from an officer struggling to explain basic DUI procedures in Radcliffe you said that on direct examination you don't exactly remember seeing Mr Simington at that time correct correct sir so you don't you only learn later what he looks like I I remember his face walking by me as he exited but I didn't know who he was at the time no to a cop in Henderson forced to admit his training was lacking Mr cotton has asked you if he could refuse the blood draw I don't recall that now but that's not to say it didn't happen I have not reviewed that video and it's been 15 months um do you remember him telling you that he doesn't do well with needles I don't recall that he may have made that statement again like I said it's 15 months ago and I have not reviewed that video here are five times corrupt cops got owned in court starting with a testimony that unraveled under cross-examination what did they do what did they do mhm they went back and to their residents and spoke to the people that were in their residence and they told everybody to leave no not everybody but he said I'm over this words to that effect um need y'all to go uh it's not worth me getting in trouble for you don't recall anyone saying everybody out not those exact words no what exact words were they I don't remember this is Officer Megan Sutherland from the Radcliffe Police Department on March 9th 2016 officer Sutherland appeared in court after a noise complaint call that escalated upon arriving on the scene she spoke with the resident and observed several people leaving the party later she assisted her Lieutenant during a traffic stop involving simmington in her testimony she explains the breathalyzer test procedures and describes how she conducted the required 20-minute observation before administering the test the prosecution aims to demonstrate that all procedures were followed correctly however pay close attention as the defense attorney challenges officer southerland's account when questioning her about the events at the party mixed up officer southernland did you prior to your testimony which began at approximately 3:10 p.m. have you had any conversation with the prosecutor [Applause] can't sorry you can say that one more time have you had any [Music] conversation with the prosecutor yes I have had conversation and he made it very clear that we are not to discuss anything that was happening in here thank you you responded to a call from dispatch correct correct and that location was 1204 West Lincoln Trail Boulevard yes sir you were aware based on what the dispatcher has told you that this is the second complaint yes and when you arrived at that location how many police cruisers could you count it was just mine of my Lieutenant's SUV who else was in your vehicle in my vehicle yes ma'am no one was there anyone else in Lieutenant mccloud's vehicle that you have seen no sir so it was just you two nobody else I don't recall any other officers as you approached the residence were you by yourself yes I went to the front door yes sir by yourself yes sir and that's standard procedure my lieutenant went to the window I approached the front door by myself and yes that is standard procedure you normally don't have anyone accompanying you it's a Twan call my lieutenant went to a window and I went to the front door so two- man call he went to one window I went to the front door and when you arrived you testified that somebody came out yes and they said that they're the resident who lives at that location and you said to them what I'm sorry yeah I don't think you actually said that what what was the conversation like um verbatim I don't remember verbatim the words but when they opened up the door I asked for the resident of the home he came out we spoke in the hallway I explained to him hey you have have got to have your guest calm down quiet down like um and then I explained to him about the city ordinance reference the noise complaints and he went back inside and he told his friends they needed to go what did they do what did they do they went back into their residence and spoke to the people that were in their residents and they told everybody to leave no not everybody but he said I'm over this we're to that effect um need y'all to go uh it's not worth me getting in trouble for you don't recall anyone saying everybody out not those exact words no what exact words were they I don't remember okay how many people did you see start to pour out of the place maybe six to eight people 6 to 10 people and how many non-p police cars were parked in the the front of the apartment or the back whatever you could see I don't know the exact numbers 10 to 15 cars but it adjoin there's a par parking lot that adjoins with another apartment building so there are several Vehicles out there you said that on direct examination you don't exactly remember seeing Mr Simington at that time correct correct sir so you don't you only learn later what he looks like I I remember his face walking by me as he exited but I didn't know who he was at the time no and you don't remember him saying can I stay here I would like to stay here no sir at no point in time that I I hear him say that any of them been Rowdy would you have arrested them if they had been rowdy rowdy objection same OB still sustained you may rephrase the question that would not involve speculation I'll move on Judge you had after you saw Lieutenant oh actually let me back up I apologize while you're outside how many additional police cruisers arrived on scene I don't recall any other Cruisers that were on the scene um I've looked at our dispatch calls for