Get over here. Get over here. Both of you, get over here. Get over here. Get up. Get over there. Don't grab me. Why don't touch me? >> For what? >> Get up. >> Get away from me. Go. >> You videotape me. I got you on the film. You play WITH ME FOR DON'T GRAB ME. >> GET UP. DON'T TOUCH ME. STOP. >> WHAT ARE YOU GRABBING ME FOR? YOU GOT out with YOUR GUN OUT ON ME. THE GRAB ME. DON'T YOU HEY, BRO. I'm going to tase you if you don't stop resisting. >> I'm not resisting. >> Okay, look. >> On January 21st, 2021, a plainclothes officer in an unmarked vehicle followed a driver into a Lowe's parking lot, and what followed raises questions that go beyond a road rage dispute. The legality of the stop begins with the Fourth Amendment. Under Terry versus Ohio, 392 US 1, 1968, any investigative detention requires reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity. >> County dispatch, are you pulling into the Lowe's parking lot? I'm in an unmarked vehicle and haven't lit him up yet. So, I'll advise if he stops. All right, I'm about to get out of my car right now. All right, the car has flashes on. He's about to get out. >> GET OVER HERE. Get over here. Both of you, get over here. Get over here. Get up. Get over there. DON'T GRAB ME. WHY DON'T TOUCH ME? >> For what? >> Get up. >> Get away from me. Go. >> You videotape me. I got YOU ON THE FILM. YOU PLAY with me for Don't grab me. >> Get up. Don't touch me. STOP. >> WHAT ARE YOU GRABBING ME FOR? YOU GOT out with your gun OUT ON ME. THE GRAB ME. DON'T HEY, BRO. I'm going to tase you if you don't stop resisting. >> I'm not resisting. >> OKAY, LOOK. >> YOU FOLLOW ME. Tase me. YOU WERE IN THE FAST LANE. GET OUT OF THE WAY. Get out of the way. >> Excuse me. Don't Don't touch me, sir. Don't touch me. >> You're both going to get tased. >> I'm sorry, but don't don't touch me. We did not touch you. So, we did not touch you at all. You in the drive you brake check me. You didn't have no lights on. What you following me for? You brake check me. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. I got you on the film, bro. I don't care. You don't worry about it. >> You're going to put your hands on the thing. You're going to put your hands on the car because you're resisting. Put your HANDS ON THE CAR. PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE CAR. And you you back up, too. Put your hands on the car. Put your other hand on the car or you're going to get tased. You, too. You're Come over here. Grab on. You put your hands car. Y'ALL AIN'T LEARNED YOUR LESSON YET. RESISTING. You following me. What the You arrested off of seeing do [ __ ] >> Yeah, I didn't even do anything. >> Brake checking and phone use in the fast lane are legitimate traffic violations in virtually every US jurisdiction. On that point, the officer had a factual basis. The stop is legally defensible. What does not hold up is the manner of contact. Protocol requires plain clothes officers to clearly identify themselves before issuing commands or making physical contact. That identification did not happen at the outset. This matters because resisting arrest without violence requires the subject to know the person giving commands is actually a law enforcement officer. Without that knowledge, the legal foundation of the arrest is seriously contested. Most state statutes define the offense using three elements. The officer must be performing a lawful duty. The subject must know the individual is an officer, and the subject must actively obstruct or oppose that officer. The driver stated clearly on camera that he did not know the person following him was law enforcement until he saw the word sheriff on the vest. If a court credits that, the second element of the charge collapses. On verbal resistance, the First Amendment does not disappear during a traffic stop. In City of Houston versus Hill, 482 US 451, 1987, the Supreme Court held that verbal challenges to police are constitutionally protected speech. Demanding to know why you are stopped, yelling, using profanity toward an officer, none of that is criminal conduct on its own, and none of it, standing alone, justifies escalating to a less lethal threat. The governing standard for any force decision is Graham versus Connor, 490 US 386 1989. Force must be objectively reasonable, judged by severity of the offense, immediacy of threat, and degree of resistance. At the moment the taser threat was issued, both subjects were verbally resistant, but had not made physical contact with the officer. The use of force continuum calls for soft empty hand control before escalating to less lethal options. The passenger raises a separate constitutional issue. Under Brendlin versus California, 551 US 249 2007, all