POLICE STATE: Park Ranger Caught On Camera Pointing Pistol At Couple...

[paulitician]

Why are we giving so many thug bullies guns & badges? What's going on?


A Chesapeake park ranger was caught on camera pointing his pistol at a couple. It was a confrontation that started because the couple left a city park after closing time.

“I was hoping he wasn’t going to shoot at us,” says Dylan Newton, who recorded a 7-minute video of the ranger. “With all the things going on in the media with cops using excessive force and all these videos coming out like that’s the only thing running through my head like I’m going to be one of these people.”

Newton says it all happened Sunday night at the city’s Northwest River Park off Indian Creek Road.

Newton says he and his girlfriend had gone on a hike and were driving out a few minutes past the park’s 6:15 p.m. closing time when the ranger stopped them.

Newton says the ranger asked him three times to turn off his car and hand over his license and registration. He says he asked several times why he was being stopped and who the ranger was, but he got no answer.

“I turned off my car, my hands were in my lap, I proceeded to put my hands on the wheel and I saw him reach for his weapon,” he says. “So I turned my car on because I was genuinely terrified for my girlfriend and myself at that point.”...

Chesapeake park ranger caught on camera pointing pistol at couple leaving park past closing time

 

[Rotagilla]

Typical frustrated bully with some "authority".

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
– Abraham Lincoln.

 

[irosie91]

Maybe the safety thingy was ON ?? maybe???

 

[paulitician]

Typical frustrated bully with some "authority".

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
– Abraham Lincoln.

Yeah, we have to stop giving roided-up bullies guns & badges. It's out of control. They wanna shoot Citizens at the drop of a hat.

 

[Timmy]

Hmm. You'd think yall would be part of the black lives matter movement .

Oh I forget. Jack boots are fine if they are hassling brown people .

 

[paulitician]

Hmm. You'd think yall would be part of the black lives matter movement .

Oh I forget. Jack boots are fine if they are hassling brown people .

This Police State effects us all. It's not only about race.

 

[MikeK]

While this obviously frustrated authoritarian dominant personality was technically correct in his reason for stopping this couple, and I'm sure he can slip by with some technical justification for menacingly drawing and aiming his firearm at them, there clearly needs to be a general reassessment of existing universal police procedure when dealing with non-threatening, apparently peaceful citizens. E.g., In this situation, unless the Ranger had cause to suspect this couple of some criminal activity the most aggressive action he should have taken when they drove away was record the plate number so a summons could be issued by mail.

This incident, along with many other daily examples of similarly excessive actions by police when interacting with ordinary, non-threatening citizens is the result of changing the Probable Cause requirement to Reasonable Suspicion, which in fact removes the ordinary, peaceful citizen's ability to lawfully resist the capricious attentions of overly officious cops. The simple fact is Reasonable Suspicion is little more than a hunch, whereas Probable Cause calls for a more substantive reason for interfering with a citizen's free movement and rights of privacy.

The War on Drugs is the reason for changing Probable Cause to Reasonable Suspicion. It allows police much greater latitude when making car-stops.

For example, if you were stopped for some traffic offense unless the cop had some probable cause, such as narcotics in plain sight, etc., he was limited to issuing a summons for the offense and allowing you to go on your way. Now, however, his reasonable suspicion, e.g., "I smell marijuana," or, "your pupils are dilated," etc., allows him to question you and either search you on the spot or detain you while waiting for a drug-sniffing dog.

While some might say this is okay because it removes drugged drivers from the road, more often than not the driver might have drugs on his/her person or in the car but is not impaired, and all too often the driver is completely innocent of anything but the cop didn't like his/her attitude (Sandra Bland) and was invoking his reasonable suspicion to aggressively assert his authority. In fact, next time you are stopped for some traffic offense and you don't feel like behaving submissively toward the cop you are likely to be the subject of a reasonable suspicion search -- and possibly much worse.

Thanks to the War on Drugs!

 

[Spinster]

Why are we giving so many thug bullies guns & badges? What's going on?