service logs I didn't see anybody else call out there and we have a very strict policy if your boots hit the ground radio better know where you're at and I don't recall anybody else calling out there I don't remember seeing any other vehicles in the area so it is your testimony to these ladies and gentlemen of the jury today that there were only two police cruisers at 1204 West Lincoln Trail Boulevard at 3:00 in the morning yes that is my testimony thank you do not recall any other vehicles out there next uh I'd like to discuss very briefly you have followed Lieutenant mccloud's SUV as he was leaving correct no no you were not at the scene where the field sobriety tests were conducted by Mr simmington I show up after um it was I don't know the exact time but I stayed behind while he left and I had heard his location on the radio so shortly after he had began his traffic stop I had headed in his direction did you talk to anyone on scene on scene I think there was some passengers but I don't remember what our conversation was you don't recall ever saying to one individual this is [ __ ] pardon my language he should fight this meaning he Mr simmington no at no point in time that I say that that's all the questions I have judge during cross-examination officer Megan Sutherland was completely undermined as the defense attorney exposed her memory gaps contradictions and questionable credibility she struggled to recall key details hesitated when pressed about the breathalyzer observation period and was caught off guard when confronted with her alleged statement that the case was unfair as she fumbled through her responses her confidence crumbled making her look unreliable in front of the jur by the end it was clear her testimony had been severely weakened if not entirely discredited if you think officer southernland was the only corrupt cop who got owned in court wait until you watch this next case did you arrest uh Mr cotton for DUI Bas solely on uh vagus no you mentioned that the smell of marijuana isn't illegal um did you uh arrest Mr cotton Bay solely on the fact that he smelled of marijuana no I said that running out of gas isn't illegal did you arrest Mr cotton on October 21st 2018 just because he uh ran out of gas on the bridge no this is Officer Matt forer from the Henderson Police Department on January 10th 2020 officer forer responded to a vehicle collision on a bridge and identified the driver as Mr cotton who admitted to driving notably the officer detected the smell of marijuana coming from both Mr Cotton's vehicle and and his person Mr cotton underwent several field sobriety tests and therefore officer forer noted multiple signs of impairment including missed steps and poor balance Mr cotton was read his implied consent rights for a blood test but refused after being given time to consult an attorney he was then transported to the detention center and booked for DUI however pay close attention as the officer is questioned about his actions watch how his narrative begins to crumble and reveal inconsistencies to explain the body camera situation uh when I initially arrived to the bridge and activated my Emergency Equipment the way the camera system is set up the camera automatically kicks on that includes the camera we wear on our bodies I conducted my traffic investigation for the Collision when I realized that I was going to be carrying on a different investigation with Mr cotton I stopped my body camera and restarted it so the video that you're going to see actually picks up after my initial contact with Mr cotton so at after this point um you've made these observations um what would you do next uh after speaking with Mr cotton uh searched his vehicle I found what we refer to as Shake uh it's leftover particles of marijuana inside the vehicle also found a uh what what we refer to is the guts of a rillo it's the tobacco from inside of a uh cigarillo uh located that in the vehicle at that time I conducted field sobriety on Mr cotton uh began with the horizontal gaze and the stagis test uh you have your body camera correct and in this case you also had a cruiser rear camera that is facing the the suspect if they're in custody correct did you have uh a chance to review that portion of the video I for coming here today did not but you knew that it was uh recording yes and that it was tendered both to the prosecution and to the defense yeah uh and it does have audio capability as well it's not just it should yes and on the way to the hospital do you recall that uh before you even got to the hospital which is the portion that we have seen Mr codon has asked you if he could refuse the blood draw I don't recall that now but that's not to say it didn't happen I have not reviewed that video and it's been 15 months um do you remember him telling you that he doesn't do well with needles I don't recall that he may have made that statement again like I said it's 15 months ago and I have not reviewed that video would it refresh your recollection if we played that video for you here today ask about refresher uh DUI courses um during the 11 years that you've you know worked as a law enfor officer have you continually been on patrol and dealt with DUIs I has there been any extended period of time where you were not a part of DUI enforcement I think the longest time would have probably been about three months uh when I was off work injured uh Mr fulker brought up that you did not actually see um Mr cotton operate the motor vehicle that's correct I believe that we had discussed earlier as part of the traffic incident uh investigation did you have reason