Cop pulls gun on Motorcyclist

[TheMentat]

Geez... This cop probably would have gotten shot if it were Rick Lee on that bike!

Video: Motorcyclist arrested for recording cop brandishing gun with helmet cam [*UPDATED] — Autoblog

We won't be crossing the Maryland State Police any time soon. As Anthony Graber recently found out, exceeding the speed limit and showboating on your bike can easily end with having a gun pulled on you, your personal property confiscated and a trip to the clink. Graber was enjoying the weather on his bike, admittedly speeding and popping wheelies, all the time recording his exploits via a helmet cam. When he slowed for a stoplight, a car pulled in front of the bike, and the driver exited the vehicle with a gun drawn, demanding Graber get off of his motorcycle.

Talk about needing a new set of leathers. As it turned out, the gun-wielding individual was a Maryland state trooper, though he took his sweet time letting Graber know that little piece of information. Here's where things go from bad to worse. Graber gets his citation and heads home, only to have the state police show up a few days later with a warrant for four computers, two laptops and his camera. Why? Turns out there's a law against audibly recording someone without their consent. It's a felony.

We have a hard time imagining any judge standing behind the police on this one, especially considering the fact that Graber was in public and the officer in question was brandishing his firearm. Some might think the state police were simply trying to hush up the possibility of even more bad press after that whole severe beating of a University of Maryland student last month. Hit the jump for the video.

[ODDJOB UNO]

cop had EVERY RIGHT! its called FELONY SPEEDING! "showboating" aka reckless driving is ALSO A FELONY!


and with FELONYS there are consequences..................ie. A COP PULLING HIS GUN!



as for rick lee.............................since i know him well:

a) rick would not have allowed himself to get in that position on a busy highway

b) rick is a god fearing,law abiding, tax paying individual

c) rick is not STOO-PID by "showboating" aka reckless driving in TRAFFIC!

d) rick would only shoot when in "FEAR OF HIS or his family members lives.

[afterburn 549]

a little over the top, show of power, Get used to it if you like Nazzi rule

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by ODDJOB UNO

cop had EVERY RIGHT! its called FELONY SPEEDING! "showboating" aka reckless driving is ALSO A FELONY!


and with FELONYS there are consequences..................ie. A COP PULLING HIS GUN!



as for rick lee.............................since i know him well:

a) rick would not have allowed himself to get in that position on a busy highway

b) rick is a god fearing,law abiding, tax paying individual

c) rick is not STOO-PID by "showboating" aka reckless driving in TRAFFIC!

d) rick would only shoot when in "FEAR OF HIS or his family members lives.

Wow, oddjob and I agree 100% on something.
Cool.

[speeder]

Until he said, "state police", it seemed like a road rage incident. Even after he said it, w/o a badge it is suspect. Plain-clothes guy in an unmarked car who looks like a young, scared dork with a gun in his hand, claiming he's a cop. He's going to get a bullet in his head one of these days...

He should have flashed a badge, not a gun. What an idiot. And chuckie, you think that anyone who wheelies should have some scared little bich pull a gun on them and maybe get accidentally shot?? WTF is wrong w/ you?

[Jagshund]

I initially watched this thinking that perhaps the cop had reason to brandish his weapon (maybe the biker was a flight risk or had taunted/threatened the officer in some way). The 3:39 video pretty much shows a fairly quick ride on a bike (although far from outrageous) being followed by the biker pulling off the interstate and (it would appear to me) immediately waiting for the cop . . . never saw any indication of lights or sirens, though.

Dude should not have had his sidearm drawn when he approached the bike. If he had waited a second longer to ID himself the motorist may have had grounds to drop him.



edit: I have a feeling this thread is bound for OTPR.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

a little over the top, show of power, Get used to it if you like Nazzi rule

+1. Agreed.

The proper thing for the cop to brandish was his BADGE, not his gun. Sheesh.

[TheMentat]

Originally Posted by ODDJOB UNO

d) rick would only shoot when in "FEAR OF HIS or his family members lives.

I don't mean to imply that Rick has an itchy trigger finger... but that cop could have been shot in the time it took to identify himself as an officer!

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by TheMentat

I don't mean to imply that Rick has an itchy trigger finger... but that cop could have been shot in the time it took to identify himself as an officer - and for good reason!

Agreed.

There was no reason whatsoever to pull his gun at all, he should have pulled his badge.

[JavaBrewer]

Click on the 'pullover2' link at the bottom of the video. A bit over 3 minutes of video of his ride. Yes he did pull into an open lane and and pull a wheelie and hit a high speed. I've done that (minus the wheelie) with every fast vehicle I have owned at least a couple times. Who hasn't? Most of the ride he was just cruising along with the flow of traffic enjoying his bike.

To be honest I would have crapped my pants if a skinny angry dude in street clothes and unmarked car surprised me with a drawn and pointed a gun. That cop is a total tool.

[Rick Lee]

I'd not have been stopped by any car with no lights and no sign of containing a cop. I don't turn my bike off when there are cars around me, so I am ready to escape at the drop of a hat. If, as I was pulling away, I managed to hear him ID himself, I'd probably still have hightailed it out of there, ridden straight to a cop shop and reported someone impersonating an officer. This rider would probably have been justified in drawing on the cop (except in MD, where only cops and criminals can carry) and the cop was in NO WAY justified in drawing on the rider. What threat to the officer's safety did this rider pose? Was this rider brandishing a gun? This officer will have a short career. If this lawsuit doesn't go anywhere, he'll still likely end up dead or wounded when he pulls this sheet on the wrong guy.

