Posted on 08/11/2009 3:56:44 PM PDT by B-Chan
DeLoyd Scott was riding his bicycle through a residential street in Coeur DAlene, Idaho last year when he came across a group of officers making a traffic stop.
One of the cops stopped him and asked for his identification. He asked them if he was under suspicion of a crime. The cops said he was.
He refused to provide his identification until he was provided with assistance of counsel - which is his legal right in Idaho, according to the local news report.
That prompted the cops to wrestle him to the ground and use their Taser on him. Twice.
During the melee, he grabbed an officers flashlight and engaged in a verbal standoff with the officers, refusing to allow himself to be handcuffed until they provided him with assistance of counsel or at least called the local sheriff, whom he said had jurisdiction in that area.
Scott is clearly enraged and understandably so. One moment he was riding his bike down a quiet residential street and the next moment he was stopped, told he was under investigation and then Tased.
He ended up getting Tased several times more for a total of seven times.
Much of the incident was being filmed by Cory Temple, a neighborhood resident who happened to be filming the traffic stop.
However, the video is shaky. The lighting is horrible. And the editing is non-existent.
But the audio is loud and clear.
Especially the moments after the Tasering when the cops try to confiscate his camera as evidence. Temple refuses and the cops relent.
Now that video is a vital piece of evidence in a lawsuit against the Coeur DAlene Police Department, which Scott filed in February.
Whats also alarming is how the officers approached Temple even before Scott rode up on the scene, telling him that although it is not illegal to film officers, many officers may end up fearing for their lives because a lot of people produce cameras into weapons.
Really?
These cops actually believe somebody would go through the trouble of converting a camera into a gun just so they can stand outside pretending they are taking pictures when their real intention is to kill a cop?
If somebody is crazy enough to shoot a cop at random, somebody is probably crazy enough to use a real gun without having to resort to constructing a James Bond-like weapon. After all, what difference does it ultimately make? A real gun is much easier to conceal than a bulky camera.
And I have yet to hear one story of this happening, so what news reports are reaching Idaho that are confirming this new trend?
Im just saying that it is not illegal to film but a lot of officers perceive it as a weapon, the cop continues.
While its true that many cops are threatened by cameras, it is not because they discharge bullets but only because they document the truth.
To make sense of what occurred that night, its best to watch the video from the squad car dash cam before watching (or hearing) the video recorded by Temple.
"This is the footage of the aggravated assault and attempted murder of DeLoyd Scott by local police, as recorded by local witnesses.
Dashcam footage of the assault
"Watch the video and listen as he asks why he was tasered and why he was placed under arrest. THE ANSWER: because he refused to show ID while riding his bicycle. I thought this was America, not Nazi Germany!
Bystander video (poor quality; audio is clear
"Notice in this footage how an officer attempts to confiscate the video camera, and in the process assaults both the witness filming and his pregnant wife, and then both officers involved refuse to give their badge numbers when specifically petitioned."
This time it was DeLoyd Scott face down in the gutter getting tasered. Next time it may be you, or your child, being “protected and served”.
“What’d you get? I’m takin’ it as evidence. You’re goin’ to jail.”
“The police acted stupidly.”
Contrary to popular believe, TASING doesn’t stop all people.. the amount of clothes, the physical condition of the tasie, etc, all contribute to the effectiveness. If this gentleman had wanted to resist, physically, the cops would have had their arses handed to them.....
No, somehow the police watch too much of Hollywierd bull shit. We are loosing our freedom and at one hell of a pace.
wow that is really something. the last few years of this sort of thing have sure changed my views on LEO’s. never a big fan but never a against them either but this crap has just gotten pathetic. damn, these guys have to to work each day never knowing what the hell they might run into, who they might have to deal with, make next to nothing for a yearly wage/salary, crazy shift hours sometimes. there is only one reason I can see why a person would ever want this job.....
While the cops may have handled this poorly allowing it to escalate further than necessary, the bike rider is under a mis-conception...it is his obligation and duty to produce identification at any time a police officer asks for it. If arrested he then has a right to counsel. Without the biker riders knowing so he may fit the description of an investigation and until all the players are identified cops on the scene need discretion to detain individuals until they are satisfied.