to discuss with Mr cotton that he was driving the vehicle yes he admitted that he was driving the vehicle okay um Mr forer mentioned that there's I mean Mr Foreman mentioned there's something called resting the stagis um you admitted that that's something that you had heard of right did you arrest uh Mr cotton for DUI base solely on uh vagus no okay he mention that the smell of marijuana isn't illegal um but did you uh arrest Mr based solely on the fact that he smelled of marijuana no I said that running out of gas isn't illegal did you arrest Mr cotton on October 21st 2018 just because he uh ran out of gas on the bridge no all right um again could you tell that did you what were the reasons that you arrested Mr cotton for DUI uh the fils VAR testing the smell of marijuana coming from his person as well as his vehicle um so you say was the totality of the C circumstances the officer acknowledged that merely smelling marijuana in a vehicle is not a crime Additionally the two Clues observed in the hgn test were within the passing range and no further drug impairment tests were conducted the defense highlighted inconsistencies in the officer's observations and testing emphasizing his failure to recall all DUI test criteria and his limited training on drug rated impairment with no definitive evidence of impairment the case against Mr cotton appeared weak the defense also pointed out that field sobriety tests are primarily designed to detect alcohol impairment not marijuana use if you think this was the peak of a cop getting exposed in court just wait until you hear about this next case you weren't there at the tax assessor's office correct on July 15 2021 no so you don't know why the door and the tax assessor off office was closed on July 15th 2021 do you for speculation if you know he's saying he's asking if you know why the town assessor's office City assessor's office door was closed I know why okay you could give the answer this is Sergeant Jacob Ellis from the Danbury Police Department in early 2023 Mr Reyes a strong advocate for First Amendment rights entered City Hall to film in a public area as he exercised his right to record in a government building security Personnel attempted to enforce sign-in policies and filming restrictions despite resistance from security officers Mr Reyes stood firm in his stance the situation escalated when a security guard physically restrained him allegedly restricting his movement Mr Reyes asserted that his detention was unlawful and that he had every right to film in a public space Sergeant Ellis responded to the incident with his body camera capturing the exchanges however suspicions of evidence tampering arose when a reportedly derogatory remark made by Sergeant Ellis was missing from the recorded footage watch how this matter was addressed in the court specifically with respect to exhibits two and five is there anything in the policies that we've gone over here and that you're familiar with it states Mr Reyes is compelled to provide a purpose to enter your office my office not correct office correct so that's a no cor that's a and I'll leave them up there he also testified three minutes ago when the state asked you questions about what's going on in the office and the Mr R act that he also had no reason to be there correct okay can you tell me in exhibits two or five the policy whether or not it compels Mr Reyes to give you a reason to enter your office no answer is that a no can't answer it answer is no answer you can't answer okay the the reason why the doors were closed on July 15 2021 at least your door was because Mr Pinter told you to close the door correct right okay and I think you early T you you weren't there at the tax assessor's office correct on July 15 2021 no so you don't know why the door and the tax assessor's office was closed on July 15th 2021 do you speculation if you know he's saying he's asking if you know why the toor's office cityor office door was closed I know why okay you can give the answer why why why because they asked P ask them to close that door as well same reason reason why the two doors are closed is Mr Pinter gives an order to you and whoever's responsible for the door in the assessor's office to close the door correct yeah and are you familiar with whether or not Mr Pinter has ever told anybody to close a door before July 15th did you know that what about after July 15th do you have any information about Mr Pinter telling anybody to close a door after the 15th here outside the scope sist do you know man that you sitting in the witness box today and I don't want to know any words whether or not Mr Pinter has ever told anybody in the city hall to close their door after after July 15th objection objection here not hold on first of all here's how this is going to work we're on day six of this this my last question you're going to ask a question he's going to object you're not going to talk why he objects then I'll have you talk I the case highlighted key issues of police Integrity public filming rights and security protocols concerns over missing body camera audio led to an internal investigation against Sergeant Ellis Mr s was found guilty of simple trespass for not complying with City Hall's signin policy but was acquitted of creating a public disturbance the trial spark debates on First Amendment rights government transparency and the enforcement of public filming policies if you thought this was the ultimate cop courtroom takedown wait until you hear about the next case okay I pulled my squat over I exited my uh driver's side of the vehicle came around to the front