Police: Foot in the Door

Resident owner denies Arlington Police Officers entry into his home without a search warrant, Officers still went in.

 

You’re taught in the police academy that any entrance pass the threshold of the door is trespassing without a warrant so yes that is warrantless entry

 

This man is a damn saint for the level of patience exercised in this situation!
The only mistake he did was to open his door. Never open your door.
The reason they keep their foot in the door like that is to bait you into trying to close it so they can charge you with assault on an officer.
The way the cop just stands there while he pleads for him to leave knowing his rights, is truly disturbing
Cop puts foot in door to block resident from closing. I’m of the opinion that the resident should be allowed to close the door using however much force is necessary to achieve closing the door. The idea that cops will charge you with assault for closing a door on them is asinine. Other option is to close the door however much you can, place your foot behind the door. Then inform the cop that the same assault charge he would charge you with if you close the door applies to him if he forces the door open wider. When they stand in the hall but have their foot in the doorway, they know they have no right to enter. We should be allowed to slam the damn door even if it breaks the cops foot!
it’s crazy that our natural right to be left alone can be ignored simply because someone makes a phone call.
I’m shaking and it wasn’t even me there. This dude deserves Saint good for how he handled himself.
They are terrorizing that child, and if anyone is being irrational, it’s those cops.
They broke the threshold, that is trespassing.
He trespassed the cops and they come in anyways… Sounds like a nice lawsuit to me, plus they have to know trespass laws, so their legal immunity is blown.

>> I wonder if you noticed that he was arrested. So, before any lawsuit, he has to deal with his own charges.

>>   @vad R  charges that’ll be thrown out once the video reaches the authorities.