Man tasered 7 times claims torture against CDA PoliceYeah, by tasering a bystander on a bike. The Blue Wall of Protection must not be breached, eh, Chief?COEUR D'ALENE -- More allegations of misconduct have surfaced against the Coeur d'Alene Police Department.
An image from a video of DeLoyd Scott in an altercation with Coeur d'Alene Police officers, in which he was allegedly tasered seven times.
In a federal lawsuit filed in February again the Coeur d'Alene Police Department, DeLoyd Scott claims he was tortured by being tasered seven times, as he passed by a traffic stop on his bicycle in May of 2008. However, officers say they were doing their job.
Most of the incident was caught on tape by Cory Temple, who says he was recording speeders in his neighborhood with his video camera.
The video shows things escalating quickly between Scott and officers.
Scott appears on police dash cam video riding his bike past the scene.
"When this officer's eyes saw me, he just honed in on me like a missile," Scott tells KREM 2 News.
An officer asked for Scott's identification, but by law, Scott does not have to show it, so he refused.
"I responded, 'Am I under investigation for a crime?' He snapped back, 'Yes you are.' I said, 'I need assistance of counsel,'" says Scott.
Eventually, Scott was wrestled to the ground, ending up holding one of the officer's flashlights. Scott was then tasered.
Temple continued taping the incident. At that point, video becomes poor; however, the audio picks up Scott being tasered again after hitting an officer with the flashlight.
Soon, officers approached Temple, asking for the tape. He also refused, handing the tape to his wife.
Scott's lawyer is Larry Purviance, the same man assisting in another federal lawsuit against the Coeur d'Alene Police Department, in which a 19-year-old woman claims she was groped during a DUI traffic stop.
KREM 2 News asked Purviance whether he has a vendetta against Coeur d'Alene officers.
"I don't," says Purviance. "I just want them to do their job."
Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Wayne Longo released a statement saying, "I believe the officers' actions will be upheld. Mr. Scott was arrested for obstructing and then charged with battery on a police officer after he struck a police Sergeant in the face with a flashlight. The Police Department stands behind the officers named in the Scott complaint and believes they acted within the legal scope of their duties." Source
Lesson for Us All: When Officer Friendly comes for you, swing the flashlight harder.
Just another brick in the wall. Just another step toward “enough is enough” mob payback in America. Keep it coming leftist pig Nazis.
I got tired of looking at a picket fence, and the other link went nowhere.
BULL CRAP. Try reading the U.S. Constitution.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The LYING cop had no probable cause and no reason to assume this bicyclist had commited any crime what-so-ever. We both know this to be true even without having been there. If he did, why isn't the cyclist being charged with a crime that occurred before the cops went postal on him?
Of course, the U.S. Constitution only applies to us little people and only when it can be bent so far out of shape that it doesn’t even resemble its intent.
“...it is his obligation and duty to produce identification
at any time a police officer asks for it...”
-
Boot licker.
You are wrong. A police officer has no right to demand identification documents from a citizen unless that citizen is operating a motor vehicle. Per Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada [542 U.S. 177 (2004)], only criminal suspects can be required to identify themselves during a police investigation (i.e. a valid Terry stop) in states with so-called "stop and identify" laws. And only a verbal identification is required by law. The private citizen has no obligation to produce legal ID on demand, nor even to possess legal ID on his or her person.
In general, the police can only ask you to identify yourself if you are being detained. The way to tell if you are being detained is by asking "Excuse me officer. Are you detaining me, or am I free to go?" If you are being detained, you have no obligation to speak other than to verbally identify yourself. I'll be happy to post links to the relevant case law if you like.
I am required to have a license on my person when driving a car. I am not required to have a license when riding a bike. What if I've left my wallet home? Do I get tased for being on the street without ID?