vehicle occupants are legally seized the moment a stop occurs, regardless of whether commands are directed at them individually. She was detained from the first second of contact, did not touch the officer, and did not physically resist. Her initial arrest was the weakest enforcement decision made during the entire encounter. >> All this did you doing is illegal, bro. You following me with no lights. You brake checking me. I got you all on film, bro. >> I've been recording the entire time. >> phone. You're on the phone in the fast lane, bro. >> You know what you did? You tried to cut me off and run me off the road. >> [ __ ] YOU BRAKE CHECK ME? >> Take your little purse off. >> You a You a And you don't got no Do you have your driver's license on you? >> Hey, walk over here. Yeah, I'll get it. I'll get it. Stand up. I'll get it. Go over here. >> Don't touch my car, man. >> Shut your face. >> You shut your face. >> It's getting tough. What if I get mad, [ __ ] >> Chill out, dude. You don't want to make this bad on yourself. >> [ __ ] bro. Take a seat. >> You need to calm down. >> I wasn't resisting. Come on. >> I have to I have to call my mom. >> Well, we'll get all that done. Just calm down. >> I'm calm. I'm calm. I'm calm, sir. He ain't even let He got out >> face that way. Face that way. Hey, hey, listen. Listen. Listen. You need to take a deep breath. You understand? Hey, hey, hey, hey. Calm down. >> I'm trying to talk to >> I I know. I know. Relax. You just need to take a deep breath. You need to bring it down. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay? Because you're not going to get anywhere the more you keep yelling. Okay? >> Yes, sir. >> I want to see what's going to go on. I got to get him ID because I think the car comes back to a black female. He was the driver. >> Okay. >> She got in the way. She was resisting, so if I need If I decide to drop charges on her, I'll do that. >> Are you going to search her now? Uh yeah, let's just see if we can get her ID and then we'll get a runner real quick. >> She got the car. Listen. >> Hey, did you see when I got here? >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. So, I don't have any of those answers right now. >> Okay, that's fine. >> All right. We're going to see if we can't get you in the car, sit down, and then they'll be able to get you some answers, okay? You're not under arrest, you're just detained. >> That's fine. I don't know what you're searching my car for. >> We're not searching the car, guys. Where's your driver's license? >> It's in there. It's in my pocket. My bad, it's in my pocket. But, why is she arrested? Why are you arresting >> I got to remind you you're detained. I want you to listen very carefully. Very carefully, cuz it's all been recorded on my BWC, this entire incident. So, I want you to be So, you're on the same page. She's in the one over there. So, just so you know, you tried to run me over the road. Yes, you did. I recorded it on my BWC. I had >> I recorded it, too. Bro, you're in a You're on a phone. >> I'm not going to argue with you. I'm not going to argue with you. >> I'm not going to argue with you? >> Well, right now You ain't seen nothing You ain't learned And body on a law enforcement officer, possibly. That way. Face that way. >> That's bull. >> Listen. >> Yes, sir. >> You are going to get nowhere if you do this. Do you understand? >> Yes, sir. >> I get you're pissed. But, if you want to have a civil conversation, >> I would like that. >> you have to bring it down. >> Yes, sir. >> Cuz I promise you it's not going to end well for you, and I want to see you be able to get the answers that you need. Do you understand? >> Yes, sir. >> She's not under arrest. >> Thank you. That's all I wanted to know. Yes, sir. >> Just like everybody is detained right now. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay? >> Yes, sir. >> All right. Have a seat. Just swing your feet in. I'll get I'll get I'll You got it? >> Yes, sir. >> She's going to turn your air up, okay? >> All right. >> I saw it, dude. As soon as he turned around, I saw him go. I was like, "Uh >> [laughter] >> I was like, "We do not need to be spitting on people with COVID going on." >> Yeah. You good? Feel the air? >> Yes, ma'am. Why Is she Is she getting arrested? >> No. No, right now your both are just being detained, okay? >> That's all it is right now. >> Right now >> Right now, you're not being arrested as of right now. Right now, you might just be getting a ticket. I don't know what the case is. >> Can you Can you just >> Cuz that's my That's my sergeant. So, it's >> I understand it, but this is This is all a misunderstanding. He brake checked me. I didn't even know he was