Storm chaser arrested in Texas

[Joe Grunow]

Storm Chaser Arrested

After reading the additional information that the ABC station says was quoted from Brian's blog, I'm a little less inclined to be on Brian's side on this one. He apparently was conducting a tour and says he pulled far enough into the rest area to keep his customers safe from the traffic. If the tour customers were out of the van milling around the rest area and the deputy felt that was causing a hazard in close proximity to a storm that had previously produced a brief tornado, I can more understand why he would ask Brian to move. While we can't be responsible for the actions of other people who stop and gawk at us, we are responsible for our own actions that cause this to happen. It also shows that while Brian may have been reporting to the NWS, he was in that location for one main reason, to further his business...making what originally sounds like a noble endeavor a little more capitalistic in nature. Whether Brian was raised by a law enforcement officer or by wolves in the wild, and even if he offers a police discount, etc, he was in the wrong by refusing the request of the deputy to move on. A lot of people complain that the police are never there when we need them and are only out there to harrass us, and say that they need to understand that we are providing a public service by reporting what we see. If we were to be truthful, how many chasers are out there reporting to the NWS? Most of the chases I have been on or watched in the hundreds of storm videos this is one aspect that is lacking. Most of us (me included) are more interested in getting the still or video shot or communicating with our nowcasters or media bosses than calling in to the NWS. When we are out there for our own purposes (storm photography, conducting tours, reporting for a distant media outlet like a TV station chaser reporting on storms out of their viewing area) we are no more providing a public service than the next guy.
My bottom line is that while Brian may be a great guy and may have been calling reports in to the NWS, he was a tour director who was trying to get his customers their money's worth. He should have complied with the deputy's request and moved on.
I also think that getting himself arrested while he had a van full of customers to think about was a little careless and unprofessional. I realize he probably had another guide/driver, etc with him to take care of the customers, but I'm sure the tour was interrupted while Brian cooled his heels in the lockup for a few hours....all time that the customers had paid for and could have spent in pursuit of the storms.

 

[rdale]

He apparently was conducting a tour and says he pulled far enough into the rest area to keep his customers safe from the traffic. If the tour customers were out of the van milling around the rest area and the deputy felt that was causing a hazard in close proximity to a storm that had previously produced a brief tornado, I can more understand why he would ask Brian to move.

Clarify that please... They were at a rest stop. Where people stop along the road and get out and mill about, away from traffic. There's no law against that. The police cannot order you out of an area because a thunderstorm is on the horizon. Would it be better for them to move a mile down and pull off on the highway? Why does the reason for his stopping there matter?

 

[Scott Weberpal]

I also think that getting himself arrested while he had a van full of customers to think about was a little careless and unprofessional. I realize he probably had another guide/driver, etc with him to take care of the customers, but I'm sure the tour was interrupted while Brian cooled his heels in the lockup for a few hours....all time that the customers had paid for and could have spent in pursuit of the storms.

I think if he knew he was going to get arrested he would have moved on. He stated he was simply trying to inform the officer of what he was doing when he was asked to move. It's not like he TRIED to get arrest or knew that would happen by calmly speaking with the officer.

 

[Tarmo Tanilsoo]

Brian has posted an account of the events on WX-CHASE, which is definitely a must-read. I will reserve my opinions until all the details come out, as he requested in his post.

However, I will tell you this that I am at a loss for words after hearing this news. However, I will wait for all the details before loudly speaking out on ST.

 

[Joe Grunow]

If the deputy felt that they were causing a hazard by their actions or presence, he can ask them to move on. Even though the area is meant for stopping and getting out of a vehicle, it goes back to the "public safety" in a hazardous situation or environment that was mentioned in a previous post. Under normal circumstances, there would be nothing wrong with what Brian was doing. With a recently tornadic storm producing another wall cloud, a potentially dangerous situation exists and the police have the right to tell people to vacate the area....that's not just my opinion, that's the way the law is written. Like I said in a previous post, a lot of local law enforcement personnel wouldn't know a wall cloud from a Wal-mart, and in the need to protect the public, may just want to get people out of the area to ensure their safety.
Unfortunately, our rights in this country are not as broad as we like to think they are. We always assume that we have freedom of movement so we can go where we want anytime we want, especially in public places. For what may seem like no reason at all to us, the police CAN restrict our access to areas or rights to do things when it is in the interest of public safety or in the discharge of their authorized duties. Maintaining the safety of the public, whether they want that safety maintained or not, is part of that discharge of duties. Even the all powerful media is subject to the orders of the police. If a police officer tells a reporter or photographer to move, they normally comply because they know they can be arrested if they don't.
The deputy sounds like an a**hole, having allegedly been verbally abusive to Brian and a reporter, and he needs to be disciplined for that. As far as being fired or facing a lawsuit for requesting Brian and the others to move on, I'm not too sure.

 

[Tim Shriver]

In my mind he had two choices. Neither one was wrong, just different.

1. Express his thoughts and what he thought was right.
2. Comply and move on.

If I thought I was in the right and the officer was in the wrong and it was
important to me, I would express my thoughts and risk the arrest and/or fine.
We have this right and one that has been used many times in the past.
Often resulting in positive changes.

If I thought it was not worth the effort then I would simply move on.

So no right or wrong here in the act of questioning the officers motive or
legality. We have that right in this country, despite what some may
say or think. It is then up to the courts to decide who was
correct and who was not.

Tim

 

[Darin Brunin]

It comes from law enforcement in rural areas having nothing to do 98% of the time they're on duty and when they get some action in their county...it's time to shine. They seem to become very territorial in a sense like a lot of stationary spotters when you enter their area of responsibility. It has to be a big rush for them to get so many vehicles on their roads that they probably get overly excited and I don't see this being any different in this situation.