Wrong, wrong, wrong. All he needed to do was state his name. From SCOTUS decision on Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada:
Nevada has a stop-and-identify law that allows a peace officer to detain any person he encounters under circumstances which reasonably indicate that the person has committed, is committing or is about to commit a crime; the person may be detained only to ascertain his identity and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his presence abroad. In turn, the law requires the person detained to identify himself, but does not compel the person to answer any other questions put to him by the officer. As of April 2008, 23 other states[1] have similar laws.
.................................
The Nevada Supreme Court had held that the Nevada statute required only that the suspect divulge his name; presumably, he could do so without handing over any documents whatsoever. As long as the suspect tells the officer his name, he has satisfied the dictates of the Nevada stop-and-identify law.
...................................
And even from this story, unless he committed some bike riding infraction there wasn't reasonable suspicion to stop him in the first place.
Of course they do. In fact, most government employees do. Government loves cameras when they're the camera operators, and they really hate being the camera subject.
I’m sick to death of the police ...
They have all their public records wiped... you can’t look them up..
They lie with impunity in court..
When you attempt redress of grievances through I/A you find that policy has their superiors doing the investigation (an obvious and deliberate conflict of interest devised just to shut down investigations)
They steal at the public trough with inflated overtime and huge departments...
They steal on the highways through tickets and confiscations.
They must be stopped.
Apparently in Coeur DAlene, Idaho, the answer is YES!
Anyway, the cops weren't investigating a crime. It was a traffic stop. They were collecting taxes.
MAY have handled this poorly? C’mon, use some common sense. This is the same kind of out of control crap the cops do all the time, including that idiot in Cambridge who acted stupidly.
And how about the deadly, lethal camera?
parsy, who wonders what it would take for you to condemn the cops.
So there is a law saying you are to be provided assistance to council in the field or once your booked?
Not that I am aware of.
parsy, who figures it is more typical rabid cop behavior, like the Tennessee cop who shot the family dog.
BS!
Supposedly in Idaho. This happened in Arkansas.A lawyer was watching an arrest on the street, and he got arrested for watching the arrest.
parsy, who says this kind of stuff goes on all the time.
Not sure about Idaho but here if a person is under suspicion of a crime and asked for an ID and fails to provide one but can give his name and as much info as he can, that info will be run and hopefully a picture ID will come back verifying his identity or at least a physical description, if not he can be placed in custodial arrest until his ID can be verified. From what I seen in the video’s the officers were never even given the opportunity to run him before he started arguing, yelling and at one point trying to leave the scene. Since I’ve seen nothing indicting he actually was a suspect or what he was suspected of I’ll leave it at that. Once again I’m not familiar with Idaho law but here we do not allow council in the field, but we’ll be more than happy to allow one at the department..

PS -- It's "counsel", not "council".
Well, you open a big bucket of worms. If the bicycler was under arrest, that is if a reasonable person thought he could not leave, he should have been Mirandized. Apparently, he couldn’t leave because they stopped him. So if he asked them if he was under investigation for anything, and they said yes, they had no right to further question him without a lawyer.
And, did they have probable cause to stop him for anything?
Sometimes you have to step back and look at the forest. Some kid riding his bike gets tased. Another guy with a camera is harassed for obviously bogus crap. These cops should be canned, IMHO. And sued, and probably arrested for assault and battery.
parsy, who is more p*ssed by their boss and the city
Your so cute you finally figured out how to post pictures, good for you.
“And, did they have probable cause to stop him for anything?”
I raised that very question since very little info is provided with any of the links.
“If the bicycler was under arrest, that is if a reasonable person thought he could not leave, he should have been Mirandized.”
I’m sure he was once he was actually arrested and charged or at least he should have been.
“These cops should be canned, IMHO. And sued, and probably arrested for assault and battery.”
They may well be after a full investigation.
Right now their boss and the city is backing them up. That is normal. Circle the wagons and all that. No sense of responsibility.
parsy, who has had personal experience with this kind of stuff
It’s “you’re”.
You forgot to say Bootlicker you’re slipping up or did you just run out of vocabulary and cute pictures?
You are probably right. But the truth still remains.
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