 @Van Iyke  The cops will undoubtedly claim exigent circumstances. One of them even pointed out that he saw some broken glass. Check out the story of James Wood in Cotati CA, couple of years ago, who also thought that he can resist officers’ warrantless entry during welfare check. The whole family was tazed and charged with obstructing, including the alleged victim; Wood was tried in court, and got off only because the jury deadlocked – half of the jury agreed that he deserved prison term. In this case it’s ten times easier because of the glass, and of the kids involved.
was wrong, he was not arrested – they verified that there was noone else in the home, and left. Here’s more complete video:
 @vad R  there was no visible harm on the child when said child presented himself, there were no sounds of the child crying, the child was not seen to be crying, the child did not ask police for help and…. Oh yeah…. almost forgot about the PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE ABSENT PROBABLE CAUSE of which there was NONE. You better hope your neighbors don’t hear you drop a glass and it breaks one day or you may have an army of pigs show up at your door demanding entry. Better just COMPLY CITIZEN, right?
4 ways for a cop to enter a residence:
1) Consent
2) Warrant
3) Hot pursuit
4) Exigent Circumstances
An anonymous call stating a “disturbance” does not meet the threshold for exigent circumstances.
They have no warrant, they clearly do not have consent and they are obviously not in hot pursuit.
Funny how it went from a ‘domestic disturbance’ involving “a wife” to a ‘domestic disturbance’ involving the Son”
I can’t believe bro didn’t cuss a single time 👏🏼 big props
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, open the door for the police unless they have a warrant. Make them break down the door. Make them defend it in court.
I feel so sorry to this man and his child for having sick people in their door so scary.
This was an illegal search. The reason they didn’t just drag him out the door and detain him while they searched for the “distressed party” is because they knew there was no distressed party. They were trying to get him to agree to an open-ended search where anything found would be admissable in court. This whole charade was to try to trick him into giving permission to search. They show up claiming exigent circumstances but then waited at least 15 minutes, plenty long enough for someone to bleed to death or die from asphyxiation, drowning, OD, heart attack, stroke or any number of other causes. This didn’t disturb the officers because they knew that the exigent circumstances was merely a pretext. Exigent circumstances are exceptions for when seconds matter. By waiting 15 minutes they proved that there was no exigency. So at this point they clearly are not performing any legitimate law enforcement activity. They were very clearly asked to leave but did not do so. We are left with the inescapable conclusion that they are not acting in any official or legal capacity at all! (Though they are acting under color of law.) They had no legitimate reason to be there and they have been asked to leave and failed to do so, one of the actual examples of trespass in the Texas Penal Code! Because they are acting under color of law, this becomes Criminal Trespass. When later they do force their way in, having, by their own conduct, clearly discarded all legal rationale for their presence, TPC 9.31 is triggered, which justifies use of lethal force. These officers got lucky. If that boy had understood how wrong what was happening was, he might have feared for his and his father’s lives. He was big enough to handle an AR… Plenty of kids his size have killed intruders.
Once you heard his son is fine your wellness check is done. There is no longer any need to be there.
Never, ever open the door to cops unless you have a locked screen door or storm door between you in case you need to shut your door quickly.
This reminds us once again ” DO NOT OPEN YOUR DOOR” Better to talk through it closed and locked. Isn’t it sad to have to protect ourselves from the very people who are paid to “protect and serve “.
He was MORE than patient. Showed his son 3 times. This was very stressful just to watch…….I can’t imagine being him. His son was so scared that he started crying. When they stormed the door at the end, I started crying…….& I don’t cry easily. Police brutality.
The encounter should have ended when the child appeared. These cops are tyrants & broke the law & need to be fired & sued in civil court. The department needs to be held accountable for the actions of these officers also. I hope this man gets the justice he deserves
“We got a call…” they think that this statement gives them carte blanche to violate rights…
Someone give me more information on what happened to this father, and his child. I believe this call was the cause of a bad woman. I believe there is more to what was really going on behind that domestic call. It was clear though that he was a good man, and a protecting father.
Gwacamolle Lully: It’s always funny when people come up with this response, tax payer’s money. As soon as we the tax payers get fed up of footing the bill for police brutality and incompetence we will demand change. Until then, we will continue to pay for our lack of action. Police love using the word “right”. Officer: “We have a right to enter and check.” No sir, you are mistaken. You actually have a “duty” to check. He however, has the “right” to be secure in the home. As soon as he got his son, who’s statements will be seen as truthful and unbiased in court, to confirm the number of occupants and his well being. That should have been it. But the officers egos took over again.
Buy yourself a nice house, and a new car. Put your son through college. You deserve it, Bro!
 @Gwacamolle Lully  I am usually taking police side, but this was extreme. The guy deserves every penny he can get from them and from you, as a tax payer. I am european, so I’m good. You guys need to open your eyes widely to what happens in US and start to make some changes.
Cop is like “I don’t understand why he won’t just let me violate his rights”.
According to this, cops can just have anyone call in a residence and that will give them the right to search that residence. That is scary.
anytime you don’t let them trample all over your rights, their response is: “You’re not being rational.”
He must have told them over a 100 plus times not to enter. Unreal
I use to be a deputy for 8yrs and i can tell you i wasn’t trained like this. I was trained to follow the law. No warrant, no entry!!! Most of the cops downfalls is the department gets into this mindset and nothing gets done about it at the top!
“You can have an officer monitor my door while you go get a signed warrant”.. Why does this citizen know how to do their jobs better than them 🤔??
Security doors allow you to open your door and still have a barrier between you and whoever’s at your door.
They will interrogate the son and tell him that dad will go to prison if he doesn’t agree that dad is abusing him.
This is the reason you don’t have answer the door when you see a cop at it! They crossed the threshold this should be considered a violation of the 4th amendment. Point blank period
This was extremely disturbing to watch. This is exactly where the breakdowns of community start. I have decided never to call the police, unless specifically asked to, for fear of individuals ending up harrassed, bombarded, wounded, and at worst, DEAD. I cannot live with that on my conscious. Even if there was a Domestic Situation, some just need to get to the other side of that situation. Sadly, in either situation, calling the police or not, someone could end up dead!
Never open your door to cops unless you called them or its an emergency. When you do the first thing the do is put their foot in so you can’t close the door and if you try they arrest you for assault.
A “welfare check” does not suspend his civil rights!
No amount of money from the enevitable settled out of court case, can be enough to compensate for the trauma that poor child must have experienced when these tyrants burst into the family home!! This has boiled my piss 😤
The victim did as well as I could imagine. I’d like to see Audit the Audit show this and give us some clues how to handle the foot in the door problem with cops. If you try to close the door they arrest you for assault and yet they are trespassing. In the time they spent harassing the victim the cops could have gotten a warrant, but they don’t want to go that route because they don’t have probable cause to convince a judge to sign a warrant. Can the officers not be charged with trespassing? Are they immune from that? Time to clarify this foot in the door process.
You did a good job of stopping the cops from talking. When they start talking, you end up getting charges that they make up..!
In Texas, the law allows a few exceptions to the warrant requirement. One of these exceptions is Exigent Circumstances, sometimes referred to as “the emergency doctrine.” If they reasonably suspect that someone may be in need of medical assistance, or is otherwise in danger of harm…that qualifies. And courts have upheld that a phone call report may be satisfactory to establish reasonable suspicion. Therefor it is very likely that their Welfare Check, based on a caller reporting some domestic violence, would be enough for a court to rule that they were allowed to enter his home without a warrant. This is true even if it turns out later that the reporting caller was wrong. And at least one of the officers did try to explain Exigent Circumstances briefly before being drowned out by the man. I friggin hate it when I hear about yet another instance of, “We investigated ourselves and – shocker – find that we did nothing wrong.” But in this particular case, I’m afraid that would rightly be the outcome.
I gotta stop watching these types of videos. It makes me upset that “leo’s” believe that they can violate the God given and constitutional rights of citizens at will. When the lawsuits inevitably happen, the payouts come from the pockets of other innocent citizens rather than from those of the perpetrators. Sickening system.
This happened to me with a crazy salesman. I told him to move his foot before I shut the door, cuz if he didnt, it was gona hurt. He refused. I slammed the door. I can still hear him yelping. I think I broke it. Would do the same for unwanted cops
1) theres either a “real” threat or circumstance that makes it really necessary to go in without a warrant in that case they shouldnt talk to him for 10 minutes 2) they have no real reason, then they should all get sued
We homeschooled our six children. This kind of thing happens to homeschool families all the time. We belonged to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association when we are children were school age. We had their lawyers on speed dial to protect us against this kind of crap. It still happened to some people especially in CA. Some families won large civil rights settlements. Does anyone know if this guy came out of it okay? Where did this happen?