A Chesapeake park ranger was caught on camera pointing his pistol at a couple. It was a confrontation that started because the couple left a city park after closing time.

“I was hoping he wasn’t going to shoot at us,” says Dylan Newton, who recorded a 7-minute video of the ranger. “With all the things going on in the media with cops using excessive force and all these videos coming out like that’s the only thing running through my head like I’m going to be one of these people.”

Newton says it all happened Sunday night at the city’s Northwest River Park off Indian Creek Road.

Newton says he and his girlfriend had gone on a hike and were driving out a few minutes past the park’s 6:15 p.m. closing time when the ranger stopped them.

Newton says the ranger asked him three times to turn off his car and hand over his license and registration. He says he asked several times why he was being stopped and who the ranger was, but he got no answer.

“I turned off my car, my hands were in my lap, I proceeded to put my hands on the wheel and I saw him reach for his weapon,” he says. “So I turned my car on because I was genuinely terrified for my girlfriend and myself at that point.”...

Chesapeake park ranger caught on camera pointing pistol at couple leaving park past closing time

It shouldn't take being told three times when a person of authority in a uniform is confronting you. It's called appearing to be resisting, duh. Same scenario would be a game warden having to ask a hunter three times to see his license. The guy, in my opinion, was asking for it. We cruise on open water a lot and from time to time see the Coast Guard. They have more authority than the military in that they can board your vessel WITHOUT provocation with weapons drawn. You'd better believe it wouldn't take three requests for me to show my papers or anything else they wanted to see. Complying is the prudent thing to do rather than having my boat literally taken apart, which they are well within their rights to do, or ending up dead. People just have no respect anymore. Wise up.

 

[MikeK]

Why are we giving so many thug bullies guns & badges? What's going on?


A Chesapeake park ranger was caught on camera pointing his pistol at a couple. It was a confrontation that started because the couple left a city park after closing time.

“I was hoping he wasn’t going to shoot at us,” says Dylan Newton, who recorded a 7-minute video of the ranger. “With all the things going on in the media with cops using excessive force and all these videos coming out like that’s the only thing running through my head like I’m going to be one of these people.”

Newton says it all happened Sunday night at the city’s Northwest River Park off Indian Creek Road.

Newton says he and his girlfriend had gone on a hike and were driving out a few minutes past the park’s 6:15 p.m. closing time when the ranger stopped them.

Newton says the ranger asked him three times to turn off his car and hand over his license and registration. He says he asked several times why he was being stopped and who the ranger was, but he got no answer.

“I turned off my car, my hands were in my lap, I proceeded to put my hands on the wheel and I saw him reach for his weapon,” he says. “So I turned my car on because I was genuinely terrified for my girlfriend and myself at that point.”...

Chesapeake park ranger caught on camera pointing pistol at couple leaving park past closing time

It shouldn't take being told three times when a person of authority in a uniform is confronting you. It's called appearing to be resisting, duh. Same scenario would be a game warden having to ask a hunter three times to see his license. The guy, in my opinion, was asking for it. We cruise on open water a lot and from time to time see the Coast Guard. They have more authority than the military in that they can board your vessel WITHOUT provocation with weapons drawn. You'd better believe it wouldn't take three requests for me to show my papers or anything else they wanted to see. Complying is the prudent thing to do rather than having my boat literally taken apart, which they are well within their rights to do, or ending up dead. People just have no respect anymore. Wise up.

The question you need to ask yourself is whether or not this Ranger's actions were grossly out of proportion with the circumstances. What did he believe this young couple had done to justify his action.

When the Probable Cause requirement was in effect no sensible cop would have behaved this way -- because nothing was done to justify such an out of proportion response. Those people had done absolutely nothing to warrant the threat of deadly force. If anything, their license plate number could have been used to issue a summons by mail. And if they didn't appear an arrest warrant could then be issued for contempt of court.

But in case you haven't noticed, a substantial percentage of Americans who, unlike you, do not worship authority in any form, are fed up with the excessive actions of far too many cops who seem to believe their badge places them above the Common Law.

