Cop Draws Gun on Man with Camera, then Asks: ‘Are you some kind of Constitutionalist?’

Authors Police State Rapid Fire S.H. Blannelberry This Week

Officials in Rohnert Park, California, are reviewing footage of a public safety officer’s confrontation with a resident after the man uploaded the incident to Youtube, the LA Times reports.

Don McComas, the resident who filmed the encounter, was attempting to hook his boat to a trailer in front of his home when he noticed the public safety officer repeatedly driving by in an SUV.

Concerned about the officer’s intentions, McComas began to record the officer in the vehicle. Eventually, the officer got out of the vehicle and began to state commands to McComas, which included, telling him to get his hands out of his pockets.

McComas replied, “No sir, I’ve done nothing. I have done absolutely nothing. No.”

The officer then removed his gun from his holster and approached McComas.

McComas responded, “Put your gun down, really?”

McComas then asked why the officer stopped, to which the officer responded, “You taking a picture of me. I am taking a picture of you.” The officer then asked if McComas was “some kind of a constitutionalist or crazy guy or something like that” and “Why are you doing this?”

McComas, replied, “Why are you sitting here with your gun on me? This is why I am doing this. To protect myself from you.”

Perhaps realizing that he had nothing on McComas, the officer left the scene but not before saying, “Go ahead, have a nice day and put it on YouTube. I don’t really care.”

Rohnert Park Mayor Amy Ahanotu and City Manager Darrin Jenkins issued a statement about the incident, saying they are currently reviewing it to determine if proper procedure was followed.

“We’ve been made aware of this matter, and we are taking it seriously,” they said. “We understand the concerns that have been raised by our community and others and we want the public to know that your trust in law enforcement in our city is a top priority.”

There were no charges filed against McComas.

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  • Todd August 31, 2015, 4:51 am

    Everyone that said the cop did no wrong is on crack. I use to wear the badge and I have trained over 300 new officers. Does anyone here know what pepper spray or a taser is? Do you know what an asp (club)? Well what the hell do you think we issue them out for. There is no reason for this officer to skip those 3 steps of escalation. At no time was there a threat to the officer that required him to pull his gun before his taser. He never called for backup after pulling his weapon either. This was pure my D is bigger than yours since I have a gun. It angers me a veteran to see this type of action. He had no Probable Cause to stop. Coming from a vet. cop here, if you are a fellow officer and you are afraid of being filmed then you probably to have a behavioral problem or something in your own closet.

  • DRAINO August 21, 2015, 4:07 pm

    Regardless of past history….the civilian did nothing wrong by making the video. If he had(by filming the cop), that would mean all these body-cams for the police would be illegal, right? Simple deduction!!!! Therefore, the cop in this case, had no business acting the way he did just because the guy had a cam-phone out in his front yard. I am sure it would have never made the internet if he would have been polite and simply stated that he was making sure there was no robbery in progress and would have kindly asked to see an ID……..the old catching more flies with sugar “theory”. Why is this a hard concept to grasp???? Not many times will a law abiding citizen be rude to a polite cop.

  • Ryan Woltering August 16, 2015, 10:21 pm

    I live in Cotati which is intermingled with Rohnert park. The officers in these two towns are notorious for this type of behavior. I’ve had it with this shit, it needs to stop. I’m going to the next council meeting. That guy needs to lose his job, as well as all the other cops that act in this way, these small town cops go out looking for trouble, and for the most part are extremely rude, they forget they are here to serve the public, not treat all as if we live in a police state. People need to wake up and take a stand because this behavior is TOTALLY unacceptable!!!!!!

  • Tom Horn August 14, 2015, 3:05 pm

    1. I’m tired of seeing snipets of video supposedly proving some point against LEO’s, such as only the encounter, and not what has lead up to the encounter. They almost always prove nothing.

    2. I’m sick of idiots saying “Constitutionalist, crazy, nut-job.” There is nothing crazy about respecting and upholding our Constitution, and the rights secured therein. The great men who wrote it were definitely not nut-jobs.