of my vehicle when a short black female who was wearing what appeared to be a blue coat and blue jeans walked in the front of my patrol vehicle there was two other subjects that were with her and they started to indicate that she had been assaulted by a boyfriend of some type this is Officer Jeremy Phillips from the wera police department on November 21st officer Phillips was on patrol when he was dispatched to frame park at 4:52 p.m. for a report of a fight involving a knife upon arrival he observed Patrol vehicles but no active altercation three individuals approached him claiming their friend had been assaulted the victim Erica Patterson initially downplayed the incident however upon closer inspection officer Phillips noticed her face was swollen and bruised watch how his testimony unfolds in court when he is questioned about the events another officer's out on foot what do you do at this point the officer came over the radio and stated he could not find anybody in the vicinity I was listening and monitoring the radio and at some point what I thought was a Reserve officer came over and uh said that they were speaking with a couple of subjects potentially involved so at that time I got on the radio and said I was going to attempt to meet with the caller because I didn't exactly know who this Reserve officer was speaking to how many subjects were involved if they were actually involved or just a witness to the situation all of that information was completely unbeknownst to me so I decided I should probably go meet with a Reserve officer and figure out who these subjects are and what the was this Reserve officer was working as part of the parade is that right he was he was uh in the vicinity right at Sergeant Dave Warner's location okay so did you drive down there I started to drive in that general direction uh towards White Rock Avenue in Hartwell which is where Dave wner and um Reserve officer Troutman would have been before I could fully reach that intersection there was approximately three subjects off to my right right hand side on the sidewalk that were yelling screaming and waving like flagging me two of the subjects started yelling that their friend had been assaulted so it was right at that point that they started trying to tell me that their friend had been assaulted that um information came over the radio on the primary dispatch channel that something had happened downtown and somebody had been hit so at that point my attention started to get a little bit Ed because hearing that on the radio is not something that just happens every day that's that perks you up uh pretty quickly to figure out you know that's could be a serious injury that could be more officers needed something that effects that took my attention away briefly as I looked back at the subjects uh they started to again say that their friend had been assaulted so I said hold on let me pull over so I can get out so I can speak with you directly in person and figure out what's going on I pulled my squat over yep go ahead I'm sorry okay I pulled my squat over I exit my uh driver side of the vehicle came around to the front of my vehicle when a short black female who was wearing what appeared to be a blue coat and blue jeans walked in the front of my patrol vehicle there was two other subjects that were with her and they started to indicate that she had been assaulted by a boyfriend of some type did you attempt to render Aid to some injured individuals there was approximately two to three individuals I can remember talking to directly they were all members of the band I don't know which band it was it was one of the high school bands uh they were in the vicinity just west of Barstow on Maine uh there was a number of them laying in the street uh obviously injured I had face-to-face contact with a few of them laying on the ground there were parents screaming at me to help their kids um I did what basic uh measures that I could take as far as emergency life saving goes I checked pulses I asked him to squeeze my finger asked him what hurt what they could move the two or three I talked to could still move they could still talk they could tell me what hurt there were multiple people standing around them also providing Aid at that point uh some of the radio traffic that I was picking up on um I was gathering that potentially a vehicle had driven through the parade and hit some of these individuals I contemplated throwing some of these people in my patrol vehicle and trying to get them to a hospital however my vehicles are simply isn't equipped uh to have that kind of space or room to do that so given the fact that I didn't want to try to move anybody unnecessarily that would have caused further damage to them especially if somebody's involved in blunt force trauma such as a car crash I said if you're doing fine right now somebody leave by shortly we'll get you an ambulance just hang tight where you are and that's basically what I had to ensure at least the two or three people that I came across officer Phillips arrived at Main Street where he encountered Parade floats and injured individuals he immediately provided emergency life-saving measures and assessed the victims many of whom were teenagers in ban uniforms afterward he resumed investigating Erica Patterson's complaint identifying her through police records and uncovering past complaints linking her to Daryl Brooks he also learned that Brooks was associated with a red SUV the same vehicle suspected in the downtown incident the proceedings of this case are not fully known if you think this was the last corrupt cop who