New definition of sheriffnado!!!

[David Drummond]

Jason, do you remember if this was still in Brisco County or after you crossed over in to Hall County? I think when I saw you it was stll in Brisco, plus that Sheriff truck looks just like the one that was blocking the road in to Silverton when the tornado was about to hit there.

 

[Jay McCoy]

Let me state right off the bat, that I agree with all the other posts. This cop had no right to do what he did and it tarnishes the image of law enforcement. I would also agree you should take this up with the proper "authorites". However, my wife grew up in small town OK very near to the TX panhandle and the stories I hear are horrible. Most likely anybody you talk to in any position of authority is this cops best buddy or worse a family member. That seems to be the way that it works (well at least the towns she's lived in). I'm not saying don't try to have the cop repremanded, but don't expect much to come of it.

They are all buddies on these small forces but no elected sheriff wants to look bad or have his department held up to scrutiny. Thats why I think posting the videos on Youtube would work best. Let the public see what happened and decide for themselves. I promise the shreiff wont like it being seen and will deal with it as fast as he can so it goes away.

 

[Earl Faubion]

Complaint

I know there are current and ex law enforcement officials on this board, and I have to ask this question. Did I do anything that could have gotten me arrested, or was this guy just having a bad day?

Jason, after 27 years in law enforcement (now retired) there is no way I can answer your question. You're the agrieved party so you're the one who has to make the decision whether to file a complaint. I could speculate all day long about what the deputy's frame of mind may have been, but that's pointless because your question would still be unanswered. You strike me as a level headed individual so I think you will make the right decision.

 

[Marko Korosec]

Totally agree with the posts above, that guys had no right to do something like that, smells like illegal thing to me as well. Sorry to hear about your bad experience and hopefully you won't have any bad consequences, Jason.

They are all buddies on these small forces but no elected sheriff wants to look bad or have his department held up to scrutiny. Thats why I think posting the videos on Youtube would work best. Let the public see what happened and decide for themselves. I promise the shreiff wont like it being seen and will deal with it as fast as he can so it goes away.

I agree that this should be shown to people, but I'd suggest to show the tape to the local TV station or something similar, which would lead them (media, people and police) think. With posting on youtube, sure many people would see it, but no serious consequences to that guy. What if, like a worst case senario, such posting and when he sees it on the net makes him angry and he'd look for a revenge to someone else out there? Then rather put if officially to TV networks since this shouldn't be overlooked. Its a bad experience, but its better to inform people who might solve this problem, so he (or his buddies) won't do it again.

Still not sure whats better, or such laws and police like in US or such like here, where there is really low level of respect to the police, since they're in many cases useless, but thats another story.

 

[Jason Boggs]

Jason, do you remember if this was still in Brisco County or after you crossed over in to Hall County? I think when I saw you it was stll in Brisco, plus that Sheriff truck looks just like the one that was blocking the road in to Silverton when the tornado was about to hit there.

I think I was still in Briscoe county but I'm not absolutely sure.

 

[David Drummond]

I think I was still in Briscoe county but I'm not absolutely sure.

I think it was. I think where he finally stopped and was blowing the siren at everyone that passed by was on the county line. I am 90% sure it was the same guy I saw at Silverton. He was driving up and down the road blowing the siren and then went and stopped in the middle of the road on the edge of Silverton as that tornado passed just to the northwest.

Given the size of the county, I am going to guess he probably lives in Silverton, since that town and Quitaque are the only real towns in that county, and both very small.

Only thing I can figure out was this guy was already scared out of his wits thinking his little town was about to be blown away and the 100+ chaser vehicles that just blew through there just added to his anxiety. He might have even been the Sheriff himself. I doubt they have many LEOs in that county considering the population.

Undoubtedly he was just presented with two situations which in all likelyhood he had not prepared himself to handle and overreacted.

 

[Robert Dewey]

Everyone makes mistakes and stupid decisions, even law enforcement. I can imagine his level of stress and could easily see others reacting the same way when they have the responsibility of everyone's safety on their shoulders. Even so, people need to be called out on their mistakes so that they can correct them in the future.

I agree with the majority here that you should do something about the situation. I'm not sure exactly what your options would be, but at least show the video to your station and let them know that you feel you were the target of a "mistake".