But in advance of your reply let me say I do not expect you to agree because I am quite familiar with the authoritarian personality syndrome in all its aspects.

 

[Timmy]

Hmm. You'd think yall would be part of the black lives matter movement .

Oh I forget. Jack boots are fine if they are hassling brown people .

This Police State effects us all. It's not only about race.

I agree.

But it's funny how conservatives automatically back the police when they shoot down an unarmed black guy. But when a gun is drawn on white people, it's the worst injustice ever .

 

[paulitician]

Hmm. You'd think yall would be part of the black lives matter movement .

Oh I forget. Jack boots are fine if they are hassling brown people .

This Police State effects us all. It's not only about race.

I agree.

But it's funny how conservatives automatically back the police when they shoot down an unarmed black guy. But when a gun is drawn on white people, it's the worst injustice ever .

Well, i don't see things that way. This Police State is a problem for all of us.

 

[Spinster]

Why are we giving so many thug bullies guns & badges? What's going on?


A Chesapeake park ranger was caught on camera pointing his pistol at a couple. It was a confrontation that started because the couple left a city park after closing time.

“I was hoping he wasn’t going to shoot at us,” says Dylan Newton, who recorded a 7-minute video of the ranger. “With all the things going on in the media with cops using excessive force and all these videos coming out like that’s the only thing running through my head like I’m going to be one of these people.”

Newton says it all happened Sunday night at the city’s Northwest River Park off Indian Creek Road.

Newton says he and his girlfriend had gone on a hike and were driving out a few minutes past the park’s 6:15 p.m. closing time when the ranger stopped them.

Newton says the ranger asked him three times to turn off his car and hand over his license and registration. He says he asked several times why he was being stopped and who the ranger was, but he got no answer.

“I turned off my car, my hands were in my lap, I proceeded to put my hands on the wheel and I saw him reach for his weapon,” he says. “So I turned my car on because I was genuinely terrified for my girlfriend and myself at that point.”...

Chesapeake park ranger caught on camera pointing pistol at couple leaving park past closing time

It shouldn't take being told three times when a person of authority in a uniform is confronting you. It's called appearing to be resisting, duh. Same scenario would be a game warden having to ask a hunter three times to see his license. The guy, in my opinion, was asking for it. We cruise on open water a lot and from time to time see the Coast Guard. They have more authority than the military in that they can board your vessel WITHOUT provocation with weapons drawn. You'd better believe it wouldn't take three requests for me to show my papers or anything else they wanted to see. Complying is the prudent thing to do rather than having my boat literally taken apart, which they are well within their rights to do, or ending up dead. People just have no respect anymore. Wise up.

The question you need to ask yourself is whether or not this Ranger's actions were grossly out of proportion with the circumstances. What did he believe this young couple had done to justify his action.

When the Probable Cause requirement was in effect no sensible cop would have behaved this way -- because nothing was done to justify such an out of proportion response. Those people had done absolutely nothing to warrant the threat of deadly force. If anything, their license plate number could have been used to issue a summons by mail. And if they didn't appear an arrest warrant could then be issued for contempt of court.

But in case you haven't noticed, a substantial percentage of Americans who, unlike you, do not worship authority in any form, are fed up with the excessive actions of far too many cops who seem to believe their badge places them above the Common Law.

But in advance of your reply let me say I do not expect you to agree because I am quite familiar with the authoritarian personality syndrome in all its aspects.

Society becoming more evil and disrespectful has caused the shift in how cops treat these sorts of situations. We can only guess what the officer actually encountered and what he determined the threat to actually be. We can speculate endlessly. What we do know, however, is folks no longer respect authority of any kind. Kids don't respect their parents and certainly don't respect their elders. Adults no longer respect anyone over them be it bosses in the workplace, state and local officials, anyone. No wonder we have the mess we have today. No wonder cops have felt forced to become militarized in their approach. It's gotten absolutely nuts.

