[music] >> In a video posted on March 6th, 2025, the owner of the Missouri Southern Accountability YouTube channel, who we will refer to as Mr. Accountability, was recording footage of a Central Bank branch from the public sidewalk in Lake Ozark, Missouri. Employees of the bank contacted police, reporting that customers were uneasy about his presence. An Officer Wanker of the Lake Ozark Police Department responded to the scene, later joined by Officer Wolfe and Sergeant Meyer. The interaction that followed was captured on Mr. Accountability's camera and the officers' body cameras. Hey, how we doing? >> How are you doing? >> Pretty good. What we doing? >> Uh if you don't mind me asking, is your body cam on? >> It is. >> Okay. Why do you have your gloves on? >> I always wear my gloves. >> Okay. >> Why do you have a mask on? >> Well, I have the right to have a mask. >> Absolutely, but what are you doing filming the bank? >> Exactly what it seems like. >> For what? >> Is there not a First Amendment? >> There is a First Amendment, but you've got people concerned, so I'm just asking what you're doing. >> So, my rights to record as people concerned? So, you enforce feelings? >> No, I'm just asking what you're doing. >> Why don't you enforce the law? >> Get your hands out of your pockets. >> Okay. It's pretty It's pretty cold, so >> I understand. >> I don't have gloves like you, so you want some? No, I'm good. >> Okay. >> I like to have my hands in >> You got any ID on you? >> Why would I need that? >> I'm just wanting to find out who you are. You got a mask on, I can't see your face. >> Exactly. We're in public. >> You are. But you need to You need to vacate in front of the bank. >> And where am I at? >> You're in Lake Ozark, Missouri. >> Am I not on the public easement? >> You are. >> So, why would I need to vacate the public sidewalk? >> Because you've got people nervous and they're wanting to know what you're doing. >> me a lawful order? >> I am giving you a lawful order. You need to move. need to move the area. >> Let me ask you this. Do you have >> young man, I'm not going to play this game with you. >> waive your qualified immunity? >> I'm not going to play this game with you. >> your qualified immunity? >> You need to step You need to get stepping. >> your qualified immunity? >> You need to get to stepping. >> I'm asking you to pull out your sergeant. I'm asking you to get your sergeant. >> I'm asking you to get my sergeant. >> Your sergeant Myers. >> I don't have to do that. >> Get sergeant Myers. I'm asking you to get a sergeant here. You don't know the law. >> Yeah, I know the law. >> You're a dangerous man. >> 29 years I've been doing it. >> your gloves on. You're ready to put your hands on me. >> I'm not going to put my hands on you. My hands are on my vest. >> You gave me a a unlawful order to vacate when I'm on a public sidewalk. >> You are on a public sidewalk. >> So, why would I need to leave? >> I'm giving you a lawful order that you need to vacate in front of the area. Young man, I'm not going to Yeah, you're free to go. >> I'm free to stay. Thank you. >> You need to vacate the area. >> I'm not vacating. >> Yeah, you are. >> Nope. >> Then you go with me then. >> So, you're going to put your hands on me? >> I have current >> I asked you to put I asked you to get sergeant Myers. >> I'm not going to put >> I asked you to get sergeant Myers. I asked you to get sergeant >> I've asked you to move. >> you to get sergeant Myers. >> I've asked you to move. >> I asked you to get sergeant Myers. You're going to get Don't Don't You got to Hey, excuse me. He threw He threw my He threw my phone down on the >> I sure did. >> He threw my phone down on the ground. >> Good. >> Yeah, I'm good. He threw my phone on the ground. >> I sure did. >> Why'd you do that? Can Hey, can you get my phone, sir? I'm asking you to Do you not want to get sergeant Myers out here? >> No. >> I'll take you to him. >> Why not? >> Even better, huh? >> You're going to You're going to unlaw- You're going to unlaw- you're arresting >> I'm not arresting. I'm just detaining you. >> Okay, for what crime? For what crime? For what crime? Don't turn my phone off. Don't turn my phone off. That is That is my first amendment to record. Do not turn my phone off. Do not turn my phone off. Do not >> It It hasn't been recording since since your phone was on. >> Okay. >> So, how do I turn it off? >> He turned my phone off. >> I'm not turning your phone off. >> it on the ground. >> I The screen won't stay off. >> Exactly. You threw my phone on ground. >> That's fine up here, okay? >> That's fine. I'm actually looking for Sergeant Myers out here. You're making a mistake. >> What's your name? >> I'm not telling you my name. >> Well, you're failing to identify yourself, so that's why you're getting >> have I committed? >> You're failing to identify yourself. >> reasonable articulable suspicion I committed a crime? >> to identify yourself, dude. What