Show less


This is just an ego confrontation and the cops are experts at it. I guess it’s taught at the academy.
I’m from Canada. And if I took this to any, and I mean ANY lawyer, even though I could not afford them? They would take this case for free (pro bono), and they would sue the police department, the city and each individual officer. With the condition, that if we won, I would then pay for their services. This is appalling to me!! All I can say is I see one HUGE LAWSUIT coming against everyone concerned. To the father? KUDOS for holding your cool. Best Regards and Stay Safe Everyone from Ontario, Canada, Jenn
My parents demanded a warrant, the police said it’s in the car, and refused to show it, police decided to shove their way into the house, then a month later, came back and arrested my 81 year old father and 60 year old mother for assaulting an officer/obstruction of justice 3 counts because there were 3 cops.
When we get a call for service………. Obviously the cops feel all of your rights are suspended because their phone rings. I wonder how that will work out in court. The cops just keep saying listen listen listen listen when the facts are we don’t have to listen to them and we don’t have to speak to them .
The citizens, one day will use the “I feared for my life” excuse. This would have been a good time for it.
This reminds me of when I was 6-7 years old. My Father was a single parent. He was an alcoholic and heroin addict, but he never put his hands on me. Cops used to force their way in and beat the living $h.. out of my dad. They even went as far as to throw him down 5 flights of stairs. When it came to court time, these TYRANTS would lie in their report. Saying, “he fell!” I would tell court the truth, but of course they wouldn’t listen. Poor lil boy. Good old boys in blue still wondering why us people of color don’t trust them??? (I really want to go off in my comments, because this video is a trigger for me)!!!
We need to start having special doors made that automatically close at the push of a button to close the threshold of a door and sever anything that is breaking that threshold. Cops might start learning when half their foot is where it should never have been to start with.
That’s scary shit! The cop immediately tried to say he saw broken glass and stop hurting your child. Scary when law enforcement puts themselves above the law.
You should have made a citizens arrest, request that the second officer arrest the trespasser, and demand a supervisor. You provided several trespasser notices. At that point both lose qualified immunity.
This would not be happening if there was no Qualified Immunity and the police had to carry their own liability insurance!
So if there’s a call for a domestic disturbance, all the abuser has to do is say they can’t come in without a warrant? In my country, there wouldn’t have been more than 10 seconds in this situation before the cops came in. This man is responsible for his sons tears.
They are claiming extengent circumstance, but those concerns should have been relieved without entrance into the residence by 10:04 time stamp. There was clearly no threat to life or limb at that point. These cops forced their way in for no other reason than to demonstrate their dominance. They willfully escalated a routine disturbance call with criminal intent to cause harm.
Doesn’t “exigent circumstance” mean someone inside the home is in immediate danger? If they had that, they would be in the home already, IMO. Courts have traditionally let cops do almost anything, as it relates to 4th amendment violations. Cops have something like 10 ways to enter a residence without a warrant, and the courts rarely hammer them for the violations, so this guy may be able to pry a civil judgement out of the city, maybe.
This is when a door chain comes in handy. Set it up so it only opens 1/2 inch. Or better yet, get a doorbell cam with audio and put it on your door. I watched a guy argue with cops/CPS through his doorbell cam while he was actually in the background cutting his neighbour’s lawn. Hilarious.
The cops do need to investigate calls regarding a disturbance and make sure everybody is okay and I I wasn’t sure if the man being questioned was being reasonable until later in the video he told the officer that he would cooperate and keep the door open if the officer would step out of the doorway. Then I became appalled when they actually forced their way in. They should never have been in the doorway to begin with and if the man wouldn’t cooperate by at least answering questions that should be enough for reasonable suspicion to get a warrant to make sure that the man didn’t commit child or spousal abuse. From what I could tell they had no probable cause to force their way in and they should all probably be fired if that is the case.

