From wrongful identity arrest in Asheville. Relax. Relax. We're not going to fight with a gun anymore. Officers turned thieves in Lacrosse. These shocking incidents expose the dark underbelly of law enforcement. Disclaimer: All content in this video is for general educational purposes only. On May 17th, 2023, an unsettling incident unfolded in Asheville, North Carolina. As police arrested Devin Whitmer on a warrant for communicating violent threats, the Asheville Police Department charged Whitmire with multiple counts of assault following the disturbing events captured on body cam footage. In the video, a concerned citizen contacts the police, reporting that Whitmire was threatening to damage property and posed a potential danger. The dispatcher relayed this information to the responding officers. I got caught on camera. Yes. Um are you Can you get an officer and what street? This This got to stop. We have been calling about Deon Whitmer. They didn't serve the IVC on him. Somebody's on my other line right now. They're I'm on mute. They're letting me hear Devon. He's threatening to bust out more windows at my mama's house. I need somebody to get over there. This is ridiculous. Another window or why would another Mac Street? Yes. Max Street. He did her tires this weekend. Her window. One of them. And I thought they were over there fixing. So obviously nobody's over there cuz they saying he's standing outside looking at her windows. Now he's about to tear her house up again. This is ridiculous. We called the police and called the police to try to get them to get this for they said one of them was on camera. I'm his mother and we guardian and I did a IVT but they never found him and they somebody called me this morning while I was at the hospital and said he was they called the police on him earlier on long show. I don't know, but I wish somebody would please get this for Deon Whitmer. It's not Kevin, it's Devon with a D. A judge responded to the public outcry by ordering the release of the body cam footage, revealing a troubling encounter between Whitmer and the arresting officers. Ashual Police Department. Hey, this is Magister. I've got some IVC paperwork that need to be picked up and served, but the person has to be found first. And the officer who swore it all out is kind of standing around. I think he wants to keep looking. Um, let me tell you the person's name. You ready? No. Yeah. Do you have any idea where they may be located at? We do. We have any idea where they may be located? About an hour ago, he was seen around Max Street. Um, sort of wandering around that way, but nobody's seen him since then. Okay. All right. What's his name? Devin. D E V as in Victor. O N is in no. Uh, Witz Meyer, excuse me. W H I T M I R E. What's his date of birth? Okay. Is he violent? Yes, I would call him violent. And he's threatening to kill various people around him. As the officers approached Whitmer, confusion arose when they mistook him for his twin brother, Tevin. Black male, white shirt. Looks to be uh camo colored shorts. Currently wearing a sling. Is it Whitmer? What's that? Devon. Kevin. Kevin. Despite Whitmer's attempts to clarify his identity, tensions escalated. I got my right. Hold on. Do you recognize me? Yes, I do. Livingston. Do you um do you have ID on you? I know you I know you have a twin. Did you talk to somebody over across from Leagueard a couple days ago? 1837. No. Do you have ID on you? No. No. Is there to verify that you're That's what I'm saying. I just That's what I'm saying. I'm like, what's the problem? Okay. Is my brother doing something crazy? Okay. It's a tight person. You spoke to me back about a week ago. Do you remember this? Were you pulling me over? I didn't even pull you over. Did you speak to me? Okay. Well, that makes me feel like you're lying to me because I spoke to Kevin. Okay. Okay. You don't remember that? When would you speak to my twin if I'm my if you said I'm You're Tevin. So you I'm Tevin. That's what I'm saying. Like what? Like how? No. No. Where did you you did you just come today? Yeah. I'm just walking from down there. That's what I'm saying. Like what's going on? Well, we're trying to find Devon. So, he's in Lee Walker Heights doing all that. That's why I'm not up there. Okay. As long as you're Tevin, I'm Yeah. Like, I'm I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not going to lie to you. It's fine. It's not that I'm saying you're lying. I'm trying to figure out what's going on cuz he needs to answer his phone at this point. We need to find Deon. That's it. As long once we prove that you are Tevin, then I'm going to cut you loose. Okay. The officers persisted with their questioning, demanding information, and failing to recognize the significant discrepancies between the brothers. Can I ask what you did to your arm? Me? Yeah. You drinking right here? Like there's nothing wrong with it. You're drinking and what? You fell or something? Yes, sir. A scratch. I bought this. I bought this. I bought this from there and they said there was nothing wrong, but Okay. That's all I wanted to know. Gotcha. Okay. Do you have any uh tattoos on your upper arm here? Yes, sir. How about the other? I got new tattoos. I just told you. So, what's going on? You have your ID on you? No, right here on my arm, man. But my mother's not answering because of what my brother's doing. So like somebody just ran down on meaker 212. Is there anything to identify you that's not dead other than that wristband? Is there anything else that we can use? Yeah, I can I used to stay right here. Yeah, it doesn't help. I'm not answering no more questions. What's going on? You're not telling me what's going on. Well, right now we think that you possibly got to head. The situation took a dark turn as the officers, seemingly fueled by confusion and aggression, forcibly detained Whitmer. The struggle unfolded, leading to a chaotic scene with Whitmer repeatedly asserting his innocence. We'll be taking you down to jail tonight. Okay. Well, can I can y'all back up so I can get my gun off? Where's your gun at? Don't worry about no if I just I just want Relax. Relax. We're not going to fight with a gun in the boat. That's wrong, too. I know. We changed the boat. 1040. 