Ruger Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Traffic stop over reaction to CCW?

13K views 109 replies 79 participants last post by  CWOLDOJAX 
#1 ·
Two days ago a young friend of my sons was involved in a routine traffic stop while riding his motorcycle. This young man is 22 and has had his permit since turning 21.
Young man pulled over and stopped immediatly when the patrol car turned his lights on, stayed on his bike with hands in clear view. Local town policeman informed him he made a rolling stop at the stop sign and asked if he had anything on him he should know about. His reponse was that he had a LCP in a holster on his right ankle.
Instead of asking the young man for his license and pistol permit, his instant reaction was to pull him off his bike, body slam him into the dirt with a knee drop to the spine and cuff him. Then scream at the young man "I bet you don't have a permit either" When he got his breath back he informed the officer his permit was in his wallet with his drivers license.
After veiwing the documents the officer just said sorry about that and left him cuffed while writing him a citation. The young man was seriously shaken by the incident and considering filing a complaint but is afraid of backlash and losing his permit in our new socialist stat of CT.
There were witnesses to the incident and the young man has no reason to lie about it. I want to here from LEO's about this.
 
#2 ·
He should report it ASAP.

thewelshm
 
#4 ·
I don't know, but this is why I advise of having my permit before advising that I have a firearm.
 
#5 ·
Report it, BUT.....

Do it through a reputable 2A advocacy group. If he reports it on his own, he may make a mistake. If done through an organization with experience and political backing, he will not only get good advise, he will also have the numbers of the group behind him. I'm assuming your son is not black but if he were, well, you know how it works. There is strength in numbers.

Personally, I'd be satisfied with a written and signed apology from the officer and the department.
 
#6 ·
I'd say report it but I'd have a crook (lawyer) do the reporting, I'm afraid the report might bring more "trouble" for the young fella w/o a crook (lawyer) involved.

BTW I might be way out in left field with my thoughts but after my only time dealing with LEO/court system I'll never, NEVER deal with either w/o a crook (lawyer)
 
#8 ·
Another question I want to thow in is, why is it that every "mean bastard" cop I have ever heard about has been a "townie"? Is it a lack of proper training, mad about being rejected for the state police acadamy or what? And my son's friend and the cop are white, which should mean nothing in this case. I spent some time as a deputy sheriff after leaving the service and have a lot of trouble with the attitude of some wearing the uniform.
 
#17 ·
Here we have the LEO that was raised in Idaho and
the officers that move from Oakland/LV/LA, ETC
those are the problem children IMHO
those that move in have served where the only folks they have contact with are victims or Criminals and they treat everyone as either/or
no regular citizens in their view
 
#9 ·
Report it. A knee to the spine is aggravated assault and battery if there was no provocation.

Additionally, the young man may have hidden spine trauma that may not show up until he bends over to pick up a 20lb weight in two months. A herniated disk can sometimes be hidden for weeks in a young person. I knew a young troop who made a parachute training jump on day with a slightly out of position impact on landing and was fine for a week. Then one day as he was tieing his boots he had incredible shooting pain down his leg. Three surgeries latter he was medically discharged from our unit.

That knee drop move should be banned.
 
#12 ·
The police asked if he had anything that he should be aware of? What happened to "license and registration, please" At that point, advising the police of a permit would have been the next thing out of the young mans' mouth. But no matter what, the police was completely out of line. A simple report to his superiors would be in order.
 
#13 ·
Sounds like profiling - the officer obviously had already decided that he was a punk kid up to no good and likely a drug user or gang banger. No other reason that I can think of for that severe a reaction - and certainly unjustified.

I would think reporting it in a very timely fashion would be required to ensure that any dash cam video is not overwritten - if they have dash cam and the lights/siren were used it should have been recorded - and might only be so many hours of recording until it loops and over writes.
 
#16 ·
I retired as a detective Sgt. and if I had observe one of our officers pull a stunt like described above, I would have relieved him of duty and have him answering to a I.A. board for excessive force and misconduct.

Have the young man report it ASAP, we need to weed these officers out or force the departments to provide better training.
 
#19 ·
Definitely report.
 
#20 ·
When you have the authority that the police have, you would think the cop would have been a little more calm about his reaction to this kid. Along with authority comes responsibility...I suppose this police person thinks that along with authority, comes the right to bully too.
 
#25 ·
Report it, but have a lawyer handle it so it is all legal and correctly done. I hope this encourages the "Townies" get better training on how to handle this situation in the future...just my 2 cents worth
 
#26 ·
He needs to report the incident as soon as possible. A good lawyer to handle this would be the best route to take. I hate reading about incidents like this when one bad LEO steps on his crank and gives the whole department a bad name. There's just too many good LEOs out there doing the best they can to make it home safe every night (or day) and at the same time trying to keep us safe.
 
#27 ·
As others have already said, get a lawyer, document any injuries and file a formal complaint and an excessive force lawsuit.

The best way to support your local law enforcement agents is to help them eliminate the "bad apples". Remember, almost all police departments of any size are union shops, and the union lawyers will defend any officer who gets in trouble, regardless of whether they were in the wrong or not. The rank and file members know who the "problem children" are, but they can't do anything about it. Only citizen complaints (and lawsuits) will get the "bad boys" (and girls) off the force.

Jim
 
#34 ·
....As others have already said, get a lawyer, document any injuries and file a formal complaint and an excessive force lawsuit.....
Do NOT see a Doctor first. Don't do anything until he talks to an Attorney IF he wanted to file a lawsuit. He may not. If not, just file a complaint. There is a clear and easy way of doing that & he can follow it up himself. If he does, he doesn't need any money. Most Attorneys that work in this area of law would do so on a contingency agreement. All of those terms are negotiable in advance, so adult/experienced assistance is strongly suggested.

Another cheaper alternative would be to contact the media. Call one of the local TV or Radio stations that he knows to be sympathetic and have them raise the stink after the complaint is filed. Whichever route he chooses I hope that he does file a complaint. That Cop was way out of line and the fact he left hm handcuffed AFTER he got clarification is a clear indication of his ignoring his civil rights.

Nothing makes government agencies squawk like costing them money. An excessive force & Civil Rights lawsuit would do that. In spades!
 
#30 · (Edited)
report it, and speak with a lawyer, ive had many many good run ins with LEO's and only 1 bad which ended very similar to the OP's post. a few calls and a letter from my lawyer (most will draft a letter free of charge for this kind of thing), i got a written apology from the department head and the officer was put on 6 month desk duty for his actions.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top