Show less

In most states, the only way police can enter a home without a warrant, is when they have PC that a crime is “in progress”, not “may have been committed”. Don’t know the details here, but what’s obvious is these cops are blocking the door, been told to leave, are trespassing, and trying to force their way in someone’s home to search every room, drawer, toy box etc, just hoping to find anything to use against this man. This homeowner was great and I hope this worked out big for him.
I knew shit was bout to pop off when Officer Crazy Eyes strolled up. Poor baby, I hope the man and his son are doing ok now…
Sadly, this man will lose any lawsuit based on “Exigent Circumstances” (defined below) as mentioned by the Sgt. when he arrived. This is a law that police use to screw your 4th amendment. Call your congressman and demand the law be abolished.
I am not a lawyer but I believe there were some civil liberties violations here. They said they were there on a call for a domestic disturbance with a female and just because he won’t let them in to ascertain if there is one there does not give them the legal right to barge in unless they hear her cry for help. I would cite very serious fourth amendment violation concerns here.
This is main reason why I invested in a Ring device! I can still communicate with people, and don’t have to open the door to anyone Law Enforcement included.
If the police actually had the right to make entry like they claim, they would not have wasted all that time talking. They know they had no legal power there, and they know it. Also, their story flipped between “welfare check” to “disturbance call.”
That same thing happened here in Harnett co and ended with Livingston being shot killed because he closed the door on the deputy’s foot !
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. UNLESS “SOMEONE” MAKES A CALL!
Easy win 42USC1983 case. Any lawyer would take it. An officer placing their foot past the threshold on hearsay is trespassing. Investigating on hearsay does not allow them to barge in to somebody’s home. Prosecutor should also charge them under 18USC241 and 18USC242.
This is why a good relationship with the community is important. People dont even respect you or trust you enough for a simple welfare check. You have no one to blame but your own organization!
I found asking them to repeat their lies again and again and again works quite well.
If he was at the cops house like this with his foot in the door, that’s not trespassing. Good to know
Heads up all. The reason why cops place their foot in between the door is for (2) reasons:
Reason #1 – In the event you close it they can claim you assaulted them in the event they have no probable cause or basis for being at your residence.
Reason #2 – Keeping the door open allows them to look inside and smell and observe the activity within your home to establish probable cause.
when will we say enough is enough , a neighbor can call and say what ever they want and cause this to a family enough already
This clown should be sued for saying there is exigent circumstances OR they would have entered already. It only has force of law if there is immediate danger to someone, to stop destruction of evidence or to chase an escaping offender and thats it. Despicable and unlawful and I hope he sues these fools and thugs with badged. What has happened in the last 9 months?
most cases, police officers probably cannot enter a home without permission during a welfare check. However, if they feel that they have reason to believe that someone is in danger, and/or that a crime is being committed in the home, then they can typically enter the home without permission. Pretty sure none of this has happened they need a warrant what the hell is wrong with these cops?
They were just biding time for authorization to enter from a supervisor. They were unsure if they had probable cause enough to enter, so they figured they’d just trespass “a little bit” and to keep the door from closing until they could get authorization that they had enough probable cause. Once they got the OK, they just blew in. That authorization “qualified” their “immunity.”

 

 

 

 

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN “INVESTIGATORY STOP” AND A “WELFARE CHECK”?