got owned in court then you probably aren't aware of the next case these instructors Now teach a revolutionary defensive tactic system based on Gracie Jiu-Jitsu these tactics are more effective at subject control instead of play pce instead of paying compliance through strikes kicks tasers Etc utilizes mechal control holes and body positioning this is Officer Michael amot from the uid police department on August 12th 2017 officer amot pulled over Mr hubard for an alleged traffic violation the encounter escalated when officer amot ordered Mr hubard out of the vehicle a physical altercation ensued during which officer amot was captured on video repeatedly punching and kicking Mr hubard while attempting to restrain him good morning good morning thank you to the court for lying me a few minutes to speak it's been a long road I was 31 years old at the time of this incident I'm 37 today as I get older I tend to put things in perspective more raw molded and shape by experiences life and the outcome of those experiences since that it is no different for me and I learned a lot as I look back I know I've certainly changed in many ways far from a perfect person one thing I've always done is look back and reflect on my mistakes and failures it is very important for personal growth history is a great teacher the only problem is you can never change it can't rewrite it can only learn from it feels like we've been polarized to feel that people on both sides of this topic are either all good or all bad but the truth there's more Nuance than that the procedure leading up to this moment is Expos me to what defendants are really up against once they're accused in the system this case was investigated by numerous outside agencies with immediate attention the case got it certainly it certainly should have been after all investigations or search were the truth during the aftermath of this incident the department started looking at alternative use of force training that was not lion striking several officers were sent to become Grace survival tactics instructors these instructors not teach a revolutionary defensive tactic system based on Gracie Jiu-Jitsu these tactics are more effective at subject control instead of PL pce instead of pain compliance through strikes kicks tasers Etc utilizes mechanical control holes and body positioning I think the leadership of my department would attested I've Champion these efforts early data from one Department utilizing this program regularly shows a 48% decrease in officer injuries and 53% decrease in suspect injuries based on ployment of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in their trol the department found that uh physical confrontations with suspects were 200% more likely to be injured by an officer that did not have the same training they also reported a decrease in caser usage and workers count claims by $70,000 per year which was significantly less than the cost of the program I'm proud to share this is now part of our ID Police Department's annual defense tactics training program previously I had 4 hours of training every 3 years now the training is completed at least on an annual basis I've personally taken at least almost 100 hours of training outside the police department and around the state pertaining the use of force and human relations since this incident the UK city council has provided funding to officers giving them the option to seek additional training additional use of force training on the officer's own time at a local gra Jiu-Jitsu school the school is owned and operated by another local police officer I've taken full advantage of this opportunity so far and out of all the officers participating in the program have advanced the furthest and attained the most rank since this training program began ukl received some grant money through Co I worked with a group of officers to get some of that money to build a new use of force training room we're given approximately $20,000 for materials to price designed and build a new defensive tactics training area I helped design the new room I personally constructed a large 1120 ft training match complete with wall mats and Department logos I put in every screw nut and bold into the new training area myself we've never had anything like it before I worked with one of the defens tactics instructors to create waivers so we can use the new training area in our own time using Department techniques to get the repetitions we need to not only be more effective on the streets but to keep suspects and officers safer during these encounters I want to end by saying I'm not an advocate for or against use of force everything I did on that day was based on my training and experiencing from here on out I'll be an advocate for subject control training department wide going forward so we can all be at our best when the time comes I have a deep respect and love for the citizens and this community I want to do my best to serve them after all what they deserve before his sentencing officer Michael amot reflected on his mistakes growth and the challenges of law enforcement he discussed public perception police training and the scrutiny he faced initially fired from the uclid police department he was later reinstated in 2019 he was criminally charged and in 2022 a jury convicted him of assault and interfering with civil rights he received a 90-day suspended sentence one year of non-reporting community control and a $1,000 fine it's shocking to see officers being held accountable in court if you enjoyed this video don't forget to like And subscribe for more see you next time