1040. His arm is freaking down. Down. Put your hands behind your back. Why not doing that [ __ ] [Applause] You don't do nothing. Where's the gun at? Where's the gun at? That's why you ain't got one, [ __ ] [ __ ] I need you. I ain't got no mother gun. And if you slam my head on the Relax, relax. The use of force appeared excessive and disproportionate, casting doubt on the officer's ability to handle the situation appropriately. I said that you ain't got no money. Hey, he grabbed my Relax. He just grabbed my We're looking for the gun. We're looking for the gun. Stop. Relax. Relax. We're not trying to hurt you. Okay, [ __ ] I got a to pick to resist. Stop. Relax. I talking about resisting. You're spitting on cuz it ain't no good. In the aftermath, a public outcry ensued as the community questioned the conduct of the arresting officers. Calls for accountability reverberate, demanding a thorough investigation into the events surrounding Devon Whitmire's arrest. Come on, buddy. about this. It don't take all y'all to do that. It don't take man to do that. Y'all too much. In the pursuit of truth and justice, the community awaits answers, seeking reassurances that incidents like these will be thoroughly examined and prevented in the future. The actions taken by officers against Devon Whitmire had the potential to seriously injure him. But Laquenda Banks conduct will truly make you disgusted. In the meantime though, on October 5th, 2022, an officer responded to an incident at Husa Park in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. The situation escalated when the officer confronted a 22-year-old man named Edison Quesara Valera over an alleged dispute with a parks and wreck employee. Hey man, how you doing? We talked this morning. You and I talked this morning. Yeah, with the camera. I don't believe you. No. Well, the reason I'm talking with you now is because uh the parks employee said that you knocked his hat off of his head and called him a Why did you do that? because he knocked it out of them. Things took a dark turn when the officer, lacking communication skills, confronted Valera, who became immediately uncooperative. The officer's demand for identification intensified, leading to a questionable use of force. Do you have an ID with you? Do you have an ID with you, sir? Yeah, I do. Can I see your ID, please? Can I see your ID, please? Right there. Can I see your ID, please? Right here. There's my face. Well, I'm investigating a disorderly conduct charge. You need to identify who you are. You need to give me your name and date of birth. What's your name? Failure to identify will result in an obstructing charge. The officer's aggressive approach failed to deescalate the situation. Valera's attempts to leave the scene resulted in a chaotic struggle, raising questions about the officer's handling of the encounters. You're not free to leave. I'm looking for my bicycle, sir. Well, I'm telling you that you're not free to leave. Well, I'm telling you that my bicycle is here and I'm white dude. Come here. Come here. Put your hand behind your back. Put your other hand behind your back now. Dude, no. Stop resisting. What is Stop resisting. Stop pulling away from me. Stop pulling away from me. Stop resisting. Get on the ground now. Get on the ground now. The officer resorted to using a taser, but technical malfunctions and Valero's resistance added to the chaos. The officer, frustrated and unable to maintain control, opted for physical force, including knee strikes. Oh, that hurt a lot more than I thought it would. Stop resisting. Get on your stomach now. Get on your stomach. Get on your stomach. Get on your stomach. Get on your stomach. 94 taser. Get on your stomach. You're going to get it again. Get on your stomach. Please stop these. Get out of here. Get out of here. A large hostile crowd gathered witnessing the officer's questionable actions. An unidentified party, later identified as Ronald Wright, intervened, shoving the officer off Valera. No longer me. Another officer arrived at the scene to assist the responding officer, but he clearly didn't need it as he had already dealt so much damage to Valera. [Music] Put a t-shirt over this way. No. No. No. Farther. Baby blue. Baby blue. That way. Make sure you're good. I'm good. Thank you. Appreciate it. Can we just get some space? We'll sort it all out. Body camera. I got it. He's trying to pull the taser away. Yeah. While you were tasing, what happened? Back up. Back up. I'll get him on him. He's got some space, please. from everybody. The incident leaves us questioning the use of excessive force by the officer as Valera faced charges while the officer's actions are later deemed justified by the department. Right now, sir, please. I will talk to you once we're all done. We'll get all sorted out. Okay. I got my phone in my front pocket, my wallet in my back pocket. I might have some soap in my back pocket. All right. Just so you know, once we get this sorted out, I'll come talk to you and get it all sorted out. Okay. Yeah, I'll I'll talk to all you guys. The officer and Valera even had a conversation as he was being transported to the police department. And it's not one where the suspect was wrong. Were you having a rough day or something? What happened? I can barely hear you. Sorry. Were you having a rough day or something? What happened? I'm having a fine day. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Why do you assume I'm having a bad day or woke up on the wrong side? Because you didn't lead with kindness, sir. Cuz I didn't leave with kindness. No, that's exactly why. Do you think knocking someone's hat off and calling them a is leading with kindness? No, but I think escalating is uh the very opposite of leading with kindness. I'm not the one who escalated that. Who escalated that? Well, actually, you know what? I'm just going to shut the sounds like good advice. In the pursuit of justice, it's crucial to scrutinize instances where authority figures may abuse their power. The lacrosse community demands transparency and accountability in the face of such questionable police conduct. Leaving behind the unsettling encounter in Huska Park, we now shift our focus to former Chief Deputy Laquenda Banks. Caught in a web of theft and official oppression during an eviction, Banks abuse of power brings a disturbing dimension to law enforcement. [Music] Former Chief Deputy Laquenda Banks faces 18 months probation for official oppression, part of a theft scandal during an eviction. Banks tried to shut off her body cam, and she thought she had successfully turned it off, but she was in for a surprise. Hold on. Don't come down here. Let me see. [Music] Put them in my shirt. [Music] Hold on. I get one. Hold on. Give me a minute. Hold on. We got Oh, everything here. Banks body cam exposed banks, trailer Harris, and Hullman stealing watches, cash, and a safe with antique coins during an eviction. It was a blatant abuse of power. I didn't get to check them. Huh? Oh, now it's a whole bunch in the other bag, too. We can roll this out. But it's a we're missing a small handgun. I can tell you that now. He probably got it. I found some bullets. It was the bullets on top of that. I didn't go through them [ __ ] Yeah, he probably roaming around the house, Banks searched and opened drawers and whatever she liked, she stole. It is literally shocking that the people entrusted with catching robbers are setting this example. What is it? This is [ __ ] I bought last night. As they moved to the top floor, Banks opened another drawer and this time she stole another pair of sunglasses. This time, Ray-B bands. She was clearly delighted in hoarding that much booty. What's all this? Yeah. Yeah. See what's in here. Oh, Ray-B bands. Okay. Put this right there. Wait. Yeah. Let me take the bottom. As the whole house was raided by the officers, they eventually exited. Banks went to her cruiser to unload her illegal collection. But they coming in. So I guess get them get them out. They can wait in their car. Banks is charged with official oppression and property theft by a public servant for theft accusations and was terminated from duty on December 3rd, 2021. Banks, Harris, and Holman were indicted on charges of felony theft by a public servant and a misdemeanor of official oppression. In this next case, we navigate through the alleged false arrest, use of excessive force, and the darker side of police, raising critical questions about accountability and transparency. I'm not going to pull them out on you, dog. You're you're touching up on me, and I never asked for a shot. Stop. On the 12th of February, 2023 in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, officers responded to a disturbance involving a man named Ronald. Known for his troubled past, this encounter escalated into a situation that reveals the darker side of law enforcement. And now, what's going on? This is one scratch. It's like a little dent where he punched it. Yep. I don't know. It was like a metal. How did all this kick off? Ronald, agitated and confronted by the police, denies any wrongdoing. The situation intensifies as the officers decide to make an arrest, claiming probable cause without any concrete evidence. Yeah. So, uh, we got a call that somebody threw a metal pole or post or something like that at a car that drove by. White guy, he was kind of like scruffy looking. He had a bike and a bag. Can you tell me what happened? I got spit on and and violently and and vulgarly taught that. Now, what happened after that, I couldn't tell you. And then he has like this metal square that literally just wound up and just chucked it. Did he Did he keep it with him? Yeah. But I didn't do anything wrong. And I And I hope nobody tries to act like so cuz I will continuously do something wrong if that's the case. It was a metal. What? He described it as like a metal square. So I don't know if it's Is this here? Trying to make a connector for the trailer to the bike. Oh, is that what you're doing? Yeah. So, it's not working out very well. All right. So, um you were right here doing this and you got spit on or what happened? I guess he thought she was going too fast or something and he's like, "Slow down, you bitch." And then her window was down and then I said something which of course I you know I just had my mouth shut. Uh the dude was talking walked by drove by. Sorry. And then Yeah. What kind of car did he have, Rob? A red one. Okay. All right. So, what was he talking? Yeah. He he was like he was driving past. I was like, "Dude, you need to slow down. I'm sitting here right here in the road." And then he started walking over with that metal thing. She takes off. He still throws it. Still hits it. And then we have no choice but to turn around. So when we turn around, he didn't have