An investigatory stop, also known as a terry stop or temporary detention, is a brief detention of a person by a law enforcement officer. The officer must have reasonable suspicion that the person is engaged in criminal activity in order to temporarily stop that person. Reasonable suspicion is the lowest burden of proof in the court system and requires that a law enforcement officer be able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together within rational inferences, reasonably warrants the conclusion that the stop was necessary. During an investigatory stop, the law enforcement officer is limited to what is reasonably necessary to confirm or dispel the officer’s suspicion

In U.S. v. Cortez, the Supreme Court of the United States held that in order to temporarily stop a person, law enforcement officers must, based on the totality of the circumstances, have a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person of criminal activity. 449 U.S. 411 (1981). Additionally, with regards to duration of the temporary stop, the Supreme Court of the United States concluded that law enforcement officers must diligently pursue a means of investigation that is likely to confirm or dispel their suspicions quickly. U.S. v. Sharpe470 U.S. 675 (1985).

An investigatory stop is considered a temporary seizure; therefore, if done unreasonably, can potentially be a violation of an individual’s Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. While the investigatory stop is a temporary seizure, it is important to note that it is not an arrest. In order to make an arrest, an officer must have probable cause that a crime has been committed.

Welfare Check
A welfare check, also known as a wellness check, occurs when law enforcement officers respond to a request to check on the safety and well-being of a person. These situations typically arise when an individual is having a hard time getting ahold of a family member, friend, or neighbor and they believe something is wrong with the person. The most common type of welfare check is checking on an elderly person. However, welfare checks can be utilized for a wide variety of reasons, including but not limited to, potential suicide, drug overdose, and child endangerment.

In order to request a welfare check, an individual must first get in contact with law enforcement, whether that be through 911 or a non-emergency number. Prior to contacting law enforcement, an individual must be certain that the person they are concerned about is in danger. If the individual lives in the same area as the person they are concerned about, he or she may accompany authorities to that person’s residence. Additionally, no court order is required for police to conduct a welfare check. As long as the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that an inhabitant in a residence is endangered, they can legally enter the premises. Law enforcement is given this power under the Community Caretaking Doctrine, a judicially created exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment.

For more information on Investigatory Stop v. Welfare Check, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (913) 451-9500 today.

Illegal Detainment for Photography – Settlement Reached

Here is the body cam video from my illegal detainment in Pueblo, CO along with the settlement reached.

 

Settlement – https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByFa…

Policy Redline – https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByFa…

Check – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CaDr…

 

Original Body Cam Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ0wY…

My Body Cam Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgFC0…

My Livestream – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_2ZM…

 

[bg_collapse view=”button-orange” color=”#4a4949″ expand_text=”Show More” collapse_text=”Show Less” ]

 

 

 

This is how ALL other audit videos should look like. The video, the complaint & the outcome of the incident. Great work. 👍
Well done sir! A very thorough job. I may have missed it, but was any disciplinary action taken? My biggest disappointment with disciplinary action, in the rare event that any takes place, is that it focusses solely on the bad cop – it never includes the other cops stood around who, by training, should recognise that the cop is wrong & step in. To me, they are equally guilty by being complicit in his actions. Indeed, if it were the other way round, any of your attending colleagues would no doubt be arrested for conspiracy. Perhaps a small issue in the grand scheme of things, but it really boils my piss.

Show less

That supervisor was an outstanding Leo. Rare in this age.
This is how Auditors should act, at no time did he purposely antagonize the Police Officers and he complied with their orders (he did everything right) – The Auditor has my respect in this instance. I applaud the Supervisor for recognizing the law and respecting the Auditor’s rights, acting like a gentlemen the whole time.
The sad part is the taxpayers pay for their mistakes.
“We didn’t do anything wrong…..here’s your 41 Grand.”
this should be a training video for every PD and law enforcement in this country! when will they learn?