an officer. He was Listen, ma'am. He was driving in the fast lane. Even though I seen the tent He was He was on the phone. He was texting on the phone. He started brake checking me. So, I get in the middle lane. I cut him off because he brake checked me. I did cut him off because he did brake check me. I'm not just going to I'm not just going to cut him off for no reason. >> Yeah. >> He brake checked me. That's the only reason. And when I got in the front of this car, I could see through the front. I seen it say "Sheriff" on the front of his on the front of his um vest. >> So, I pulled over here. I had him follow me over here in the parking lot, and I got out of my car with my phone. >> Uh-huh. >> I didn't realize it. He got out of the car with his gun drawn. I had my phone out. >> a taser. >> No, he had his gun out at first. Back here, he came out When he came over by the the car, he pulled his taser out. But, he got out of the car with his gun. >> Uh-huh. >> And that that was it. I did cut him off because he brake checked me. I didn't know he was an officer until I got in the front of him. But, he was on the phone. I seen him with my own eyes. >> Is there a little bit of weed in the car? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Where? >> Over in the car? >> Yeah. >> Um >> you just finish smoking or >> Earlier, yeah. >> Okay. Okay. How much weed is in the car? >> No, there should be no weed in the car. There's no weed in the car. >> Okay. >> I did smoke earlier, though. >> All right. I'll uh let him know everything you just told me. All right. That you don't you didn't know he was a cop, that he brake checked him, and that stuff like >> Can you Can you just please let her go? She didn't do anything, ma'am. >> Yeah. I think she's already unsecured. >> Please, just let her drive my car home. Please, don't let her get arrested. >> The arresting officer receives a C+. The basis for contact was legally sound, and the taser was not deployed. But, failing to identify as law enforcement before physical contact was a procedural breakdown that shaped everything that followed. The driver receives a B-. His admission that he cut the officer's vehicle off means he shares fault. His verbal resistance extended the confrontation, but his claim of not recognizing the follower as law enforcement carries genuine legal weight. The female passenger receives an A- minus. She did not physically resist, cooperated once separated, and her protests were factually accurate. The only deduction is for voluntarily disclosing prior marijuana use with no legal obligation to do so. The second officer receives an A- minus. He acknowledged the driver's frustration without conceding the legal position, explained the detention clearly, and brought the situation down without additional force. That is de-escalation executed correctly. The outcome reflects how contested this case was. Both subjects were charged with resisting arrest without violence. Those charges were dropped after both completed a pre-trial diversion program. The prosecution chose not to pursue convictions. Every encounter like this teaches something concrete, not just for officers, but for anyone who could find themselves in a situation like this. Here are five lessons this footage makes impossible to ignore. Lesson one, plainclothes officers must identify themselves before making enforcement contact. Failure does not eliminate legal authority, but it creates the conditions for resistance and weakens the integrity of any charge that follows. Lesson two, the right to remain silent applies during an investigative detention, not just after a formal arrest. You are not required to explain yourself on the scene. Anything you say becomes part of the record. Lesson three, verbal resistance is constitutionally protected, but tactically counterproductive. Arguing at the scene does not help your legal position. It extends the encounter, raises tension, and gives officers more material to document. Lesson four, if you are a passenger in a stopped vehicle, you are legally detained under Brendlin from the first moment of contact. Stay calm. Do not volunteer information, and do not physically intervene in an arrest, even if you believe it is unlawful. Lesson five, de-escalation is a skill, not a personality trait. The contrast between the two officers here is a textbook example. One approach created a physical confrontation. The other resolved it in under two minutes. Tone and training matter. If this breakdown gave you a clearer picture of how the law works in these moments, subscribe to our channel. We apply the same legal and tactical framework to every encounter we cover. Because knowing your rights is not optional.