering and several individuals interfering with the investigation, the officer decided to conduct the test at the police department. Guys, I'm going to I'm going to make this real clear. You're obstructing. We're trying to investigate this. You're not helping. Listen, if it continues, you're going to YOU'RE GOING TO I'M GOING to serve you this citation and I'm going to take SOMEONE TO JAIL. WALK back across the street so we can do our job. If you're If she's fine, NOT WHEN IT'S CONTINUING. YOU'RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT THE LAW. I'M SERIOUS. I'M GIVING YOU MULTIPLE THEN WALK AWAY. WALK AWAY. GET HER OUT OF THE AREA, TOO. GO. You need to walk across the street or you're going to get a citation for obstructing. If you continue to refuse, you're going to go to jail. Am I clear? I am the sergeant. Go. Yes. Go. All right, can I have them keys? Well, the keys to stay. I'M GIVING MY KEYS TO MY NEPHEW. THE KEYS GOT TO >> DON'T TOUCH ME. HERE, WE'LL TAKE CARE. I DON'T NEED TO MOVE. HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE. JUST LIKE all we'll take care. DON'T [ __ ] TOUCH ME. DON'T [ __ ] TOUCH ME. Y'ALL LOCKING ME UP FOR WHAT? MA'AM, MA'AM, all we're doing right now is we're going to just take you out of this area so he can conduct his investigation. Listen, if you're found to be driving, then we will give you the right back. Do we have YOUR PERMISSION? >> WHY THE [ __ ] IS THEY LOCKING ME? DO WE HAVE your permission? Okay. To legally park your She's just detained right now. No, I want I'm going to try talking to her, but I mean, she's got to cooperate. >> let her drive if she's been drinking driving a vehicle. Who? Right, they've all been drinking. I don't want to have to tow your I was TRYING TO GO HOME. >> I UNDERSTAND THAT. I DON'T have to tow your vehicle. Can I legally park it? Give my keys. Where my keys at? >> There is an open container in there and claimed you she moved it. >> That does not matter. Oh, you want to go ahead and Yep. Get her out of here. Hey, who's Can I get I'm going to get her in this car. >> that is. We'll just Ma'am. Ma'am, I'm going to have you to >> keys. Nobody said Okay. They ain't grab. I ain't trying to grab nothing. Ma'am, yep, ma'am, ma'am. I ain't trying to grab nothing. >> cuz she's got a injury to her leg. Get your [ __ ] ass up. [ __ ] you don't give a [ __ ] They don't give a [ __ ] about me. All right, come on. Come on. Oh my god. It's all right, we'll talk over there, all right? You're just detained right now. We just want to get out of here. You just want to get out of here. Yeah, it's not safe for you. >> I'm black. You're right. That that has nothing to do with it. >> Yes, it do. No, it don't, man. >> Yes, it do. No, it does not. >> Yes, it do. All right, I promise you it does not. >> you [ __ ] pig. How am I supposed to get in here? Just sit back, okay? Oh, no. Sit back. Oh my god. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO [ __ ] SIT BACK? >> SIT BACK. That'd be difficult. Yeah. Yeah. 47 is there and officer can bring How should I do it? HOW SHOULD I DO IT? I GOT YOU. I got you. I ain't going to let you fall, okay? All right, pig. How am I supposed to do this? Put one foot on the step. There you go. I'll lift your other foot. All right, I'm going to uncuff you so you can get up there, okay? >> Okay, can you do that? [ __ ] Well, I don't I don't want you to fall back. I have a bad knee. I know. That's why I'm making sure you don't fall back. >> give a [ __ ] about my [ __ ] knee. I do, too. [ __ ] you don't. You [ __ ] Janine provided a breath sample, which resulted in 0.234. Left. 5 6 7 8 Return your left fist to your chest. And the fourth task is you're going to open your hands with your palms down and place them on your lap. So, that last part of the test is just put your hands palms down on your lap. So, from the test that we did earlier, regardless of what this says, I I know that you're over 0.08. So, this This says 234. Um we're well over double the legal limit, okay? Um so, it's definitely not safe to drive tonight a vehicle, okay? Is this what did they say for offense? A first offense. >> Okay. So, it's not criminal. You You're not going to go to jail. You'll be able to call somebody um when we're done with the process to come pick you up, a responsible party. So, essentially it's just a big traffic citation, okay? Uh for OWI first offense, operating while intoxicated. Yep. So, first offense is a forfeiture, not a misdemeanor. So, it's through the municipal court, and at the end of all this, you should be able to go home today, okay? All right. >> We have to put you in the handcuffs. I'm going to put them in the front. You've been cooperative with me, okay? Does that sound reasonable? I appreciate you uh stepping out of the vehicle and cooperating with us. It means a lot, and it's going to be noted in the report. We'll start on the front here, okay? I'm thinking it's just it's safer to sit in that chair. Okay. All right. We're going to go to mail. You've been cool. I'm not going to put you in the handcuffs. Kiwana was charged with misdemeanor accounts of resisting, obstructing an officer, disorderly conduct, and attempted battery to an officer. Uh I don't know her name yet. She involved She involved herself in a stop, and she started resisting us right away. Um she kicked an officer. So, I I don't know I don't know her name yet. She hasn't told me. So, she kicked an officer. She said she's going to spit on us and stuff. So, just be careful. She's on the other side. Meanwhile, Janine Thomas blows a 0.234 on the breathalyzer. That's nearly three times Wisconsin's legal limit of point zero eight. At that level of intoxication, reaction time is severely impaired, judgement is compromised, and she's a danger to everyone on that road. Under Wisconsin statute 346.63, operating while intoxicated first offense is actually a civil forfeiture, not a criminal charge. She gets fined over a thousand dollars, loses her license temporarily, but no criminal record. That's how Wisconsin handles first time OWIs. Now, let's evaluate what happened here, starting with Officer Lizcano. Legally, he did everything by the book. Lawful stop, proper investigation expansion, appropriate use of force continuum. But tactically, there's a question about positioning and whether backup should have been called. Sooner once the OWI investigation started. The