    Funny story: This last winter I stopped at a park early A.M., before work to use the restroom. As I finished up I heard a car pull-up. I left the restroom and found two officers waiting by my truck. As they interrogated me, one stood in front of me at 1 o’clock, the other officer stood behind me at 7 o’clock. If they would have had to shoot me, chances are they would have shot each other. About 3 minutes into the interview, the dispatcher came back and informed the officers that I was a CCW permit holder. I had been standing with my hands inside my sweatshirt pockets during the whole interview. They told me I could go, and one of the officers went in to use the restroom (probably to change his underwear).

    I hope it was a learning experience for them.

  • pete August 13, 2015, 6:34 pm

    I hate these wackos that provoke confrontations, pretending to be in the right. No different than all those Hands Up Don’t Shoot folks who scream and yell at the cops hoping one loses his cool. Officer safety – show me your hands! Any child knows that. Labels – constitutionalist – in this context means constructionalists who take a narrow and antiquated view of the law and who often are extremely conservative and anti-government, oftentimes dangerously so. The cop may not have been perfect here but the camera guy needlessly provoked the situation by pretending to be ‘innocent’ while being needlessly provocative. He’s lucky he didn’t get hurt. Not all cops do the right thing. This one did. Why look for trouble? Our police have better things to do than be dealing with idiots. Moron.

  • DieselDriver August 11, 2015, 9:51 pm

    When he asked if I was some kind of constitutionalist I’d have said “Yes I am. Didn’t you take an oath to protect and defend the constitution when you got your job?”

  • Richard August 10, 2015, 5:17 pm

    Does everyone think that McComas’ actions were normal and did the police randomly showed up at his house. The officer spoke into his radio and said he was at the location as if he were sent there. When McComas said you guys have done enough to my family like there is a history with the police. In the local paper McComas’ attorney said McComas is seeking psychological help because of this. When someone is accused of doing something wrong the newspaper always adds words like “allegedly, reportedly, supposedly, reputedly, apparently,” but they allegedly, reportedly, supposedly, reputedly, apparently forget them when the police are accused of doing something wrong. What does McComas’ background look like.

  • GA August 10, 2015, 4:03 pm

    To help contextualize, consider the following two scenarios:

    1. What if the officer approached someone that was actually about to steel Mr. McComas’ boat? (Note, there is no way to tell if an individual belongs there or not unless the officer investigates further). To insure his safety, he demands the burglar remove his hand from his pocket, and when he refused decides to leave him there to continue steeling the boat. Mr. McComas, I’m sure, would be happy to hear that the officer decided that since he refused to remove his hand from his pocket that it was ok to just let him carry on and say something like, “Well, he said he’s done nothing wrong and said he doesn’t have anything in his pocket so I let him go.” I can imagine Mr. McComas saying something like, “You idiot, why didn’t you shoot the burglar?! He said he wasn’t doing anything so you walked away?… didn’t even check his ID? If he wouldn’t let you approach without making the scene safe, why didn’t you just shoot him!?” My answer is, we need to let police do their job. It is hard enough as it is to catch and prosecute criminals.

    2. Imagine the same situation if Mr. McComas were black, and refused to take his hand out of his pocket. I wonder if those that agree with Mr. McComas would still respond the same. If people are going to say police behavior is not about racism, then they need to own up and agree that being white does not give privilege to refuse general law enforcement safety procedures of officers by saying, “No [i.e., I don’t have to cooperate to make the officer feel safe because I’m white].”

    Officers have a dangerous job. I’m not saying they are all great. Yes, some of them have bad attitudes and some need to be fired, just like in any other profession. But we don’t need to antagonize the situation by making them feel unsafe. You want to reduce risk of police assault, I tell Mr. McComas the same thing I would tell any African American, DO NOT ESCALATE THE SITUATION. Comply during the interaction, and if you feel rights were violated, take legal action AFTER the incident. In my opinion, Mr. McComas brings shame to American firearm owners (including myself) and makes our fight to hold on to our rights more difficult. To any anti-gun people watching this video, please do not assume all firearms collectors, enthusiasts, and 2nd Amendment supporters behave as poorly as Mr. McComas.