>> When it’s taken from their paychecks instead of the taxpayers

Beautifulllllll…..more valuable than the Cash is the POLICY CHANGE…..well done Bro….thanks for your Patriotic Service…im a new Sub.
Finally….someone who ignores the cop
I’d like to compliment the supervisor for knowing the law. Immediately he schooled the cop who arrested you. But he also handled it professionally. Another example that there are good and knowledgeable officers on out there. That makes me happy!
Congrats… it’s great to see that Leo’s are held accountable and that policies need to be changed. It would better great to take a few of these wins and present them to other city councils in that area or state to see if they can encourage a policy review for other depts and their training on how to handle public videography.
The fact the police all over the globe truly believe that the buildings for public interest, made with tax payer money, are privately owned by the government as if it’s a military installation is like believing in Santa Claus.
THIS is what we need to see more of! No violence, illegal detainment, and final settlement. Thankyou for sharing, especially policy changes. Knowledge is EVERYTHING!!!!
Congratulations on the settlement. This is Police 101. Reasonable Articulable Suspision. He didn’t have charge the first and still cuffed and detained you. They had this loss coming.
Great job Sir. I enjoy this type of video and information. You held your cool. I have seen quite a few videos that kind of disturb me, where the Auditor try’s to antagonize those who have stopped them. Congratulations on the video and you were settlement.
You more than deserve it this win. Good job to the supervisor for being so honest up front. He is the kind of officer we need. This money is a lesson to the town for the rest of us taxpayers rights also. Education. Thank you
It would have been nice if the police depts would do away with department POLICIES and follow constitutional law instead.
Was that dumb cop saying “and I’m fine with that” to the supervisor in reference to picture taking? if he’s fine with that, why did he get physical, then proceed to shackle the man? Did he realize he screwed up while talking to the superior and say that in an attempt to downplay what he did and seem less hostile? How is it possible for a cop to be unaware of so-called auditors?
My 2 cents: holding a camera, having an internet presence, or being an activist shouldn’t matter. Police must stop detaining citizens illegally during their fishing trips. I’m very happy this auditor has made a change but do we all have to live stream our daily activity to ensure police won’t violate our rights?
Supervisor recognized you, knew exactly what you were doing and what your YouTube handle was. It would have been nice if he’d shared his knowledge with the rest of his department before it cost the Pueblo taxpayers $41,000.00.
When you see videos of this type, you really begin to understand the long term damage the 911 hijackers have done.
The changes in the policy itself makes this a big win…good job my man!
I had seen the original video but not this followup – holy shit their policy before Red-Lines was completely a violation of rights – I feel bad for officers that had such poor guidance to follow.
Seizure policy is horrible, it has a carve out to allow police to seize recordings without a warrant, by stating that they must secure a warrant within 72 hours of the seizure which already happened WITHOUT a warrant.
Most of these videos I have seen, YOU (the First Amendment auditor) expect to be treated with the utmost respect but you treat the officers like dirt. This auditor, when approached in what I would consider to be a non-confrontational manner by the officer and greeted in a non-aggressive way, instead of answering a simple question which would probably have resulted in the officer talking to you for a brief period of time, you turned your back and began walking away. Your reaction was that of somebody who may have been committing a crime or considering committing a crime, which would understandably raise certain suspicions in the officers mind. A simple “I am taking some pictures” response may have been enough to send the officer on his way without further incident. In my opinion, YOU were the one who escalated the situation to what it became. Was handcuffing you wrong? It was an over reaction but I believe your being courteous may have gone a long way to preventing that.
It’s fair that they would reach a settlement, though – can’t detain someone when there’s been no report of a crime nor any reason to suspect one, and it’s pretty blatant that there hasn’t been. Cops can stop you for questioning but they can’t really detain you or stop you from leaving when there’s no lawful reason to do so.
Nice job. However, that would be considered and arrest under the law and court precedent. Not a simple detainment. People need to research this and understand it. Hope that helps.
It must be mentioned that when the senior officer arrived, and listened to the vacuous explanation given to him by the arresting officer, as to why an innocent citizen was In cuffs, he seemed well aware of the 1st amendment auditing community and there “strike force”, which makes me wonder why the hell he hadn’t taught the officers under his command to leave auditors alone. That shows that his leadership is poor, and that he underestimated the impact an auditor could have on his department, both financially and in terms of negative publicity, if they illegally detained citizens. The arresting officer, like the majority of cops in the US, had an IQ that would struggle to reach room temperature in a heatwave. He is the kind of cop who would be struck dumb if you asked him to name the top five authors of the books he’s read in recent years. Or if you asked him to name a county beginning with a U. He enforces his emotions and ego not the laws , which he forgot about half an hour after he graduated from the academy. The only way to officially win in the battle to return America to “ THE LAND OF THE FREE “ is to make law enforcement pay in hard cash and to force them to rewrite there policy out of shame. You achieved this and more, which is as rare as rocking horse shit. I congratulate you for all the people fighting to maintain there rights under the law and bill of rights. “ Make America free again”
I live in Pueblo and recently they have been using excessive force way beyond what it ever was
The supervisor knew who you were immediately. He is probably a long time subscriber. Makes you wonder how many cops around the country trying to do the right thing look for videos like this.
There is only one thing I would want to see added to the list of changes: Any officer who sees a fellow officer violating these rules MUST IMMEDIATELY release the subject, or face the same consequences (suspension up to termination) as the offending officer”. This will prevent instances such as 1:55 “Can you tell this officer to take his hands off me and to uncuff me?” “No, I don’t want to tell him anything”.
The $ is OK but the policy changes are as they should be. Congrats.
Good for you!!!! The monetary portion is just to hit the pockets a little so they don’t do it to someone else. what’s HuGE is the policy update. Must feel nice to have this completed
Making the constitution respected. Thank you sir
im working with Texas lawmakers to have all police officers have their own personal liability insurance policy
Wow.. that was a fast payout. I can’t say that I wouldn’t take the money.. but by u accepting the settlement, the party responsible faces NO legal consequences for their actions. You probably could have got charges pressed against him and filed a civil suit had u not settled. Either way, maybe this department learned a valued lesson. Nice work 👍