sergeant though, this is textbook supervision. Multiple de-escalation attempts, clear legal warnings, progressive enforcement only after compliance opportunities were rejected. He showed exactly how a supervisor should handle escalating resistance while maintaining both authority and professionalism. Janine Thomas made a catastrophically bad decision driving at nearly triple the legal limit. That's not a close call. That's profound impairments. But once Kowana was removed from the scene, Janine cooperated with field sobriety tests and a breathalyzer. That cooperation matters, even though the underlying choice to drive drunk doesn't get excused. And then there's Kowana Holland's side. Every single decision she made worsened her situation. She had no legal right to interfere, ignored warnings from a supervisor, physically blocked a lawful means, Tagation actively resisted arrest, and kicked an officer. That's how you turn watching a friend's traffic stop into facing multiple criminal charges yourself. No, sure you're new here. We don't just show you the arrest. We track down the actual verdict and show you what the judge decided. If that sounds interesting, hit subscribe. Here's what people misunderstand about First Amendment rights. You are absolutely have the right to observe police activity. You can record them. You can ask questions. You can even criticize them verbally from a reasonable distance. But the moment you physically interfere with their ability to do their job, you've crossed into criminal conduct. The distinction is simple. Observation is protected. Obstruction is criminal. Standing 20 ft away with a camera, legal. Stepping between an officer and the person they're investigating, that's obstruction. The line is clear, even if people don't want to see it. Let's talk about three lessons that come out of this case. First lesson, know the difference between your rights and your authority. You have the right to observe. You don't have the authority to participate. Third parties inserting themselves into police investigations create danger for everyone involved. If you see a traffic stop and you're concerned, stay back. Record if you want, but don't approach. Don't demand answers. Don't try to speak for the person being detained. The best thing you can do is be a witness, not a participant. Distance keeps you legal and keeps you safe. Second lesson, Warnings from police are not suggestions. When a sergeant tells you that continued refusal will result in arrest, believe him. That's not a negotiation. That's a statement of legal consequence. Every warning ignored is another chance at compliance wasted and another charge potentially added. If an officer gives you a lawful order and you disagree with it, your remedy is not resistance on the street. Your remedy is compliance in the moment and challenge in court later. You can fight the legality of the stop, the reasonableness of the search, the validity of the arrest, but you fight it with a lawyer, not with your fists. Third lesson, understand that body cam footage protects everyone. It protected these officers from false claims of excessive force or racial motivation. It provided clear evidence of K1's obstruction and resistance. It documented Janine's level of impairment and it allows us to have an objective conversation about what actually happened. This is why transparency matters. When everything is recorded, we're not arguing about he said, she said. We're looking at the same facts. We can disagree about interpretation, about whether certain tactics were optimal, about whether de-escalation could have gone further, but we can't disagree about what actually occurred. The reality is this, most police encounters don't need to escalate. This one escalated because someone who had no legal standing decided to make it her business. She ignored multiple warnings. She physically interfered. She actively resisted. Those were choices and choices have consequences. If there's one thing this case should teach people, it's that you can't obstruct your way into a better outcome. You can't resist your way out of an arrest. Every physical action that opposes a lawful police activity just digs the hole deeper. The law doesn't reward interference. It punishes it. And here's the thing that bothers me about cases like this. There are real civil rights violations that happen. There are real cases of excessive force that need attention and accountability. But when people cry wolf over lawful police activity, when they claim brutality during textbook arrests, it makes it harder to address actual problems. This wasn't brutality. This was progressive enforcement against active resistance. The officers used the minimum force necessary to overcome the resistance and affect a lawful arrest. That's exactly what Graham versus Connor requires. Reasonable, proportional, justified, whether you like it or not, that's what lawful force looks like. So, let me leave you with this. If you ever find yourself in a situation where police are conducting an investigation and you're not directly involved, ask yourself one question. Is my presence helping or creating problems? If you can't articulate a legitimate reason to be there, step back. Record from a distance if you want. Express your concerns to a supervisor if you need to. File a complaint later if you believe something improper happened, but don't interfere. Don't obstruct. Don't insert yourself into something that doesn't involve you because what happened to Keyona Hollandside is exactly what the law says will happen. The body cam footage from LaCrosse shows us exactly where the line is. It shows us what obstruction looks like, what active resistance looks like, and what lawful enforcement looks like in response. I It is not always pretty, but when it's legal and proportional, that's the system working as designed. Let me know in the comments what you think about this case. Do you think the officers handled it appropriately? Do you think Kaywonna had any legitimate basis for her actions? And what would you tell someone who's thinking about inserting themselves into a policing counter? I want to hear your perspective. Thanks for watching. If you want more analysis of police interactions and legal breakdowns, make sure you're subscribed. And check out our second channel, Audit the Courts, for even more content on law enforcement and the justice system.