    • Creekeris01 August 11, 2015, 2:42 am

      Consider:
      1. The Officer took an Oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
      2. The Officer accuses the citizen of being “some type of Constitutionalist”, as the Officer should be.
      3. The Officer is expected to be courteous and polite, outside of any perceived threat, which would necessitate the un-holstering of a firearm.
      4. There was no perceived threat, hence the un-holstering becomes mostly a “brandishing”.
      5. Citizens are required to follow the law and are not required, nor did they take an Oath to be polite or courteous.
      Law Enforcement Officers are paid to bring the accused before the bar of justice. Intimidation in the form of a brandished firearm or “retaliatory photography” is a form of Street Justice and should never be tolerated.

      • Creekeris01 August 11, 2015, 2:47 am

        Also consider:

        This article has nothing to do with firearms. It involves the word “Constitutionalist” in the title.

    • DRAINO August 21, 2015, 4:20 pm

      “”To any anti-gun people watching this video, please do not assume all firearms collectors, enthusiasts, and 2nd Amendment supporters behave as poorly as Mr. McComas.””

      ….Even though Mr. McComas did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG and the cop was COMPLETELY wrong, and this article has NOTHING TO DO WITH guns or the 2nd amendment.

      And you, “GA” are perpetuating the notion that violence is always against blacks and that cops would love nothing more than to shoot more black folks. Which is obviously a falsehood. Not all cops are bad. But unfortunately the bad ones don’t always get weeded out before they do someone harm. Get over yourself and your color.

  • Big dick August 10, 2015, 3:08 pm

    If he was black cop would not still have his job ..
    Black man would be counting his money’s ..
    Lol shit is so fucking dumb …who gives a fuck …
    Fuck that job…

    • DRAINO August 21, 2015, 4:25 pm

      You MORON! Stop perpetuating the IDIOCY! I sure hope you don’t think swearing makes you look intelligent. And if you really don’t care then leave this site and don’t come back. No one makes you come here.

  • Bill Henry August 10, 2015, 2:08 pm

    Mr. McComas was intentionally confrontational. He created a situation so that he could be confrontational. An officer driving by slow in his neighborhood is cause for alarm….really? Why? Isn’t that what they are supposed to do? I am a firm believer in constitutional rights. Doing this kind of stunt, just shows that you are an ass! He starts running back to his house? Creates the whole incident, then runs away like a coward! I would be ashamed to be associated with the likes of him. Go back and read the constitution again. Does not give you the right to be a jackass!

    • Brian Hillis August 10, 2015, 10:36 pm

      I don’t guess anybody noticed that the LEO stopped in the middle of the road. He did not have his lights on. He created a public safety issue that should result in a weeks suspension. His car was a danger to people going either way. It would probably block a fire truck trying to actually do some good. Everybody was wrong in this video. However, pulling the gun when a man is using his dominant hand to record the incident is very very bad behavior that should result in some sort of discipline. I have stopped my local police force from breaking the law by going to the Chief and explaining to him the error of their ways. We spent time going through the law books to demonstrate they were violating the law. Telling a man with a drawn gun that you are not going to obey is foolish no matter how right you are.

      I didn’t hear any comments about the statement that the department was corrupt. The LEO seemed to know what the guy was referring to. There is more to the story but we don’t have it.

  • DaveGinOly August 10, 2015, 12:17 pm

    The LEO had every right to do everything he did. He had a right to stop, to get out of the SUV, to tell McComas to take his hand out of his pocket, and to draw his weapon when McComas didn’t comply. But McComas had every right to do everything he did, including his non-compliance with the command. The LEO knew damn well McComas didn’t have a weapon; he was merely using a trivial order as a tactic to attempt to dominate the situation, and he became confused when he didn’t get the compliance he expected. (Upon not getting compliance, the LEO would have shot Mr. McComas if he had actually believed that McComas had a weapon.)