 

[FA_Q2]

Hmm. You'd think yall would be part of the black lives matter movement .

Oh I forget. Jack boots are fine if they are hassling brown people .

This Police State effects us all. It's not only about race.

I agree.

But it's funny how conservatives automatically back the police when they shoot down an unarmed black guy. But when a gun is drawn on white people, it's the worst injustice ever .

You are just looking through your race whore glasses.

Funny how you have an intrinsic need to drag race into a topic that has nothing to do with it at all and yet have the gall to point racial accusations at others. If you want to know where the racist lies, look in a mirror.

 

[FA_Q2]

Why are we giving so many thug bullies guns & badges? What's going on?


A Chesapeake park ranger was caught on camera pointing his pistol at a couple. It was a confrontation that started because the couple left a city park after closing time.

“I was hoping he wasn’t going to shoot at us,” says Dylan Newton, who recorded a 7-minute video of the ranger. “With all the things going on in the media with cops using excessive force and all these videos coming out like that’s the only thing running through my head like I’m going to be one of these people.”

Newton says it all happened Sunday night at the city’s Northwest River Park off Indian Creek Road.

Newton says he and his girlfriend had gone on a hike and were driving out a few minutes past the park’s 6:15 p.m. closing time when the ranger stopped them.

Newton says the ranger asked him three times to turn off his car and hand over his license and registration. He says he asked several times why he was being stopped and who the ranger was, but he got no answer.

“I turned off my car, my hands were in my lap, I proceeded to put my hands on the wheel and I saw him reach for his weapon,” he says. “So I turned my car on because I was genuinely terrified for my girlfriend and myself at that point.”...

Chesapeake park ranger caught on camera pointing pistol at couple leaving park past closing time

It shouldn't take being told three times when a person of authority in a uniform is confronting you. It's called appearing to be resisting, duh. Same scenario would be a game warden having to ask a hunter three times to see his license. The guy, in my opinion, was asking for it. We cruise on open water a lot and from time to time see the Coast Guard. They have more authority than the military in that they can board your vessel WITHOUT provocation with weapons drawn. You'd better believe it wouldn't take three requests for me to show my papers or anything else they wanted to see. Complying is the prudent thing to do rather than having my boat literally taken apart, which they are well within their rights to do, or ending up dead. People just have no respect anymore. Wise up.

Submission to an abuse of authority should not be a requirement and asking an officer why you were stopped is completely justified. A simple answer is not just called for - it is your right.

Just because you and so many others have been cowed into giving up our basic rights does not make it correct or even good.

 

[Freewill]

Typical frustrated bully with some "authority".

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.
– Abraham Lincoln.

Who knows the situation. Maybe there were crimes in the area and the officier felt it was his duty to investigate people in the park after closing. Maybe the two were speeding or weaving, you only hear half the story.

Again, no matter how much you like it or not, acting the fool in front of an armed person is never a real good idea.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Why are we giving so many thug bullies guns & badges? What's going on?


A Chesapeake park ranger was caught on camera pointing his pistol at a couple. It was a confrontation that started because the couple left a city park after closing time.

“I was hoping he wasn’t going to shoot at us,” says Dylan Newton, who recorded a 7-minute video of the ranger. “With all the things going on in the media with cops using excessive force and all these videos coming out like that’s the only thing running through my head like I’m going to be one of these people.”

Newton says it all happened Sunday night at the city’s Northwest River Park off Indian Creek Road.

Newton says he and his girlfriend had gone on a hike and were driving out a few minutes past the park’s 6:15 p.m. closing time when the ranger stopped them.

Newton says the ranger asked him three times to turn off his car and hand over his license and registration. He says he asked several times why he was being stopped and who the ranger was, but he got no answer.

“I turned off my car, my hands were in my lap, I proceeded to put my hands on the wheel and I saw him reach for his weapon,” he says. “So I turned my car on because I was genuinely terrified for my girlfriend and myself at that point.”...

Chesapeake park ranger caught on camera pointing pistol at couple leaving park past closing time

Getting serious about not feeding the animals aren't they.

