Missouri: Police Roadblock Harassment Caught on Tape.

TheNewspaper.com ^ | 12/30/2006 | Brett Darrow

[The KG9 Kid]

Missouri: Police Roadblock Harassment Caught on Tape
St. Louis County, Missouri threaten to arrest a teenager for refusing to discuss his personal travel plans.

A teenager harassed by police in St. Louis, Missouri caught the incident on tape. Brett Darrow, 19, had his video camera rolling last month as he drove his 1997 Maxima, minding his own business. He approached a drunk driving roadblock where he was stopped, detained and threatened with arrest when he declined to enter a conversation with a police officer about his personal travel habits. Now Darrow is considering filing suit against St. Louis County Police.

"I'm scared to drive for fear of being stopped at another checkpoint and arrested while doing nothing illegal," Darrow told TheNewspaper. "We're now guilty until we prove ourselves innocent to these checkpoint officers."

On that late November night, videotape confirms that Darrow had been ordered out of his vehicle after telling a policeman, "I don't wish to discuss my personal life with you, officer." Another officer attempted to move Darrow's car until he realized, "I can't drive stick!" The officer took the opportunity to undertake a thorough search of the interior without probable cause. He found nothing.

When Darrow asked why he was being detained, an officer explained, "If you don't stop running your mouth, we're going to find a reason to lock you up tonight."

The threats ended when Darrow informed officers that they were being recorded. After speaking to a supervisor Darrow was finally released.

"These roadblocks have gotten out of hand," Darrow told TheNewspaper. "If we don't do something about them now, it'll be too late."

A full video of the incident is available here. A transcript is provided below as the audio is at times very faint.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

"Actually, the kid was pretty friendly."

Not a bit. He was cordially defiant in his resistance to a lawful action of the police.

[RobRoy]

just watched it. It is just as bad as I thought.

Man that kid had more guts than I did when I was his age.

[antiRepublicrat]

Do you suppose he'll be the first whining when the cops can't come quick enough to bail him out of jam?

Maybe they'd have more time to do that if they didn't waste their time harassing kids who were doing nothing wrong.

The actions of the officers reminds me too much of Cartman's "Respect my Authoritah" line. They were miffed when the kid didn't bow down to them, and forgot they are public servants, not our masters.

OTOH, I do have the utmost respect for cops out there risking their lives and not letting the power get to their heads.

[Hot Tabasco]

Dude, you could have avoided all that shiite if you had just been a tiny bit more civil to the first officers question.

I've been a law abider all my life and have had my share of pull overs and gotten away by being polite. But I'm on the side of the kid on this one, he was obliging all the way but obviously not enought to that one dumbass cop.

Had I been the kid, when asked "Where you headed tonight?" I woulda said "...to see your wife, you're working."

That would have been worth a speeding ticket or whatever they could have come up with..........LOL!

[darkangel82]

LOL it was funny though.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

The brat should have been arrested.

Why stop there?

He should've been executed on the spot for being an uppity serf.

And none of this getting capped with a 9MM, either.

They should've impaled him. Right there, so that the other serfs could see what questioning their betters would get them.

</sarcasm>

[RobRoy]

>>Challenging cops and taping them is, in my opinion, not too smart.<<

I think it was very couragous. He was risking his future to expose a serious problem.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Sounds like the roadblocks are being used for a shakedown operation.

[RayStacy]

"It is funny too that the kid won the battle of wits too."

Dealing with pigs makes that pretty easy.

[Filo]

What kind of country have we got when little smartasses think they have some right not to answer a policeman's questions?

What kind of cops do we have that cause this kind of animosity? Oh, I know - the kind that illegally detain people at unconstitutional checkpoints in the hope of generating ill-gotten revenue.

I applaud the kid for what he did. It takes nerve to stand up to a bunch of cops who are just as likely to shoot you and make up an excuse as they are to give you the time of day.

If they weren't such a-holes all the time then people would treat them with the respect that the job (not most of the individuals) deserve.

In the end, the kid was right. It's absolutely none of the cops business where he's going. Sure, they're just sniffing for booze on the breath, but how's about "Good evening, sir, how are you doing this fine evening?" instead of starting the pre-arrest interrogation on the spot?

[Raycpa]

This kid handled himself correctly and so did the police.

[Dov in Houston]

Bout 7 years ago I was arrested for "Interfering with a peace Officer by way of talking" I was asking an Officer to call an ambulance for a wounded teenager.

Day in Jail and a $ 10,000.00 surprise as the City of Houston asked me not to file suit

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

Officer #4: That's good, we're recording it too.

and..........the cops have got him recorded while he was out of the car.....whoops!

Jury will pat this ACLU patsy on the buns and say get on outta here.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

Tell me how he was in compliance with the law which states to cooperate with a duly authorized police officer when he makes a request of you in performance of his duties?

Problem: this request was not made in performance of the police officer's duties. Police officers are not entitled to know where you are going or what your business is absent probable cause to believe that you have committed a crime.

[Red_Devil 232]

Could we have a little setup here?

I do believe you are correct! I bet he had a recorder concealed on his person also. How else do we the conversation so accurate once they are away from the "car cam"?

The kid did this on purpose! I saw nothing that would indicate the abuse of the clutch ... the officer who moved the car did it quite smoothly ... no roll back ... no jerking ... no chirping of tires ... he moved it smoothly!

Yep it was a set up!

[elkfersupper]

Bump for later.

[Timmy]

Put me down on the cops' side. A little civility would have saved him a lot of trouble. I am also troubled by all the folks here who support the smartass. Wonder if they would want their kids to respond to [legitimate] authority in the same manner.

[Hot Tabasco]

"pig haters" outnumber "cop worshippers"

I don't see that at all, all I have read is law abiding folks not taking kindly to over agressive police officers...... And for what it's worth, I don't worship any policemen, my deceased father and grandfather included, nor do I hate cops.........

I don't believe in checkpoints either especially when I am driving along obeying all the laws of the road.........Maybe thats whats ticking off all your so called "pig haters".........

[slapshot]

Ya know I am getting a little annoyed about the cop bashing.

Try keeping it together while getting out of your vehicle and approach a car with tinted windows, multiple passengers, and registered according to your data base a felon. Top it off by being in the middle of an urban setting that dwarfs Baghdad in the level of violence.

Still tough- try going to a domestic dispute which is really ugly and have the idiot come at you with a butcher knife b/c you "put your hands on his woman". You did this to pull her off and prevent her from cutting the idiot with a knife.

This kid is a punk pure an simple. There will be a time he will screw up.

BTW I am not a cop but am related to, and know a few, in some not so nice areas of this country

[3niner]

The threats ended when Darrow informed officers that they were being recorded. After speaking to a supervisor Darrow was finally released.

I'm surprised the police didn't find and destroy the tape.