    All of that being said, the LEO was wrong. His actions served no legitimate LE or public safety purpose, and he instigated what turned into a use of force incident (most LE agencies consider drawing a weapon a “use of force”) for no reason whatsoever except that he was pissed off that a citizen had the temerity to record him while he was on duty (which the citizen has every right to do). Mr. McComas refused to play his game, and refused to allow the tail to wag the dog. (LEOs are public servants – they work for us, we pay their salaries. Their job is to protect and serve, not threaten and intimidate.) If the officer had any legitimate concern, he would have (and should have) conveyed the concern to McComas upon making the initial contact, instead of just creating a potentially lethal situation with no explanation and without resolving it (police don’t back off and drive away when they have a legitimate concern about a situation – this LEO’s retreat from the situation, under the circumstances, is fatal to any claim that he had a legitimate purpose when he initiated the contact). The officer’s apparent hostility to citizens with certain political leanings doesn’t help his cause either. Being a “constitutionalist” isn’t a crime and doesn’t make one an automatic threat to LE. (Imagine the sh*tstorm if an LEO pulled a weapon on someone for being a Musilim.)

  • kane August 10, 2015, 11:29 am

    It could have been handled better by both individuals.

  • russ August 10, 2015, 11:22 am

    I live in a small upstate NY county (Schoharie) and we (my friends) love our Sheriff and Deputies always find them helpful and caring—the kind of people you would call a friend.—-they believe in the 2nd amendment even living in this state so I just wanted to say- thanks to them and also—this tape seems to me that—-something is being left out

  • JT August 10, 2015, 11:06 am

    I don’t understand those of you who want to crucify this officer for apparently doing nothing more than his job. This whole situation could have been diffused right from the beginning had the citizen simply approached the officer and said “Hello! Can I help you?” Instead he starts to record video of the officer and when spoken to immediately takes a confrontational attitude. How can you blame the officer for being cautious under those circumstances? The officer has no idea who he’s dealing with… or maybe he does… as others have pointed out he says “I’m at the address”‘ implying there may have been a history with this subject. Do you know what that history was? I sure don’t. My point being that there may have been a perfectly good reason (based on past history and confrontational attitude) for drawing his gun.

    When I was a child (a long, long time ago), my Mother taught me one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned in life, and that lesson was to always put myself in the other person’s shoes. Before jumping on the bandwagon and condemning the police officer, I suggest you put yourself in his position and ask yourself realistically what you would do in this situation.

    • Creekeris01 August 11, 2015, 2:22 am

      Having been in those shoes, and with no other facts than those presented in the video, I see no legitimate reason for the Cop to unholster and basically brandish during the entire “interview” such as it was.

      I am speculating that he ran the tag of the vehicle on his first pass or even while he was sitting there prior to getting out his own “snappy” (Why the need for snappy if he already has in car camera? answer: intimidation).

      Realistically what I would do is irrelevant. The Cop has an obligation to be courteous unless he is given a reason not to be. He has also sworn an Oath to uphold (ie, follow) the Constitution… something he accuses the videographer of being a believer of… as if it were a bad thing. (Why the need to pull and show a weapon outside of any perceived opposing threat? answer: intimidation).

      The civilian has the obligation of being law abiding, he didn’t take an Oath to be a nice and polite guy.

  • regularguy August 10, 2015, 9:14 am

    Still don’t believe that cops are part of a privileged society that worships itself into statist perpetuity? What do you think would have been the cause of action by the police if an armed citizen was filmed acting this way? Why do we give this knucklehead a pass just because Uncle Sugar pays his checks?

    America in decline.

    • Cea August 10, 2015, 9:42 am

      America is in decline!
      But one of the biggest reasons is that the policing of our towns and cities are under constant criticism by the post modernistic mentality that everyone can do as they please. No societal rules need apply. Do as you want, unquestioned. That will take the nation down faster than anything else…when the core people have no sense of rules and “fair play”. And now, cops are being prosecuted for doing the job that nobody else will do. I bet that ol’ camera man/boat owner here, would poop his shorts if he ever had to deal with the scum running the streets, that have no sense of authority.

