Storm chaser arrested in Texas

  • Thread starter Thread starter J Kinkaid
  • Start date Start date
Darrin Rasberry said:
It's the link on the very first post in the thread :p

This also now includes a third video of last night's news cast, including some comments sent to that particular news station. http://www.kwes.com/global/story.asp?s=8286980
Click to expand...

Would you believe me if I told you the video wasn't up yet when I first read the thread (there weren't even any replies at the time) ;)

I haven't chimed in on my thoughts yet on this ...

My feelings are quite mixed. On one hand, I respect law enforcement and chances are even if I thought the officer was in the wrong, I would have obeyed him or her, but I am definitely behind Bryan here. I have felt on a couple of occasions the threatening presence of territorial law enforcement.

This is my county, my rules.

The majority are not like this, but in this case it seems like a clear cut example.
 
mike scantlin said:
how is this even relevant?

"Brian Barnes was arrested while chasing..."

"Hai GUYS! LOOK At THIS LIGHTBARZ"
Click to expand...

I brought this up because light bars was brought up in the discussion-read a little.:rolleyes: And to me it does have some relevance due to the fact that a cop might want to know exactly who the hell someone thinks they are with that many lights on a vehicle-I don't see the need for it. And technically, from what I've read, I wouldn't say he was arrested while CHASING, instead viewing the storm from the side of the road. Anyway, the cop I believe is in the wrong, a typical sheriff trying to throw his weight around and make a name for himself. The only law enforcement I respect in the state of Texas is DPS. They usually ask a couple of questions and go on about their business.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Gerard Jebaily said:
Very well spoken and I am in much agreement. I do wish however that,

A) LEOs would realize that "the average storm chaser will know more about weather than the average law enforcement officer" and therefore consider and or respect our judgements about threatening weather(most of them do from my own personal encounters). The same way we respect their judgments about dangers to public safety on roadways.

and B) LEOs would be required to take the basic skywarn class as part of their training.
Click to expand...

This is the truth. As I mentioned earler Deputy Dawg here probably knew nothing about storms except through myths, and likely thought, as many people in my hometown on Terrible Tuesday did, that driving as fast as you can is the safest thing to do. The concept of storm spotting and public awareness is nonexistent to him. It needs to be, and emergency personnel should all be trained as part of their job.

The cop drove through a huge hail core. He could've wrecked his car and put Brian in further danger. This deputy is clearly ignorant of storms and the reduced risk that education grants the chaser or spotter.
 
Chris Lott said:
I brought this up because light bars was brought up in the discussion-read a little.:rolleyes: And to me it does have some relevance due to the fact that a cop might want to know exactly who the hell someone thinks they are with that many lights on a vehicle-I don't see the need for it. And technically, from what I've read, I wouldn't say he was arrested while CHASING, instead viewing the storm from the side of the road. Anyway, the cop I believe is in the wrong, a typical sheriff trying to throw his weight around and make a name for himself. The only law enforcement I respect in the state of Texas is DPS. They usually ask a couple of questions and go on about their business.
Click to expand...

2 things..

1. The amoutn of lights has nothing to do with this topic and since Jeff is a fireman and has to respond code 3 to scenes he needs lights. You obviously dont have the experience of trying to navigate through traffic code 3 (been there..done that). Most people are stupid and oblivious to anyting around them and the brighter the lights and louder the siren the better chance of getting these morons attention. He does not use them while chasing.. end of argument.

2. Bryan was not parked on the side of the road. He was in a rest stop which is more or less a parking lot. Hard to block highway traffic being in a rest stop. Thats what they are for. And that was just the bogus charge to give the cop an excuse but if you listen to the video and witnesses the cop says it is for their own safelty to move away from the storm. His whole point was to make Bryan and the group leave for their own protection because they were in danger from the storm. It is also what he stated to the local photog he harrassed minutes before. This was justa lame bored panicy cop who felt it was his duty to save us all from the big bad storm. It had nothing to do with how Bryan was parked or else you can ticket or arrest everybody who ever stops in a rest stop

There is no way a charge like that will ever stick. Rest stops are designed exactly for that. A safe place to stop off the highway to rest, eat, use bathroom etc...I see a lawsuit for false arrest winning easily.
 