Show less

Good follow through. The cops probably would have paid more for some consulting firm and studies to CONSIDER those changes had you not filed suit. Maybe you actually saved them money! 😇
“I got one in custody here”..what did he do? “Take a picture in public”…do these guys not understand how ridiculous this is? Beyond ridiculous..
The cuffing ociffer says “I’m fine with that” when the supervisor explained what was going on but yet apprehends and detains a man taking pictures from a public sidewalk and ignoring his unlawful commands. So he’s fine with nabbing a citizen and cuffing them for something he is “fine with” them doing. Any 8th grader can pass the test required for civil service, law enforcement and military employment. No useful intellectual skills required.
The funny part is that most of their ” new policy” is already covered under the 1st amendment. It was already legal to record from public places, so what makes anyone think this is going to change anything. They were violating the rights of people already, nothing will change with this piece of paper.
Perfect. I agree with the general purpose of police auditors, but I see too many being overly aggressive and rude just for the sake of a video. Very well done in this case.
This was pure ego. He didn’t like the fact that you ignored him so he put you in handcuffs, prioritizing his feelings over the law. These are the kind of cops that need to be weeded out. He unmasked himself as a tyrant when he told you that you weren’t in control Even though you hadn’t done anything to suggest you were or were about to commit a crime. How hard is it to learn the constitution And prioritize rights over personal feelings?

Show less

I have said time and time again. And will say it till something is done about law enforcement today. In this day and age ( as the cops always say ) we no longer have police that protect and serve. We don’t even have law enforcement. What we have is ego tripping out of control bullies with guns and badges ,that use gestapo tactics on the public that pay them. The police are no longer professional officers. They are gang members out to get you . And they wonder why there is a disconnect with the police and the public.. Always record the police, you just may save a life.

Show less

5:19 I love how Romero said he’s fine with what the auditor was doing. WTF?!!! Why cuff him then asshole? Is it because your authority got challenged and your feelings were hurt when he didn’t want to talk to you?
Why do police officers always react so aggressive when someone has a camera
If this comes from the insurance policy it may raise their premiums or they would just keep asking for more money or write more tickets. Another thing is if more people do this and take it to court the cops and judicial system would get bogged down so much they would ask for a raise or just stop harassing because it is not worth it. Good job filming keep them accountable.
I believe the $41,000 is paid by their insurance company, I would think that the insurance companies would take a closer look at why they pay out for false arrest so often, because they certainly do when someone gets a number of traffic tickets.
Although taxpayers pay these are still the most satisfying videos. Cops should have to pay at least a portion of all settlements even if its 5%.
i just wish the offending cop would pay a fraction of the settlement from his own pocket this would make all these cops think a little harder before putting their hands on people
What’s up with Colorado? this is the second time I have seen them payout $41,000 to an auditor who was illegally detained, why not all the other states, do they have outside insurance? if so how do we get all the other states to get insurance?
I bet they won’t make that mistake again. Blame the captain for that loss. He should of briefed his officers about 1st amendment auditors. The changes are exactly what these auditors are achieving and teaching us all the rights that we have as civilians when dealing with cops. Nice job.
Cops need to be put in their place big time. Some cops I know are ok. But a majority of them are not.
>> None are ok. So long as they stand there are watch it happen and do nothing to stop it, they are just as guilty.
The backup cop looks like he really doesn’t approve of his partner.
And there you have it , one of the reasons why taxpayers taxes are increased on a national basis or maybe I could be wrong.

