Storm chaser arrested in Texas

  • Thread starter Thread starter J Kinkaid
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Shane, you should post this link in the LEO forum..........looks like this guy wasn't doing anything wrong except sitting there watching the storm. Get their take on why this guy was arrested given the circumstances of the case.

EDIT: On second thought.............IF THAT was the guy, stupid is as stupid does.
 
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That is phenomenal. What the hell is wrong with that guy. Who do these morons think does the reporting for TV stations and the NWS. Forget about the reporting and other good things chasers do out there. Do these kinds of people not understand that we have every right in the world to watch a storm, regardless of what county it's in. That is a total abuse of authority and IMO when you have a cop that has problems excercising common sense and restraint they ought to have their badge yanked. You can't have a person in that position that is willing to bully other people and abuse the special authority they have been entrusted with. What a joke.
I probably would have ended up going to jail for battery too because I think I would have a hard time not fighting with the guy when he tried to cuff me. I would be more than a little pissed off if I was on the recieving end of that screw job. I hope that cop gets what he deserves, but I'm sure nothing will happen to him.
 
That is phenomenal. What the hell is wrong with that guy. Who do these morons think does the reporting for TV stations and the NWS. Forget about the reporting and other good things chasers do out there. Do these kinds of people not understand that we have every right in the world to watch a storm, regardless of what county it's in.

True.

That is a total abuse of authority

Probably...we don't have all the details

and IMO when you have a cop that has problems excercising common sense and restraint they ought to have their badge yanked.

True..but it's not your job to yank it. That's the court's job.

You can't have a person in that position that is willing to bully other people and abuse the special authority they have been entrusted with. What a joke. I probably would have ended up going to jail for battery too because I think I would have a hard time not fighting with the guy when he tried to cuff me.

Wow...You better learn to control that anger or you'll end up more than in jail. You fight with a cop he has the right to shoot you. The proper thing to do is take it up in court...not on the street.
 
Lesson learned here? Officer asks you to leave..you close your mouth and leave.

Screw that, officer tells you to jump off a bridge do you do it? As long as you're on public property not breaking any rules (appears this guy was not) they can't do anything, hell this guy gets a good attorney he'll probably end up making money in civil court, hopefully if he was indeed not breaking any rules he had the camera rolling...
 
Wow, I was on the same storm.... but l did not run into this... thankfully. I think this deputy went by me on the way to a brush fire call.

Yes, something "like" this happened several years ago near Silverton (?). There was a local deputy or city cop (?) who had it in for chasers. Never heard what happened to him.

The guy who was arrested yesterday, really needs to go after this deputy once the case is dismissed, not before, believe me on this. He should file a complaint with both the County Attorney's office and the local department's IA. Of course, he should only do this if indeed he did not commit a crime or moving violation. I'm guessing the prosecutor will at least want a moving violation to save face and future litigation against them for wrongful arrest. He was VERY lucky there were witnesses.

W.

Edit: The really upsetting thing about this is the cost. It's likely to run him anywhere from $500 to $3k + if he goes to court to fight it. However, it seems to me that he was charged with more than a simple moving violation if he was detained.
 
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A cop can't shoot you if you resist arrest Tyler. You can only retaliate with deadly force when somebody is trying to use deadly force against you. He could certainly mase you, but shooting you? No.... Settle down Tyler. I haven't fought any cops yet. Stop taking things so seriously. I am well aware of the fact that you can never win an argument with a cop on the side of the road. My dad was a judge and I've had plenty of dealings with the law. I know how it works.

I didn't say it was my job to yank his badge, hence me saying "they" ought to yank his badge. There should be little if any tolerance for police officers abusing authority IMO. It is extremely difficult to prove that a cop abused their authority since 9 times out of 10 it's just your word against his. You can't have somebody that isn't ethically sound in a position like that since it is so easy for them to get away with regularly abusing the authority they have. If that report is accurate then the cop should be ashamed of himself and he should also be fired. That is a flagerant violation of the chaser's rights and cops shouldn't be immune to punishment. In fact the punishment should be more severe when the person violating the law is charged with upholding it. One of my biggest pet peeves is cops that think they can bully people around because they wear a badge. They work for us. We pay their salary and they are supposed to protect us, not harass us.
 
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Screw that, officer tells you to jump off a bridge do you do it?

Bad analogy.

As long as you're on public property not breaking any rules (appears this guy was not) they can't do anything,

What they can and can't do is not up to you to decide. You may be in the right, but you can very well end up in jail and spend thousands of dollars to prove you were right. Do what you like..but I'll simply move.
 
A cop can't shoot you if you resist arrest Tyler. You can only retaliate with deadly force when somebody is trying to use deadly force against you. He could certainly mase you, but shooting you? No.... Settle down Tyler.
You don't know your deadly force law then. (ex Deadly Force trainer for Kentucky) You are struggling with an officer. Once you start down that road it's _HIS_ decision when deadly force is warranted, not you. Granted, the average officer would simply beat the crap out of you...but this guy has already shown an inability to handle his own anger. But that's beside the point and a jump to extreme on my part. The point is...you don't stand and argue with a cop. You take name/badge/etc and complain to his superiors.

I didn't say it was my job to yank his badge, hence me saying "they" ought to yank his badge. There should be little if any tolerance for police officers abusing authority IMO. It is extremely difficult to prove that a cop abused their authority since 9 times out of 10 it's just your word against his. You can't have somebody that isn't ethically sound in a position like that since it is so easy for them to get away with regularly abusing the authority they have. If that report is accurate then the cop should be ashamed of himself.

In this case you have a reporter on the scene that is unrelated to the specific event. I'm sure something will happen.
 
What they can and can't do is not up to you to decide.

No, but it's not entirely up to them either, their "powers" do not extend beyond the laws... Indeed probably in your best interest to move, but if the cop comes up with a bad attitude and no reason rather than a storm as to why I need to move, he is going to have to find a law I am breaking to get me to move.
 
In dealings with law enforcement, one should always be polite and pleasant even if one believes the officer is out of line. It will help with the case if it comes up in the courts.

That being said, I think this quote in the paper tells alot, "Calls to the Crane County Sheriff's Office for comment, were not returned" They may already realize their officer was out of line and are trying to do damage control especially if the "court of public opinion" is siding with the chaser.

I will be interested in the outcome of the case as I have always had pleasant or at least fair experiences with law enforcement out on the Plains. We may not know the full details of the situation until later. I do feel bad for Brian. Even if the case was dismissed or found in his favor, a court fight would be a big hassle factor and expense.

Bill Hark
 
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