  • Gus McCrae August 10, 2015, 9:07 am

    This is just a short video that has been taken out of context. Should he have drawn his gun? Probably not but I don’t know the whole history. You hear the camera guy say, “You guys have done enough to my family.” So camera guy has had run-ins with the police before. You hear the cop say to his radio, “Im at that address” which means he was called there. Chances are the camera man and his family are the nightmare neighbors and are a pain in the ass and he was doing something that led a neighbor to call the cops. But of course he is the victim. Loser.

    • Mike C August 10, 2015, 7:57 pm

      If the officer was called to the scene, why didn’t he address the reason for the call? He only mentions (to the camera man), that he should stop recording and that he should remove his hands from his pockets. At best, his inquiry would be a Terry stop. He cannot make unlawful demands upon the guy with a camera, and without proof, he can’t really do any more. Sure the guy might be guilty of something, but he cannot interrogate the man until he finds something to hang his hat on. Frankly, the guy should have kept the camera on and stood quiet. Without cause, the officer would have to just continue in his way.

  • Abner T August 10, 2015, 8:52 am

    I’ve watched the video a couple of times. The cop appears to be instigating an armed assault on the maker of the video. If a citizen did that, it would be a felony.

    Any updates on this? Was the cop disciplined for unholstering his weapon?

  • Abner T August 10, 2015, 8:51 am

    I’ve watched the video a couple of times. The cop appears to be instigating an armed assault on the maker of the video.

    Any updates on this? Was the cop disciplined for unholstering his weapon?

  • Cea August 10, 2015, 8:50 am

    The guy filming the cop is an a-hole. The cop could be looking for a suspect in the area. The guy with the boat/camera has absolutely no idea what the cop is doing. He shouldn’t be worried about the cop. Maybe he is an oft offender, speeding, red light runner, etc…

    When I see a patrol car on my street, I wonder, what is going on? I’m glad there is someone checking the area! The people that are most offended by the law, are often frequent breakers of the law. “Why are they bothering me, just for speeding?” “It’s my right as a citizen not to be bothered!” All that crap! When cops stop “bothering” people, we are in real trouble.
    Don’t break the law, and the only time you will run into the law is when you need them.
    It is not too far off, we will have a neutered police community, all over the nation, due to all these cry baby, misdemeanor offenders. When the libs and cry babies finally get what they want, no privately owned guns, and cops that are nothing more than glorified security guards WITNESSES to crimes, they may finally “get it”. But, based on the actions and reasoning of their type, they will most likely sit around and wonder what happened to society. They will have no clue that years of whining and complaining that those “terrible, nasty and mean” cops were bothering people, caused the degeneration around them.

    • MSG John Laigaie August 10, 2015, 11:05 am

      So all LEOs walk on water. Cool, I am sad that you believe that. Check out that pesky Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights. The man was NOT BREAKING THE LAW!! And a trained LEO, if concerned, can use the most powerful tool in his inventory, the RADIO, and called in the info. Oh, thats right, he was already in contact with dispatch anbd he KNEW the guy was legal.

  • Gus McCrae August 10, 2015, 8:37 am

    i noticed that no one has mentioned the fact the guy with the camera says, “You guys have done enough to my family.” The PO also says to his radio, “I am at the address.” So, the camera guy has had past dealings with the police so he is not necessarily Mr. Innocent and it seems the cop was called to that address for a reason and not a drive by. Should he have pulled the gun? Maybe not. The constitutionalist comment was just an ivory tower comment. Now, I would like to know the whole story. Maybe these people are nightmare neighbors and constantly have the cops called on them. And of course they’re the victims. This little video can easily be taken out of context.

    • MSG John Laigaie August 10, 2015, 11:00 am

      So they have history. This could be why he videoed the LEO. If I am being harassed by someone, anyone, I would video also as a reference.

  • Robert T Willis August 10, 2015, 7:35 am

    I was a cop for 16 years and I have been filmed many times while doing my job! This cop had no reason to confront the man doing the filming this way! If anything he should have smiled and waved politely as he drove by! if anything he should have smiled and waved politely as you drove by! There is no mall that state you cannot film a police officer in public water doing their job, especially when you’re not interfering with the performance of that job! This officer needs to be terminated before he gets his self or a third person injured or killed because of his holier than thou attitude!