 

[paulitician]

Why are we giving so many thug bullies guns & badges? What's going on?


A Chesapeake park ranger was caught on camera pointing his pistol at a couple. It was a confrontation that started because the couple left a city park after closing time.

“I was hoping he wasn’t going to shoot at us,” says Dylan Newton, who recorded a 7-minute video of the ranger. “With all the things going on in the media with cops using excessive force and all these videos coming out like that’s the only thing running through my head like I’m going to be one of these people.”

Newton says it all happened Sunday night at the city’s Northwest River Park off Indian Creek Road.

Newton says he and his girlfriend had gone on a hike and were driving out a few minutes past the park’s 6:15 p.m. closing time when the ranger stopped them.

Newton says the ranger asked him three times to turn off his car and hand over his license and registration. He says he asked several times why he was being stopped and who the ranger was, but he got no answer.

“I turned off my car, my hands were in my lap, I proceeded to put my hands on the wheel and I saw him reach for his weapon,” he says. “So I turned my car on because I was genuinely terrified for my girlfriend and myself at that point.”...

Chesapeake park ranger caught on camera pointing pistol at couple leaving park past closing time

It shouldn't take being told three times when a person of authority in a uniform is confronting you. It's called appearing to be resisting, duh. Same scenario would be a game warden having to ask a hunter three times to see his license. The guy, in my opinion, was asking for it. We cruise on open water a lot and from time to time see the Coast Guard. They have more authority than the military in that they can board your vessel WITHOUT provocation with weapons drawn. You'd better believe it wouldn't take three requests for me to show my papers or anything else they wanted to see. Complying is the prudent thing to do rather than having my boat literally taken apart, which they are well within their rights to do, or ending up dead. People just have no respect anymore. Wise up.

The question you need to ask yourself is whether or not this Ranger's actions were grossly out of proportion with the circumstances. What did he believe this young couple had done to justify his action.

When the Probable Cause requirement was in effect no sensible cop would have behaved this way -- because nothing was done to justify such an out of proportion response. Those people had done absolutely nothing to warrant the threat of deadly force. If anything, their license plate number could have been used to issue a summons by mail. And if they didn't appear an arrest warrant could then be issued for contempt of court.

But in case you haven't noticed, a substantial percentage of Americans who, unlike you, do not worship authority in any form, are fed up with the excessive actions of far too many cops who seem to believe their badge places them above the Common Law.

But in advance of your reply let me say I do not expect you to agree because I am quite familiar with the authoritarian personality syndrome in all its aspects.

Society becoming more evil and disrespectful has caused the shift in how cops treat these sorts of situations. We can only guess what the officer actually encountered and what he determined the threat to actually be. We can speculate endlessly. What we do know, however, is folks no longer respect authority of any kind. Kids don't respect their parents and certainly don't respect their elders. Adults no longer respect anyone over them be it bosses in the workplace, state and local officials, anyone. No wonder we have the mess we have today. No wonder cops have felt forced to become militarized in their approach. It's gotten absolutely nuts.

Most cops have never been held accountable for their crimes. Until the recent advent of the cell phone camera, most Americans were completely clueless about what cops routinely get away with. And even when recorded breaking the law, most cops only lose their jobs. They're rarely arrested & prosecuted.

It's time for Police to be held to the same legal standards average Citizens are. If they break the law, thay have to be arrested and prosecuted. Losing their job isn't good enough.

 

[MikeK]

Who knows the situation. Maybe there were crimes in the area and the officier felt it was his duty to investigate people in the park after closing. Maybe the two were speeding or weaving, you only hear half the story.

You may rest assured that if any such justification for stopping this couple existed there would be ample mention of it in the following news report, which is available in Message #1:

(Excerpt)

Chesapeake officials say park rangers follow the same policies as police, including the department’s guidelines for use of force.

In the city’s use of force policy, it says officers are only allowed to draw their weapon if they might have to fire it.

The document lists circumstances like building searches, confronting armed suspects and felony vehicle stops.