BTW, part of the Monical Lewinsky case hinged on whether Linda Tripp would be prosecuted for recording their phone calls, which I believe were done across the MD-DC line. I have a buddy who's a MD statie and need to ask him about this.

Some of those guys are real hotheads. One of them once told me they carry screwdrivers in their boots in case they have to shoot an unarmed person, they can stick the screwdriver in their hand. Yes, I heard that from a MD statie. He didn't say he did it, but he knew about it.

[Rick Lee]

I should add that such an incident would probably be impossible in AZ. So many bikers carry guns here, that a cop would be suicidal to approach one with gun drawn and without ID'ing himself. Yesterday I must have seen 50 Hell's Angels riding around Cave Creek. I can't imagine how quickly someone would be dead for pulling a gun out in front of a biker and not ID'ing himself.

[Sapporo Guy]

WTF is wrong with the US these days?

What happened to days when a cop would pull you over and neither party had a gun waiting to wave in somebody's face to show how big their man-things are.

To be honest I don't how I'd feel if the biker did pop the cop one ... how would he know it was some cop compared to some road rage freak ...

"audibly recording someone without their consent" how does this work if you're running a transaction with a hooker? If no consent it's their word against yours ...

[Sapporo Guy]

ugh ,,,, double post

[Gogar]

At the end of the video, you can clearly see that there was already another trooper in a marked vehicle right behind the motorcyclist. I'm pretty sure this guy knew what was up right away.

[m21sniper]

That cop totally mishandled that situation. Just watched it again, he never at any point during the video shows any ID at all. He could be anyone claiming to be a cop.

And he pulls his gun before he says ANYTHING AT ALL!!!

Amazing.

I am in no way trying to brag or be a tough guy, but in the bikers shoes, i am pretty sure i would have just drawn and started shooting as soon as some motorist cut in front of me, and without a word got out of his car and pulled a gun.

I believe that i would be legally justified in doing so, as well.

Originally Posted by Gogar

At the end of the video, you can clearly see that there was already another trooper in a marked vehicle right behind the motorcyclist. I'm pretty sure this guy knew what was up right away.

That would certainly change things, as long as he saw the statie behind him.

[stomachmonkey]

Interersting.

Notice at the end there is a marked Trooper that has pulled up and is starting to exit his cruiser.

Go back to around 6 seconds. The off duty guy looks up, sees something, drops his weapon to his side and holsters it while walking in front of the bike.

Looks to me like he saw a buddy pull up and realized there was no reason for him to have his weapon out so he puts it away real quick.

Wonder if he was worried about the cruisers dash cam?

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Sapporo Guy

"audibly recording someone without their consent" how does this work if you're running a transaction with a hooker? If no consent it's their word against yours ...

I don't think they need the recording when the cop is involved in the transaction. I think this law usually covers phone calls, since you certainly have no reasonable expectation of privacy when on a public road, even less when you exit your car. Any why shouldn't all cops be filmed? Dash cam videos have a habit of disappearing when the cops misbehave.

BTW, a friend of mine has on her FB page a still shot of her walking backwards with hands in the air toward the police with their guns drawn on her. She's a reporter and was in the news truck with her cameraman, investigating a county executive who was using city cops as chaufeuers. Her cameraman kept the camera on when he set it down so the cops could cuff him. Amazingly, that dash cam video disappeared. Wouldn't be a big deal except that county (also in MD) was forced by the US DOJ to record all police stops because of civil rights complaints. I think she won some kind of PI suit because they manhandled her and dislocated her shoulder while cuffing her.

[m21sniper]

There was no reason for him to have his weapon out to begin with, and along the vien of what SM is talking about, at first it appears as if the dork with the gun is about to point it at the biker, but at the last second puts it to his side- that's probably when he saw the trooper himself.

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

BTW, a friend of mine has on her FB page a still shot of her walking backwards with hands in the air toward the police with their guns drawn on her. She's a reporter and was in the news truck with her cameraman, investigating a county executive who was using city cops as chaufeuers. Her cameraman kept the camera on when he set it down so the cops could cuff him. Amazingly, that dash cam video disappeared. Wouldn't be a big deal except that county (also in MD) was forced by the US DOJ to record all police stops because of civil rights complaints. I think she won some kind of PI suit because they manhandled her and dislocated her shoulder while cuffing her.

It really is disgraceful how some cops abuse regular, ordinary citizens.

The stuff that goes on in bad neighborhoods is 10x worse. The cops and natives do not get along at all in most inner cities.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

It really is disgraceful how some cops abuse regular, ordinary citizens.

The stuff that goes on in bad neighborhoods is 10x worse. The cops and natives do not get along at all in most inner cities.

Well, this incident with the reporter did happen in PG County, MD, which, while it has some real bad areas, has notoriously corrupt cops and pays out ridiculous money in lawsuits each year. I would hope the popularity of webcams and such would tend to cut down on what cops get away with.

Remember that kid who stung that cop in MO a few years ago? That cop will be lucky to ever get a mall security job and his chief got canned too. There are certainly enough real bad guys out there for the cops to go after without having to bait or provoke people into situations.