    • DWard August 10, 2015, 12:56 pm

      You have a good hold on what should be. The best thing the LEO could have done is to wave, say ‘hi, nice camera’.

      The officer had no business harassing the citizen and should be canned. I certainly do not want such a cop anywhere near my neighborhood, and if I saw one ‘patrolling’ past my house more than a couple time in a few minutes, I would film him as well. This action indicates a more than usual interest in his job related actions and too many ‘off duty’ cops are also off duty criminals. Not knowing who is and who is not, I want a record and a face should there be a midnight break in.

    • Creekeris01 August 11, 2015, 1:58 am

      Exactly, Willis. I’m Retired after 23 years.

      It seems to me that a problem exists when the Cop is NOT a Constitutionalist, but increasingly that seems to be the horrible trend.

      It pisses me off that I am seeing so many blue Brothers who apparently don’t know the Constitution that they are swearing to protect and defend.

      On the surface, this looks like nothing more than a sheer attempt at intimidation.

      This citizen didn’t make things any better, but he didn’t take any oath or have the obligation to have any public safety mindset and he is free to be pessimistic about whatever makes him happiest. It sounded like he has a history if not with the law maybe with this individual Cop.

  • BigMac August 10, 2015, 6:24 am

    I am a constitutionalist, but I am not as paranoid as this dumb shit. The police officer should have explained why he was stopping to check this out (possible boat theft?). I had a boat stolen from my house, while I was home! My neighborhood is similar to the one in the video too. The guy doing the filming was a total ass and immediately escalated the situation. What a dumb shit loud mouth. The police don’t know that he is not stealing the boat. Again they were both wrong and that is how the shit hits the fan. I actually would have been appreciative that the police were watching out for my well being, but dumb shit turned it into a confrontation for no reason other than he can’t stand any sort of authority. Again, both were wrong and that is how it turns really ugly fast.

    • Kimberpross August 10, 2015, 9:04 am

      This is a typical liberal media practice of showing only part of the story. Not enough information here. Anyone who draws a conslusion is making assumptions with no facts. This video is fishy.

    • Jay August 10, 2015, 9:42 am

      This law enforcement officer had no reason to act this way! Boat trailers have license plates, automobiles have license plates. If the officer was truly concerned about a possible theft, it would’ve taken all of 2 minutes to run both and make sure the owners matched!

      • MSG John Laigaie August 10, 2015, 10:57 am

        WE HAVE A WINNER!!! If Jay and I can figure this out, why did the LEO not check before drawing a weapon on an innocent? LEOs do NOT get to draw a deadly weapon WITHOUT provocation.

      • Sportsman August 11, 2015, 12:27 am

        I read a lot of the comments and even thought if I should participate in the conversation. I also don’t feel that it is necessary to swear or call anyone here names, no matter how disrespectful the cameraman was. I too wave to the police officers when they patrol my neighborhood, I like to see them, I feel safer when I see them and I respect them. I don’t try to aggravate them, they have a difficult job and put their life on the line to protect me. So with that in mind, and noticing that the officer had no way to see the licence plate on the boat trailer, he had no way to ensure that the boat was owned by the same person. The cameraman was so defensive and did refer to something that the police have already done enough to his family, makes the situation more uncomfortable. With the cameraman’s attitude, the officer did the best thing possible, walk away after he took the picture. I didn’t see the officer point the gun at the cameraman either. I feel bad for the officer that had to defend himself.

    • RJR August 10, 2015, 11:07 am

      EXACTLY BigMac. When an officer asks you to take your hand out of your pocket why would you say “NO!”
      Saying “NO!” only escalated this encounter to a confrontation that could have had a Sad Ending for Both.
      Had McComas taken his hand out of his pocket I doubt the Officer would have drawn his firearm.
      Just saying.