is your reasonable articulable Because you are failing to identify yourself. >> crime have I >> Officer Wanker tells Mr. Accountability that he's being detained rather than arrested and then handcuffs him and secures him in the back of his patrol vehicle. In the landmark 1968 case of Terry v. Ohio, the Supreme Court held that an officer may briefly detain a citizen for investigation only when the officer has reasonable suspicion grounded in specific and articulable facts that the individual is committing, has committed, or is about to commit a crime. Here, the information available to Officer Wanker appeared to be limited to a report that an individual was filming outside the bank and making the people inside nervous, conduct that violates no Missouri law. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Missouri, confronted a comparable scenario in the 2020 case of Chestnut v. Wallace, where an officer stopped, frisked, and handcuffed an individual who had been reported as suspicious for watching another officer conduct traffic stops. The court held that the officer was not entitled to qualified immunity, reasoning that because the officer could not have reasonably believed that the individual was engaged in criminal behavior, he could not be detained without more indication of wrongdoing. Now, as for the manner of the detention, even a stop that is lawful at its inception can violate the Fourth Amendment when it is excessively intrusive in its scope or manner of execution, such as when it lasts an unreasonable length of time or involves the use of handcuffs. As the Eighth Circuit held in the 2011 case of El-Ghazzawy v. Berthiaume, the use of handcuffs during an investigative detention requires belief that the suspect is armed and dangerous or that the restraints are necessary for some other legitimate purpose. Now, because Mr. Accountability was calm and non-violent, exhibited no behavior suggesting that he was armed, and was suspected of no crime in the first place, there is a strong argument that the detention was unsupported by reasonable suspicion from the outset, and that handcuffing Mr. Accountability and confining him in a patrol vehicle rendered the stop excessively intrusive in violation of the Fourth Amendment. 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He's been asking for you for the last 5 minutes. >> Had the plate light out last night. >> Yeah. >> He's been So, I I know his name. I just can't think of it right now. >> I gave him a lawful order to move out in front of the bank. He's got people nervous. And he's going to identify himself, so There's my reason. Do you remember his name? Do you remember his name? >> I know his girlfriend's name was was like Haley or something. >> Where are they from? >> Osage Beach. All right, if I talk to him, see if I can get me his name. >> Oh, I don't care. Yeah, if you if he'll give you his name. Well, I asked him once. I don't I don't care if he's on a public sidewalk or not. >> He's 100% he's the same guy. >> I don't care if he's on a public sidewalk or not. They don't want him standing out in front of the bank making people uneasy, and I asked him what his name was. And he refused a lawful order by giving me his name and moving down the road. >> Officer Wanker asserts that Mr. Accountability refused a lawful order by declining to move away from the front of the bank, while simultaneously acknowledging that he was standing on a public sidewalk. Section 210.450 of the Lake Ozark ordinances makes it unlawful for any individual to willfully fail or refuse to comply with any lawful order or direction of any city police officer. This means that a violation of this order requires the officer to have actual legal authority to issue the order in the first place. Here, Officer Wanker directed Mr. Accountability to abandon conduct that the Constitution protects. In the 1988 case of Frisby v. Schultz, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that public streets and sidewalks are traditional public forums and that restrictions on expressive activity conducted there must be judged against the most stringent standards of constitutional protection. Furthermore, no Missouri statute prohibits filming or photographing property that is plainly visible from a public vantage point. And in the 2021 case of Ness v. City of Bloomington, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the acts of taking photographs and recording videos are protected by the First Amendment when they are a step in the speech process that ends with the dissemination of information, likening such recording to newsgathering. Because Mr. Accountability was recording footage from a public sidewalk for publication on his channel, his conduct fell within that protection. And the discomfort of onlookers did not transform it into a crime. >> I wonder if this car is his. >> I don't know what he's driving. >> I do. >> This is simple. Give me your [ __ ] name. That's