that metal thing in his hand. And then that's when he just punched the car. All right. So just real quick, you're not in trouble or anything right now. But the thing is is I see you keep putting your hand towards the knife. No, no. I was going to give it to you. Yep. Yeah. Don't do that. I'll just I'll grab this, though. Okay. The officers forcefully subdued Ronald. His verbal protests fell on deaf ears and the use of force seemed excessive. The officer's actions raised questions about their approach and the need for such aggression. Any other knives would you? No weapons. Just don't don't reach for it. I'm just going to me. I'm going to patch you up for weapons. Okay. Listen weapons for my safety. I don't have I'm not going to pull them out on you, dog. You're You're touching up on me and I never asked for stop. You're under Stop resisting. No, I'm not under arrest. Yes, you are under arrest. I didn't do anything. Stop resisting. I didn'ting do anything. Just No, I didn't do anything illegal. Get the off me, mother. Put your hands behind your back. No, I didn't do anything illegal. I didn't do anything illegal. You are under arrest. Put your hand behind your back. For what? You're under For what? What? For what? You were under arrest. For what? For what? Cuz I won't let you search me. Ronald vehemently insisted on his innocence, calling out the officers for what he perceived as a false arrest. The tensions peaked as Ronald accused the police of ruining his life without proper evidence. The narrative suggested a questionable motive behind the arrest. Lucy, stop arresting him. I didn't do anything wrong. What the Put your hand behind I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't do anything wrong. Officer, stop. Please arrest. Okay. Okay. I got I got this one. Are you okay? No, you heard me. You stupid. I didn't even do anything. Don't talk like that. You didn't even do anything. Are you injured? Yes. I didn't even do anything. Run. What? You need an ambulance? I don't know. Yeah, probably. Throughout the ordeal, Ronald hurled and expressed his frustration and anger. The officers in turn failed to deescalate the situation and opted for a more confrontational approach. What am I even being arrested for? Ow. Ron, it didn't have to be this hard. What did Iinging do to do this? I didn't even break the law. Just try to stay for right now. Like you're arrested me for no reason. What? You're arresting me for no reason, dog. I don't have another weapon. You You heard me. And I'm arrested for what? What law did I break? You slashed tires on the car the other night? No, I didn't. Yes, you did. You're on video. No, I'm not. See, you guys are just falsely arrested me, dude. You get off me. Do not res You do not resist. You're pulling my hair, you little The officers decided to search Ronald violently. Moreover, the use of a spit hood raised ethical questions about the officer's handling of the situation. Just relax, bro. I can't. Take a deep breath. I look what they're doing to me. Dude, you have charges for something that looks. Ronald, just take a deep breath, man. Remember, we had this conversation at Menards. If you're going to be honest with you and tell you what's going on. I didn't do anything. How can you give me fake charges? They're not fake. Yes, the they are about what they are. I don't care what you tell me. I didn't do it. You're just making it worse by fighting. You We're going to roll you this way so we can search the other. Now, why don't you smash my body? Can you do that? My head slam my head. Quiting touching me. search. You know, you don't. The officers placed Ronald in the car to transport him to the police department, and their conversation is not one to be missed. Thanks, buddy. What we have, Ron, you know how we do these investigations. You probably seen it on TV. We talk to everybody that's involved. We take their stories. We look at other like physical evidence, surveillance video, etc. And we take all of that evidence in and make a determination kind of if we have probable cause to make an arrest. And at this point, we have probable cause. Not saying you're guilty of anything at this point. But we we cause just cuz you want to arrest a person, dude. You might as well stop talking. I don't like you're up. You're arresting me, taking me away from life because you have probable you don't have any probable cause. You have an assumption. An assumption makes an out of you and me. And we did well enough earlier. Dude, what the [ __ ] You have no evidence. You're just doing it to be a You're a piece of human being. This is why I hate the force. You guys are just scumbags, dude. Upon further investigation at the booking area, another revelation unfolded. A glass meth pipe concealed in a towel. This discovery raises doubts about the thoroughess of the initial search and the officer's ability to handle evidence appropriately. Did you have a spit hood handy? It might be a good idea. He had spit earlier. He was fighting and squirming and kicking the whole time I tried to search him. I did as best I can. So you guys might want to do that out here first or whatever. They didn't shoot him up or anything when they were in there. Why do I got to be up? Did they get away with it? Like what the They gave me the evidence. Get the video. You guys are over the city, boys. What the heck? Where's this meth pipe? Oh, there we go. I did hear him. to hard to search when he's doing that. In the aftermath, Ronald faces a string of charges, including felony counts and misdemeanor. The entire incident sheds light on potential police misconduct, leaving us to question the actions of those sworn to protect and serve. [Music]