    • Grey Beard August 10, 2015, 5:27 pm

      OK now, the LEO ran the plate on the truck. He HAD to know the address matched that of the owner of the boat. At that point he should have backed off, waved, and gone about his patrol business. EVERYTHING that happened after running the plate was on the LEO!
      That said, when an LEO orders you to remove your hands from your pockets, you need to do so – Slowly! But that confrontation was a BS move by the LEO.
      I heard the comment that “you’ve done enough to my family” which indicates animosity between LE and the subject, which makes ALL of the actions of the LEO FOLLOWING running the plate and verifying the address total BS!

  • Mike August 7, 2015, 6:57 am

    I used to live in Rohnert Park. The citizen’s camera probably saved his life- No doubt the police office wanted extra-judicial punishment for the crime of having your hand in your pocket while at home.
    I would like to know what the city manager’s final decision is on this case.

    • eric holder August 10, 2015, 6:59 am

      Believe me – if anything happens to him – and I doubt it will – you will have to pester them to find out.

  • Big dan August 6, 2015, 10:16 pm

    Working in law enforcement is hard enough these days without jackasses like Mr McComas baiting officers on the job. McComas was alarmed by a cruiser going slowly through his neighborhood? It’s called routine patrol. I wonder why McComas had a negative predisposition towards law enforcement? Usually that means you’ve made some bad choices and blame cops for doing their jobs, instead of taking responsibility for your mistakes.
    Maybe the officer didn’t need to draw his weapon, however, asking the subject to take his hands out of his pockets is a perfectly reasonable request. It’s standard operating procedure for interviews, and is necessary for officer safety.

    • omega August 7, 2015, 10:35 am

      So if you have a camera thats a reason to pull your weapon, you are stupid. Yiu cant hook up your boat in front of your own home. It is not illegal to film people, you must be a jack nut.

      • Dr. Carl Franklin August 11, 2015, 4:25 am

        Holding a camera may not generate a reason to drop the pistol to your side, but it’s also not necessarily usual conduct in America today. Pedophiles use cameras in neighborhoods to identify potential victims. burglars use cameras to identify potential targets, especially when in a neighborhood with alarms or particularly vulnerable sites. Are these enough reasons for a cop to patrol a neighborhood and be inquisitive about a fellow with a camera?

        Regardless of whether the cop was originally wrong, being a dumb ass and keeping your hand in your pocket is no way to create/keep a good relation with local law enforcement. As we heard, though, there has obviously been something happen to this character that he now openly defies lawful orders, accuses an unknown officer of being corrupt, and then expects treatment that is unreasonable given his actions. and don’t think that just because they are in a middle-class neighborhood that an officer shouldn’t be cautious when confronting unusual behavior.

        Before you go claiming that pointing a camera at a cop is perfectly sane or reasonable, consider that drug labs are often setup in “ordinary” neighborhoods. Also consider that a criminal, such as a meth cook, might monitor the traffic going through the neighborhood by setting a mule out front during the cooking stage as a lookout and to take videos. Happened to me twice on criminal investigations of drugs and a fellow who ran a chop-shop out of his 3-car garage in a “million dollar” neighborhood.

        So why is it that in a society with crime going up, pedophiles enticing children over social media, and residential robbery on the rise, some folks find it better for our society by looking for reasons to blame the cop instead of reasons to help the cop?

        • Dan August 12, 2015, 10:55 pm

          The cop mishandled the situation. I get that being a cop is a difficult job, but because they are human, human nature takes over and they will have the tendency to abuse their power. This has gone on since the beginning of time, but now there is more video of it.

    • Aaron August 7, 2015, 10:40 am

      It wasn’t a simple drive by. Cop wasn’t passing through, he was repeating a slow drive. That’s what prompted the citizen to start filming.

      It was after filming the cop got out. Looks like he was filming from his own property, not getting in the cops way, at all. Did you see something I didn’t?

      What evidence so you have the guy filming is a Jack ass?

    • stevriot August 7, 2015, 6:45 pm

      when police drive slow by my house,if I am out side I wave with a smile.I will be damn if I will ever film law enforcement.I have respect for police officers THIS guy had no respect for police officers and probably a felon anyway

      • joe August 10, 2015, 3:49 am

        How long have you been a police officer?

