Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2017/08/31/aggressive-cop-pulls-gun-on-mo.html
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Jesus Christ. As a civilian, one of the first things you learn about gun safety is never to point a gun at anything unless you intend to destroy it. Police are so quick to point guns at people. It’s insane behavior.
This guy should file a civil rights complaint.
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He should have shown him his badge, not drawn his gun.
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Saying “bully cop” seems redundant these days.
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This is that thing where sheriffs are gonna act like they aren’t bound by any law because of Arpaio getting pardoned, isn’t it ?
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Why is the cop holding his gun so tightly against his side? I don’t know much about guns (although I want to get one) but that doesn’t seem like a great stance.
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Typical police harassment of a biker for not towing around a gas guzzler. Drivers have a hard time understanding the difference between speed and acceleration, so they see how rapidly something as light as a motorcycle picks up and they assume it’s speeding. This combined with roaming trigger-happy thugs who may or may not be cops, and the prevalence of ignorant prejudice towards bikers, means we have to be that much more careful.
I suspect he was trying to minimize its visibility to other motorists so they didn’t think he was a mugger or bike-jacker and try to intervene. Bike-jacking is a serious problem as motorcycles are easy to escape on and much simpler than cars to sell whole or stripped for parts on the black market.
When that’s the message your actions send, you’re the problem.
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Our Sheriff, John Urquhart, is actually quite reasonable. His response to this is at the bottom of this page. http://q13fox.com/2017/08/30/king-county-sheriffs-detective-seen-in-video-holding-gun-on-motorcyclist-is-identified/
He’s clear that this is not the kind of behavior he wants from his deputies.
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That was not a defensive stance by the officer. His sidearm was purely held in a way to rush up and intimidate.
That was a couple tough-guy movies away from holding it side-handed and saying “Do you want to die today, punk?”
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Unfortunately guns, like alcohol tend to bring out the worst in some people
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Saw something like that in Arizona, but the idiot Po Po noticed he was out numbered to the tune of 300 to 1. Sometimes it’s good to have friends…
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Carla, your headline is puzzling. Of course he has a good reason for bullying and brandishing - he’s a cop. What more common reason could there be?
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Even if…IF…the guy was driving recklessly in anyway, it still is NOT any police procedure to pull someone over in the middle of the road with a weapon drawn without identifying yourself.
It is also reasonable to conclude without the rider saying it, that the “You were doin 100mph” was a total fabrication anyway. People who drive recklessly like that wouldn’t slow down properly and come to rest alongside the rest of the motorists leaving ample space between him and the vehicle in front of him. Reckless drivers are not that cautious and considerate ever.
This is CLEARLY a violation of the motorists civil rights and this cop should be taken off the streets immediately.
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That cop should be out on his ass for mishandling a gun and unlawful detainment. Seeing as all the identification he had at the time was saying “I’m a cop”
Okay John Rambo, you’re a cop. And now you’re mugging me.
Christ what an asshole.
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Seems like you might be putting the cart before the horse…
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Unlike the Seattle PD, the King County Sheriff’s department is a good example of how to do it right when it comes to this kind of thing.
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Being a cop must be awesome. Whenever you want a vacation, you just threaten, beat up, or murder someone, and bingo, paid time off!
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The reason I don’t have one yet is that I need to find the time for me and the rest of my family to take a safety course.
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