Brian Emfinger said:
"Mr. Barnes took it upon himself to recklessly disregard a reasonable request or order to leave the immediate vicinity where our deputy believed him and fellow passengers to be in a dangerous proximity to funnel clouds that had already produced one reported tornado."
Click to expand...
(extra emphasis mine)

This statement does not pertain to the crime, as Mike H. mentioned, but given this wording, and given the shakiness of the lesser charge, the sheriff is probably really saying that he could've charged Brian with felony reckless endangerment (even if the passengers sign waivers, waivers don't uphold if the law is considered broken) but dropped to a lesser charge instead. Bet he thinks he's an altruist for that one.

The only thing I can say in defense of the sheriff is in regard to an earlier post here that brought my attention to something: Brian was not actually handcuffed until fourteen seconds into the raw video. He just had his hands behind his back.

Please note at the six second mark of the raw video, Brian quickly turns around and appears to lunge at the deputy in anger. Considering now that he wasn't cuffed yet, I can completely understand why he was treated roughly and cuffed eight seconds later. No matter how wrong Deputy Dawg was, you do not make a threatening move at a LOE ever, no matter how stupid and non-threatening it looks. Like I said earlier, I've seen police take down to the pavement, people who have made less threatening moves (even just yelling) than Brian made here.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Um, at the 6 second mark he tries walking away from the officer and stumbles or something, he's definitely not lunging toward him
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Doesn't look like he lunged at all to me. Looks more like he got yanked backwards by the cop.
 
Nice! I just watched the video of the follow up report the news station did (linked above by Darrin) and saw that my comment was one of the ones they read on air. They did tweak it a tad though. In my email to them I said...

"Who does this idiot think reports to the TV stations and the national weather service? Storm chasers do. We keep the public aware of the threat and take a lot of pride in doing it. This is a blatant abuse of authority and cop should be punished for doing this."

They replaced "idiot" with "person". I liked it better the first way, but whatever.
 
Mike Hollingshead said:
Doesn't look like he lunged at all to me. Looks more like he got yanked backwards by the cop.
Click to expand...

Yeah, on further review you guys are right - the cop did yank him beforehand and it looked like Brian was caught by surprise and gave the deputy a "wtf" kind of look. My bad - I didn't notice that.

I still say if this department was real arseholes, given the sheriff's statement they could have put reckless endangerment on Brian. Doubt it would've held up in court any better than this crap charge about blocking roadways will, but the media coverage would've been even higher than it is now ...
 
Darrin,
I have noticed several times while you have been quoting laws and referring to people's rights, you continually use the term LOE
Is this intentional, as in, is there a meaning for this abbreviation or is this actually misquoted and is suppose to be LEO? "LEO" stands for Law Enforcement Officer, but I am not familiar with the term LOE you used numerous times in different posts.
 
Dennis Sherrod said:
Darrin,
I have noticed several times while you have been quoting laws and referring to people's rights, you continually use the term LOE
Is this intentional, as in, is there a meaning for this abbreviation or is this actually misquoted and is suppose to be LEO? "LEO" stands for Law Enforcement Officer, but I am not familiar with the term LOE you used numerous times in different posts.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I meant LEO. Maybe it's a Freudian slip for Law Officer Enforcement, which is pretty badly needed for Deputy Dawg here ;)
 
roadsign-782685.jpg


Something I made up. But, they might as well have one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Preston Bradley
2025-01-05: Reports: MS
Replies
0
Views
73
Preston Bradley
Preston Bradley
Randy Jennings
2024 TESSA Conference Notes
Replies
1
Views
695
Warren Faidley
Warren Faidley
Blake Naftel
2024-05-07 REPORTS: MI/OH/IN
Replies
6
Views
746
chrisbray
chrisbray
50th Anniversary of Scientific Tornado Coverage on Television
2
Replies
25
Views
1K
Mike Smith
ScottCurry
Noob Chase Tour Leader - Taking Movie Crew Storm Chasing - NEED HELP FAST!
Replies
10
Views
989
Warren Faidley
Warren Faidley
Back
Top