      • Common Sense August 10, 2015, 8:04 am

        Why didn’t he say, no, I own this boat, I’m not stealing it but thank you for keeping us safe and go about his business? Hired to do a job then harassed for doing it? Don’t understand.

      • MSG John Laigaie August 10, 2015, 10:53 am

        You sound like the LEO attitude is in you. You don’t approve of the man NOT breaking the law, so he must be a felon. You, sir, might not be, but you sure sound stupid.

        • Gary August 11, 2015, 10:42 am

          without asking for ID, he pulls a weapon. then make what if a civilian did this would be ‘Illegal Brandishment’. He then proceeds to insult the guys character and this is okay!!!! He should be written up if not out on psy eval. just my opinion, but then I am a Right wing conservative Nut job as you can leftist can tell.

    • DRAINO August 7, 2015, 7:40 pm

      Well, Mr. “Big dan”, You have certainly showed your true democrat/socialist colors. And we see which side of the constitution you stand on. Cops with that kind of “guilty before proven innocent” mentality are part of the cause of the tension that is currently plaguing our society. And if that’s your attitude, you and people with the same attitude have no business protecting and serving our communities. Sounds like you are the one with the guilty conscience. Cops like you are the ones who shoot people in the back. I’ll bet you even carry a throw away handgun on you, don’t you? Better to be a jackass than a TURD like you!!!!

      • Obama Hater August 10, 2015, 2:56 am

        Draino, im with you 100%, Big dan is the problem with whats partly wrong in this country! he gives all cops a bad name and is the exact reason why some people dont like or even hate cops and is also the type of person why there are so many innocent people in jail/prison because he looks for problems where there isnt any!

        • JesseJames August 10, 2015, 12:36 pm

          You are right “Obama hater” it’s called harassment. And that’s what this cop was all about. Some, not all, some cops are on a “power high” just because they wear a badge. The badge gives them the mentality they can do anything they please. This cop was totally unjustified in the stop and especially in drawing his weapon and keeping it out the whole time. It’s cops like this who give the rest a bad rap. I don’t know the whole story here but this cop acted totally unprofessional.
          By the way I really do like your handle, that is one man (if you dare to call him a man) who is not hard at all to hate.
          Have a good day.

    • Truth Hurts August 10, 2015, 10:51 am

      McComas was baiting? Way to blame the victim and assist the overly fascist police force by defending this a-hole. There are no good cops. If there were any good cops, there’d be no bad cops.

    • Dmachine August 10, 2015, 3:04 pm

      Baiting officers on the job? He was standing on his own property. He’s out in public and can take video of whatever he wants. How is it the cop’s business? Just another douchebag on a power trip. The cop kept escalating, walking up on the citizen, telling him to take his hands out of his pockets. Then he pulls his gun for no reason. Well, no lawful reason. Intimidation. That’s always the goal. That cop needs to be fired before he kills somebody. You cop apologists can go f*ck yourselves.

    • Leadsender August 10, 2015, 10:10 pm

      Big Dan, I think that you are part of the problem. It is my belief that you believe that law enforcement can do not wrong. Current law say that bystander (citizens) can record the scene of what police officer’s are doing as long as the recording does not enter fear with the process. To my surprize (not really) you have officals wanting to pass laws that prevent you and I (Joe Citizen) from using our right to record officer reactions good or bad. There is something very wrong with that. We have sceen office’s caught LYING from the very first words coming out of there mout in addition to officer coming to the scene late backing up the lie the fisrt officer told. In the HOOD, we call this contemp of cop. If you are lucky you pushed around, bullied, hand cuffed, arrested and then taken to jail. If you are unlucky you get dead. If this officer thought that the boat was about to be stolen all he needed to do was treat the situation as a traffice stop.

  • Aaron August 6, 2015, 5:31 pm

    I took a citizen’s police academy. Firearms instructor cop asked the class who had a conceal carry permit. A third of the class raised their hands.

    Then he said, “Why wouldn’t someone get one?” So I said, ” the second amendment.” Got a very dirty look from him.

    He later said why he wants folks to get permits, “So I know who has the guns.”

    Jokes on him. We went constitutional carry.

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