all you need to do. >> Huh? >> I said I guess he's not going to answer me. >> He never answers half the time. >> Did you go in and talk to the bank guys yet? >> See how long he's been out here. They said about a half hour. There's no rhyme or reason why. Now, he's been screaming and hollering for you anyway. Says he knows you. That's what said. He won't take his mask down. He won't tell me who he is. >> Is your Is your body camera on? >> It is. >> body Sergeant Myers? What am I doing in the >> You know who he is? Uh, I'm familiar with him. I don't remember your name right off my head, but >> I doing in the cuffs? >> Well, he detained you for his investigation. >> He couldn't tell me what crime I committed. >> You failed to comply with a lawful order. I done told you. I told you to get moving and I told you to identify yourself. >> I committed? >> told you. >> Before you were here on the scene, what crime have I committed? >> None. Until you >> why do I have to identify myself? >> Because I gave you a lawful order to do so because I'm investigating on why you're standing out here in the >> You cannot You cannot reasonably You cannot >> I think I Okay. All right. >> I think all right. Let me get this. >> He can't articulate what crime I committed. >> Once you tell me who you are, you're going. >> Officer Wanker tells Mr. Accountability that he was required to identify himself because he was being investigated. While Section 84.710 of the Missouri Revised Statutes gives Kansas City police officers the authority to order individuals to identify themselves based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, that statute applies only in Kansas City, Missouri, and there is no other state-level so-called stop and identify statute. However, the Lake Ozark ordinance that we discussed earlier in this episode, which makes it illegal to fail or refuse to comply with the lawful order of a city police officer, has been interpreted to require identification under certain circumstances. In the 2010 case of Hinesley v. City of Lake Ozark, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri construed the ordinance, which was then codified at a different section number but contained identical language. The court concluded that an officer had probable cause to arrest a citizen who failed to produce her identification after repeated demands, determining that her noncompliance constituted a willful failure to comply with a lawful order. Importantly, the Hinesley court reached that conclusion only after determining that the officer had reasonable suspicion to detain the citizen and that the demand for identification was reasonably related to that investigation, which is what made the order a lawful one within the meaning of the ordinance. That limitation is consistent with the 1979 case of Brown v. Texas, in which the Supreme Court determined that citizens cannot be punished for failing to identify themselves to officers who do not have reasonable suspicion to believe that they're engaged in criminal conduct. Here, Officer Wanker likely did not have reasonable suspicion that Mr. Accountability had committed any crime, and being the subject of an investigation is not itself a substitute for that suspicion. As an officer's decision to investigate a report of lawful conduct does not generate the authority to detain or identify the individual being investigated. Accordingly, a court would likely conclude that Officer Wanker's demand for identification was not a lawful order, and that Mr. Accountability's refusal to provide his name was not a violation of the ordinance. >> That is the uh I I I I can figure his name out. Cuz what he was doing, he was down here he wasn't breaking any laws by being on the sidewalk. And I asked him, I said, "Hey, you've got people in here nervous. Would you mind stepping down the road for me?" He goes, "I'm on a public easement." I'm like, "Yeah." He goes, "Why is your gloves on?" I said, "I wear them all the time when I deal with people." And he goes, "Well, I ain't moving." I said, "I'm giving you an order to get to stepping and identify yourself and pull your mask down." He goes, "I ain't got to do that either." I said, "Okay, if you're not going to identify yourself, I'm going to go back to my car until you identify yourself." But he wasn't breaking any laws. He's allowed to film all day long. >> Mhm. Did they ever tell him to leave or anything? Or was he ever on >> They're saying he was on the grass. We'll double-checking, cuz if he was on this portion of the grass, that's technically theirs. That portion is not. Like I said, when I got here, he was standing on the sidewalk filming, which he's allowed to do. >> Um but he says he knows you. >> Well, he's he's done some video requests before. >> I know I can get his name. I know that. We haven't made a report to you. I just can't think of it right off my head. >> Wolf did a traffic stop on him here a while back. >> But he's he's trying