>> Get the supreme court to repeal qualified immunity and the cops will be on the hook themselves

If that officer wasn’t wearing the body camera… IDK if the supervisor would’ve been so quick to let you go. Did no one else notice the supervisor look at the body camera (5:12)?
It sucks the supervisor knew who you were already, but it took a court settlement to change policy on how they address the public
The supervisor looked down to chick if the officer’s camera is on or not, then when he sow it on he decided to follow the rules
That’s stupid. The supervisor was very familiar with this first amendment audit movement and didn’t inform his officers about it.
Seems Colorado is among the easier states to get any settlement from wrongdoings by the police… Other states’ prosecutors would go bonkers and file any made up charges to get some kind of conviction. Oh,, plus shop for judges.
Most police officers are not educated enough to do there job properly. In this case I believe the city should pay for this mistake, not the officer. Money is the end all, so when you begin taking away $. The politicans start giving a damn. This means they will begin educating there officers and firing the officers who don’t give a damn. I really like this auditor, because he knows when to not talk.
Have you ever been to Pueblo? It is a run-down, dirty desert snakepit. So it is no surprise that the Pueblo cops use heavy-handed tactics.
So many will say you won a lot of money. So many have NO idea how much the attorney fees kept before you saw a single penny. They mostly believe that was all your to keep. But I am happy you stood up for your values and not for how little money you would POSSIBLY get. Stress eat up any money you made a long time back. So your fight was the real payment in my eyes.
Auditors are cancer, not experts on the law. They research specific laws and rehearse before they go out and bait police officers by doing something out of the ordinary and weird looking. If they’re lucky, they make a quick buck by doing it and potentially ruining someone’s career. It’s an officers job to know the law I agree, but they’re not lawyers. If something wrongful happens to you by a cop then take it to court, don’t bait a police officer it’s disgusting and pathetic. By the way, the money came from the tax payers, so drop the “we the people” act.
The officer with rank that didnt intervene should lose his rank
my rights have been violated for 30 year’s.. I’m going to start video recording every stop
If that supervisor knew the photographer was acting within his rights, why didn’t all the department know? Where was the training? Ignorant assholes is what they are. I hope this guy wins a huge lawsuit. [EDIT] I see that at the end they did win. Good for them! AND, there will be LESS of these kinds of stops in the future, which is a huge win.
In the Philippines, we don’t need SUPERVISOR to know what to do even our PO1 (POLICE OFFICER1) knows that he done nothing wrong. If Americans think that we have different law and policies, well guess what, we adopt from your own.
What irks me is how the ‘Corporal’ didnt know crap. Thats the scond cop that showed up and just assisted in the illegal detainment. In the Army, Corporal is one higher than a Private. I guess it holds true in the police dept.
Handcuffing someone is too nonchalant these days
Oh I remember this horse’s a$$.
Escalation, retaliation, lie, entrap, harass, cover up, plant evidence, murder, rape murder abuse and traffic children, blue wall of silence, extort, intimidate, violate, manipulate, fabricate, incarcerate. That’s how some police “protect and serve” in “this day and age”.
Amen
I don’t use attorney for this crap I represent myself and get all the Money
Very educational moment. I wonder if police would have meet a mute person. Because if I was mute the police would have a problem communicating. I wonder if this police officer meets a camera what he would do.
It was at 1:37 that Officer Romero knew he fucked up…btw this is the right way to respond ymto an illegal detainment don’t argue or get physical he can get you for disorderly conduct or assaulting a police officer
I get you have “rights”….but why????? Why are you taking pics – sole reason is to cause conflict /engage an officer so you can make some money?!? We live in a CRAZY, CRAZY world FULL of people who want to cause harm to others – who’s to say that you aren’t one of them?? I’m all about our rights as citizens – but what you were doing was just CREEPY AND SUSPICIOUS!!! Those PO’s could have been doing somethjng more meaningful that dealing with your skinny ass!! One of these days, you might need those officers – I hope they remember you and take their “sweet time” showing-up!!

Show less

Have the cops heard of Google Earth?
Being arrested for what Google has already done.
Why are u messing with the Cops in pueblO? My advise is go home, legally enjoy the recreational weed you can buy. Enjoy the fact you can Smoke in your house and not worry about being arrested
You’ll sound smarter if you say detention not detainment.
>> Detention is locked up. Detainment is holding you for a so called investigation. 🇺🇸
He baited that cop. If he had ANY background on terrorism awareness then you wouldn’t do this shit. For all they knew you could of been planning a terrorist attack. Its pretty pathetic when you have ZERO knowledge on terrorist activities. Shame on that fool.
>> Thinking someone “might do something” doesnt give you the right to assault and kidnap them

[/bg_collapse]