(Close)

It is a requirement in most (all?) jurisdictions that, except under serious felony circumstances, a police officer politely inform a citizen of specifically why he/she is being stopped and questioned. Based on what the young fellow in this example said this was not what happened. And based on what we've seen in the video this park Ranger is a frustrated wannabe cop who probably came on like Miami Vice, which is why the fellow, who had done nothing wrong, chose to drive on -- which was his right to do.

Again, no matter how much you like it or not, acting the fool in front of an armed person is never a real good idea.

How do you perceive the fellow as "acting the fool in front of an armed person?" The only fool I'm aware of is the Ranger who unnecessarily imposed the threat of deadly force on a peaceful and innocent citizen. When he drew and aimed his gun the fellow complied with his commands.

There is a problem in that too many Americans have become so accustomed to hyper-militarized status of contemporary police they've become innately and unquestioningly submissive to police authority. I am old enough to remember when police carefully avoided violating citizens' rights of free movement and privacy. But the War on Drugs has made car stops routine and commonplace and the Probable Cause requirement has been replaced by Reasonable Suspicion, which can be used to stop, question, detain and search anyone by simply inventing some cause for suspicion.

LIttle by little, the U.S. is being transformed into a totalitarian state wherein police authority is supreme and unquestionable.

 

[paulitician]

Why are we giving so many thug bullies guns & badges? What's going on?


A Chesapeake park ranger was caught on camera pointing his pistol at a couple. It was a confrontation that started because the couple left a city park after closing time.

“I was hoping he wasn’t going to shoot at us,” says Dylan Newton, who recorded a 7-minute video of the ranger. “With all the things going on in the media with cops using excessive force and all these videos coming out like that’s the only thing running through my head like I’m going to be one of these people.”

Newton says it all happened Sunday night at the city’s Northwest River Park off Indian Creek Road.

Newton says he and his girlfriend had gone on a hike and were driving out a few minutes past the park’s 6:15 p.m. closing time when the ranger stopped them.

Newton says the ranger asked him three times to turn off his car and hand over his license and registration. He says he asked several times why he was being stopped and who the ranger was, but he got no answer.

“I turned off my car, my hands were in my lap, I proceeded to put my hands on the wheel and I saw him reach for his weapon,” he says. “So I turned my car on because I was genuinely terrified for my girlfriend and myself at that point.”...

Chesapeake park ranger caught on camera pointing pistol at couple leaving park past closing time

It shouldn't take being told three times when a person of authority in a uniform is confronting you. It's called appearing to be resisting, duh. Same scenario would be a game warden having to ask a hunter three times to see his license. The guy, in my opinion, was asking for it. We cruise on open water a lot and from time to time see the Coast Guard. They have more authority than the military in that they can board your vessel WITHOUT provocation with weapons drawn. You'd better believe it wouldn't take three requests for me to show my papers or anything else they wanted to see. Complying is the prudent thing to do rather than having my boat literally taken apart, which they are well within their rights to do, or ending up dead. People just have no respect anymore. Wise up.

Submission to an abuse of authority should not be a requirement and asking an officer why you were stopped is completely justified. A simple answer is not just called for - it is your right.

Just because you and so many others have been cowed into giving up our basic rights does not make it correct or even good.

Sadly, most do feel frightened and powerless in this Police State. They feel it's just easier to submit to tyranny.

 

[MikeK]

Most cops have never been held accountable for their crimes. Until the recent advent of the cell phone camera, most Americans were completely clueless about what cops routinely get away with. And even when recorded breaking the law, most cops only lose their jobs. They're rarely arrested & prosecuted.

It's time for Police to be held to the same legal standards average Citizens are. If they break the law, thay have to be arrested and prosecuted. Losing their job isn't good enough.

The problem is government officials are reluctant to offend police agencies because of the looming threat of non-performance job-actions in which the police simply become dormant, ignoring street crime and failing to issue revenue-producing summonses. And their unions have become so strong that officials are constrained from imposing punitive action on known offenders.