he's trying to find his name and he can't find it. Of course he locked it. Once he tells me his name, he's free to go. >> I I I got his name. As long as if there's no crime from on their end then >> Okay. I'll wait for Wolf to come back and then >> We probably need to know want to know if they're going to want to trespass him from here. >> But I'm not going to play the game coming back every 20 minutes, either. >> Well, if he ain't on their property then he's not trespassing. >> No, I know that, but I'm just saying. >> mean on their end before we kick him. >> That might just be a figure. I always talk like that. >> I did not curse at you. >> I always talk like that. But regardless, I gave you a I'm not going to We're not going to overtalk each other. >> Let me let me talk to him. >> We're not going to overtalk over each other. >> Let me talk to him. They're not going to do anything without it. They don't want him trespassing or anything. >> Then why don't they call? >> I I don't know. They said that they had customers coming in and coming through the drive-thru, coming in, coming on the phone lines, saying that they felt unsafe and that that he >> Yeah, he didn't break any laws cuz was on the sidewalk. >> Right. And and saying that they were pointing He was pointing at him, harassing them, and and just doing all sorts of things. Just basically pointing a camera and pointing at him. >> Oh, okay. >> So, he hasn't done anything aside from not identifying. >> Yeah. >> So, that's it. >> Okay. >> But >> Well, as soon as Minor gets done with him, I'll cut him loose and we'll just play the game. Every 20 minutes we'll be back dealing with him. >> We're making sure there's no criminal offense that was committed before we got here at the bank. >> And there wasn't, so >> They called us. But he put me in cuffs >> That's a detainment. >> I was not moving. >> That's a detainment. He had an investigation and he was there to >> you, y'all messed up. Y'all messed up extremely bad. >> You always say that to us. >> I've not always said it to you. I've only had one interaction with you. >> But but every time we've dealt with you, it's always us. >> It is Y'all get He Officer Kleinwolf does not know the law. He asked me where did I get my law book from. I said, "I don't have to. I can identify myself because I'm a passenger here in the vehicle." He tried to He tried to fabricate probable cause by saying I didn't have my seat belt on when I in fact did on camera. >> Okay, look. >> couldn't get my ID and identify me, so he doesn't know my name. Now, you don't know my name because you don't remember the public record request yesterday. I didn't >> that off the top of my head. >> He doesn't know my name because I never gave my name and or ID because I have not committed a crime. >> Okay, and that may be the case. >> Okay, so why am I still in cuffs? >> Because we are in still investigation of this. >> When did When did >> We were called here for this. >> Okay, so how long am I am I going to sit back here? >> I'm going to talk to him. He went in to talk to them and then we're going to figure this out. Give me another minute. >> Is his body cam on? >> Yes, it is. >> Don't mute Don't mute yours and don't mute and don't mute your Do not mute your >> You don't have a choice. You don't Is there a Is there a crime here? Are they Are they wanting to trespass? Otherwise I'm out. >> Yeah, I'm telling you you messed up. >> Put your hands on me like that. I'm on a public easement and broke no law. Couldn't articulate any kind of law that I broken and you put me in handcuffs. >> Yeah, but you did. >> You messed my shoulder up. So I need medical attention. >> Well, you're going to be free to go. >> need I need medical attention cuz you done messed my shoulder up. Look at him. Look how he's handling me. >> Just let him get the cuffs on. >> I'm relaxing. I'm relaxing. Look how he's handling me. >> Once she gets the cuffs off >> No, I need medical attention. I can't even feel my hand. >> Call for a medical. >> I can't even feel my hand, bro. >> Okay, well he's calling for an ambulance. You're free to go. >> But I can't even feel my hand. I need I need medical attention. >> I need an ambulance, man. >> He's calling for one. It's kind of It's kind of urgent. >> What am I doing wrong? You put me on their property on their property now. I have not stepped on their property at all. >> You're free to go. >> But I've always been free to go and I was free to stay. >> You wasn't. You were detained until he could investigate. >> What crime have I committed? >> That's why he was investigating. >> What crime have I committed? >> That's what he was investigating. Once he went in and talked to them and they and they said there was no crime, you're free to go. You're out of cuffs. You can go. >> He But What's your badge What's your badge number name? What's your badge number name? >> I'm not doing this video. We're not medical. We're not medical. That's