And no Joe, if he is pulled off the road in a 'public' area. There's nothing a police officer can do unless there's a law against storm chasing? If I was taking a photo of a skyscraper in New York on a public street and a police officer told me that I couldn't I would in other words tell him to F off because I would have the right to(barring there's some law telling me that I can't) and this is same thing in a sense.....it all comes down to it being a public area.

 

[Susan Strom]

a lot of local law enforcement personnel wouldn't know a wall cloud from a Wal-mart, and in the need to protect the public, may just want to get people out of the area to ensure their safety.

I thought most law enforcement in the Plains would have a basic recognition of dangerous weather; esp if patrolling anywhere in Tornado Alley. If this is not the case, they should all be required to go though spotter training. Seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[Joe Grunow]

Actually there is such a law in the State of Texas, and probably most other states for that matter. Without researching the entire Penal Code for all of the times a police officer is authorized to move people from an otherwise public place, here is the cite in question (which just happens to be the violation Brian was apparently charged with):

TEXAS PENAL CODE
§ 42.03. OBSTRUCTING HIGHWAY OR OTHER PASSAGEWAY.
(a) A person commits an offense if, without legal privilege or
authority, he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:
1) obstructs a highway, street, sidewalk, railway,
waterway, elevator, aisle, hallway, entrance, or exit to which the
public or a substantial group of the public has access, or any other
place used for the passage of persons, vehicles, or conveyances,
regardless of the means of creating the obstruction and whether the
obstruction arises from his acts alone or from his acts and the acts
of others; or
(2) disobeys a reasonable request or order to move
issued by a person the actor knows to be or is informed is a peace
officer, a fireman, or a person with authority to control the use of
the premises:
(A) to prevent obstruction of a highway or any of
those areas mentioned in Subdivision (1); or
(B) to maintain public safety by dispersing those
gathered in dangerous proximity to a fire, riot, or other hazard.
(b) For purposes of this section, "obstruct" means to render
impassable or to render passage unreasonably inconvenient or
hazardous.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.

This makes it legal for a police officer or fireman to request or order people to move when maintaining public safety in dangerous proximity to a hazard. Arguments can be made all day about just what "dangerous proximity" means, and that would be an issue for a court/jury to determine. Like I said earlier, our rights are unfortunately absolute, even though we like to think they are. The portion of the law the Brian violated came from refusing to move along when the police officer told him to. He allegedly said that he made the decision that because of what he was doing, he was not going to move. Reporting to the NWS is not "legal privilege or authority" which would exclude him from the reasonable request to move. His right to be in the rest area was superseded by the police officer's need to maintain public safety. According to the News West 9 story, Brian said he thought it was his "obligation to stay and follow the storms" after being told by the deputy to leave. Apparently the deputy told him to leave and he said he was "helping out the NWS in San Angelo" to which the deputy replied that he didn't care and Brian had to leave. At that point Brian decided not to comply. He was given the second chance when the deputy listened to his explanation for being there and repeated his request.

For the issue of storm spotter/recognition training, some departments do train their officers. The departments I served with had good relations with the fire department and civil defense (forerunner to Emergency Management - guess I'm dating myself there), so we had basic spotter training and functioned as spotters during times of severe weather, as the area did not have an organized spotter group and the nearest NWS office was 50+ miles away. Sadly, a lot of departments don't have these strong relationships, or the money or time to do this, but rely on the local spotter network to tell them what the dangers are. It would be great to mandate training for all law enforcement personnel, but I don't think that's going to happen any more than us getting all chasers to get the basic or advanced training or to drive safely, etc.

 

[Joe Grunow]

My previous post should have read "our rights are NOT absolute..." Fingers couldn't keep up.

 

[Jacque Tiegs]

Tyler is right about deadly force. In Kenosha WI, the police shot and killed 4 unarmed men for resisting arrest. This was all in 14 months time. One was shot in front of his girlfriend, 2 in front of their mothers, and one was shot while holding his 2 year old and while his 3 other kids looked on. I suggest never fighting with any LEO in WI. All they have to say is that they felt their lives were in danger.
And on that note, abusive of power...one name Drew Peterson. Need I say more?
The cop here was a first rate Butt..I hope he gets in some type of trouble.

 

[rdale]

My previous post should have read "our rights are NOT absolute..." Fingers couldn't keep up.

You can hit the EDIT button and fix.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

What Would 2Pac do.... (rated R)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P0CK7-yJ4BM

 

[david diehl]

reading all the information on this I belive that the officer was out of line.
From what Brian has stated he was off the road, in a parking spot if I understand correctally. How is he obstructing the flow of Traffic? I think the the officer just got a big head, and in the wake of already having a brief tornado in the area IMO he was getting freakd out, and letting things get out of hand, even though the officer thought he was helping out.
and on that matter, if there was already one tornado in the county, why was the officer out to handle traffic, shouldn't he have been in the area the tornado hit to see if there was any damage done?

Just my 2 cents

 

[Adam Lucio]

What if he didnt have another driver?

The cop claims he was posing a threat to the public, but now he hauls away the ONE person in the area who actually knows about the weather and what is going on...and now theres a bunch of stranded tour guests with potentially no driver. So how is that helping the public? Brian is a chaser, just like all of us, and knows how to safely view a tornado and where to position.

It doesnt matter if there are laws about obstructing the highway or whatever, you have to BREAK them first, judging by the account and the suposed video evidence this does not appear to be the case...if proven otherwise then maybe the officer can have some justification for his side....but Id be quite suprised if Brian was actually blocking the very heavy flow of traffic at a REST STOP.

I hope the TIV + DOW + crew never run into this guy...