Posted on 11/21/2013 5:46:38 PM PST by lowbridge
Officials in Bell County, Texas, have released the dashcam footage of a police officer in Temple, Texas, disarming and arresting decorated veteran C.J. Grisham while he was on a hike with his son in March. The officer is seen grabbing the dad’s gun and then seemingly attempting to unlatch it from the man’s sling without telling him why or asking for permission.
Video recorded by Grisham and his son went viral earlier this year, but it did not show the moment the dad was approached and disarmed by the officer. He was later charged with “interference with duties of a public servant,” though the officer is heard in the video from March telling Grisham he was stopped for “rudely displaying” his rifle.
On Nov. 19, Grisham was found guilty by a jury of three men and three women of “interference with duties of a public servant” and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. In an email to TheBlaze, the veteran said he plans to appeal the decision.
In the newly released dashcam video, officer Steven Ermis can be seen flagging down Grisham and asking him, “What are we doing?”
“We’re hiking,” Grisham replies.
Ernis, without warning, grabs Grisham’s AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and examines it.
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
Did the cop pull his weapon right at the start?
The doughnut-munching creature should be fired and never work in law-enforcement again.
Another article and my comments:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3093904/posts
I think that C J Grisham is an idiot. But, the Temple Police Officer, the prosecuting attorney, and the judge are even bigger idiots. The difference is that Grisham was an ordinary citizen, acting within the law and within his rights. The others are Gestapo goons acting outside the law to impose their personal notions of what citizens should be allowed to do.
Good thing he wasn’t taking his dog along for the hike.
The officer was just responding to a call and didn’t know what was going on with the guy. The guy could have been a little more understanding of the officer’s situation and nothing would have happened.
“Victims” like this guy who go around dressed like a nut flaunting their right to bear arms in the hope of provoking a confrontation with the police, will eventually cause the laws to be re-written, such that it will be made illegal to carry where it is now legal to do so.
Another hero ignorant cop who is not seeing the drug dealers screwing his daughter at public school
This has been the trend ever since police stopped walking beats among the people they were supposed to 'protect and serve'. They consider all of us threats now.
did you watch the video?
Openly carrying a long gun in the Texas countryside has been the norm forever.
Yes. It wasn't a case of the officer just driving along some road and spotting a guy open carrying. The officer was responding to a call about the guy. He didn't know what if anything the guy may have done.
The officer is by himself in a remote area without backup. The officer wants to go home safe and sound at the end of his shift.
Did you watch the video?
he had no reason to walk up and just grab the gun.
Definitely not the worst I’ve seen but the policeman needlessly escalated the situation.
The cop committee battery here and was enforcing no law.
I actually go easy on the cop in this situation. What would any of us do in his situation if we were dispatched to some remote road looking for two males, at least one of them is heavily armed?
Yea? Guess what, so does the "civilian".
He didn't. He was dispatched in response to a call about the guy. To do his job, he had to find out what was going on with the guy he was dispatched to check out.
He was walking calmly with his son. He was aware of the squad and did not flee. He did not raise his voice. He did not wave his arms or scream.The situation was obvious.
You are a cop.
What in the heck was wrong with that jury???!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.