up to him. I'm going to do that. There's no report to be done. There's no crime committed. I did. I have the right to do that. I can detain you, but I'm done talking to you. >> Do you want to ride to the fire station? >> I I need to I need to see some some of these to my shoulders. >> If If you want to ride, I'll give you a ride. >> I need to see some of these to my shoulders. >> I'm offering you a ride, right to go right there. >> Livingston 10-9, yes, I 702 are you going to be giving me 788 ride to the car station? >> 10-4. >> After Officer Wolfe conferred with bank staff and confirmed that no crime had been committed, Sergeant Myer released Mr. Accountability and informed him that he was free to go. As of the date of writing this episode, no further information is available regarding any complaints, disciplinary action, or litigation arising from this encounter. Overall, the Lake Ozark officers get an F for detaining, handcuffing, and confining Mr. Accountability without reasonable suspicion of any crime, for repeatedly asserting the false premise that responding to a call and conducting an investigation authorizes officers to detain and identify a citizen, and for maintaining a hostile and physically aggressive demeanor toward an individual who was engaged in entirely lawful activity. A detention must be justified by reasonable suspicion of criminal conduct before it begins. And the report that the officers received seemed to describe nothing more than an individual filming a bank from a public sidewalk, which is protected expression, rather than a crime. Officer Wanker acknowledged this on camera more than once, conceding to both Officer Wolfe and Sergeant Myer that Mr. Accountability had broken no laws and was allowed to film from where he stood. And yet, he ordered him to leave, demanded his name, handcuffed him, and locked him in a patrol vehicle when he declined to comply. That sequence reflects an officer who's enforcing his own authority, rather than any law. And the justification that the officers offered for it, that they were entitled to identification because they were investigating, that's a rule that simply does not exist. The initiation of an investigation confers no authority to police that the underlying facts do not support. And when the underlying facts describe lawful conduct, an officer's investigation cannot escalate to a detention absent reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. This interaction highlights the critical distinction between investigating a call and possessing the legal authority to detain. And it demonstrates how quickly an encounter deteriorates when officers treat a citizen's refusal to surrender his rights as an offense in itself. Now, Mr. Accountability, he gets an A- minus for invoking the constitutional limits on the officer's authority, for declining unlawful demands without offering any physical resistance, and for remaining relatively composed under circumstances that would have provoked many citizens into escalation. From the opening moments of the encounter, Mr. Accountability identified the legal principles in play, noting that he was standing on a public easement, that filming from that location was protected expression, and that he was under no obligation to identify himself absent suspicion of a crime. When Officer Wanker escalated to physical restraint, Mr. Accountability submitted to the handcuffs without resistance, which is the advisable response to even an unlawful detention, as disputes over the legality of an officer's conduct they're won in court rather than on the sidewalk. His persistent requests for a supervisor also proved to be the most effective decision of the encounter, as it was Sergeant Myers' arrival that ultimately produced his release. That being said, Mr. Accountability's framing of his own legal position was imprecise, as he repeatedly demanded to know what crime he had committed when the governing standard is whether the officers had reasonable suspicion that he had committed, was committing, or was about to commit a crime. This means that a citizen can be lawfully detained without having actually committed any offense at all. And Mr. Accountability's insistence on the wrong question, that gave the officers rhetorical room to talk past the actual defect in their conduct, which was the absence of any articulable suspicion whatsoever. Overall, however, I commend Mr. Accountability for having a strong comprehension of his rights, asserting them without aggression, and understanding that the appropriate response to an unlawful detention is composure and documentation, rather than confrontation. Thanks again to Fume for sponsoring this episode. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic that you would like us to discuss in the comments below. Thank you for watching, and don't forget to check out Audit the Court if you're interested in exploring the legal nuance beyond the body cam. >> [music]