 

[Brandon Sullivan]

Last Year on March 12th or April 21st... I cant remember when.. We had a real nice storm pop up to the west of us.. A friend of mine was on that storm, he saw the wall cloud, and eventually the tornado.. He called NWS and they put out a warning right away... Now the funny thing is, the sheriff was sitting on the complete opposite side of the storm (downdraft) and said on the HAM Repeater " Im over by him and I doont see anything " then he proceded to get on his poloce radio and say " you dont need to sound the sirens, this guy is seeing things... Needless to say, his apology was well expected later that day when the damage was done...

WOW!! I couldnt believe it..

 

[David Wagener]

We encountered the sheriff on Hwy 70 about a half mile, give or take, before it the 256 intersection. This guy was a piece of work. My chase partner was driving for the first time this go around (only his second year out) and was a little stunned by this guy. He came up behind us when I was filming the Silverton tornado along side hwy 70 and told us we had to go. That's fine...trees were getting in the way. Found a better hill and setup there. After it was obvious it was going to stay west of the 256/70 intersection we start backed. He was pulled off on the side and attempted to stop one group of chasers in a car (about 3 or 4 guys) and they went past. We come up to him and he is out of his truck walking into the road in front of us scream "what the hell do you think you are doing, get the hell out of here..."

I was just like...is this for real. Then he started demanding our storm chaser licenses...I just looked at my partner and looked back at him and was like "umm, I've been doing this for 11 years, since when did those exist?" He started to get flustered as I wouldn't break and finally cracked "well I'm not going to be responsible for you if you get hit"...my response "did I ask you to be?"

My only regret is turning the camera off and setting it down next to me, lord knows he would have tried something and I wasn't going to lose the video. He finally wandered off, we watched the thing spin down and headed back to Norman.

What a great first drive by the new guy on this chase. My only regrets is that I wasn't able to stream live back to the station in OKC (no cell service)...otherwise they would have gotten a kick out of it there.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Not that this is all that relevant, but I was just thinking of recording the situation and what I'd do. I remembered how you can set most Sony's(and others I'm sure) so that the red record light does not come on. I have yet to set my latest Sony so it works that way, and now want to, lol...just incase some jackass stops me and can see the camera.

 

[Earl Faubion]

My Sony doesn't have an option to turn the red light off but I've found that a tiny bit of electrical tape conceals it nicely.

 

[joel ewing]

You know, this dialog has gotten me to think that it might be a darn good idea to start an entirely new thread asking veteran chasers where they have encountered speed traps and/or overly-aggressive law enforcement agents throughout the "alley".
My chase partner/cousin Doren Berge and I could weigh in. Personally, I would LOVE to have a list of potential "hot spots". Joel Ewing

 

[Wesley Luginbyhl]

That Sheriff that was driving out there was causing bigger problems than any the chasers were. He was all over the place. Everytime i looked up that truck was speeding off in one direction or another. That really sucks he just decided to pick you out of everyone. It also kinda makes me laugh though. You get pulled over for doing nothing, but about 4 years ago when I was still in high school, i accidently cut 2 sheriff vehicles off while speeding following a storm out of my home town. I saw 2 white cars coming up in the left lane behind me (there a 2 lanes in both directions here), but the people in front of me were going pretty slow so i shoot over in front of the 2 white cars and went around. After i pass the slower cars, I get over still going about 80 to see 2 sheriffs pass me going 85+. At this point i realized they were more concerned about the storm in front of us, so i just kept pace (at a distance of course). You just have to be careful in the panhandle. Some of the cops out there (sheriff and troopers) are really nice, but then you have the "others". You should definitely report that guy, it doesnt matter how long it has been. You dont call anyones employer and make false claims. Thats just wrong.

 

[Bob Schafer]

It seems to me that before posting any vids on YouTube, or going to the media, that the best thing to do would be to contact the applicable sheriff's department and then wait (for a short time) for some reply. I would inform them that I expect nothing less than a public apology right here on this forum, or else the crap hits the fan.

This guy is a loaded gun (no pun intended), and he needs to either see the light or find different employment.

But, I say give the department a chance to act in a favorable manner before you go nuclear.

 

[Melissa Moon]

Wow...sounds like this guy was a piece of work. Personally, though, if it was me I would just let the whole thing go. I don't agree with what he did (though I think he was probably just freaked out about the storm which resulted in him overreacting), but now that it is said and done, what good is it to make a stink about someone/something who you probably will not have to encounter again anytime soon (unless there happens to be a storm there again)?