Posted on 07/19/2011 8:06:07 PM PDT by TheDingoAteMyBaby
Utah Park Ranger Steven Powers marked the 4th of July by pulling a woman over for driving too slowly, then yanking her out of her car and slapping on cuffs when the woman insisted on filming the stop with her phone. Unfortunately for Powers, that woman happened to be Celia Sullivan, "a longtime Photography is Not a Crime reader," according to the site's proprietor, Carlos Miller.
Sullivan is also 50 years old, a mother of two, and about as non-threatening a person as any cop could hope to interact with while miles away from backup. While Powers apparently thought Sullivan was driving under the influence, she was actually driving so slowly because she had lost her camera tripod on the side of the road.
Courtesy of Miller, here's the gist of the incident as Sullivan described it on her Facebook page:
I told PRSP (Park Ranger Steven Powers) that I was going to record him and said just a minute, let me grab my phone. PRSP decided that he didn’t have to be patient with me (like a good cop would), which is when he opened the door to my vehicle without my permission. I remember telling him just a second, I’m grabbing the documents and I grabbed my wallet too. I WAS NOT SCARED AT ALL. I was irritated but had no problem getting out of the vehicle but I was going to protect myself just in case. I had nothing to fear if he was good cop, and the video WOULD protect me if he was a bad cop.
And I remember telling him the video was for MY PROTECTION. I didn’t know what kind of person PRSP was, and he had a taser AND a gun.
I was all alone. Don’t forget that.
PRSP didn’t like the fact I was getting ready to record things because he grabbed my left wrist in an attempt to get me to drop the phone. I then said I can get out the car by myself, and turned and placed my feet on the ground and stood. This is where I complied with BOTH of his direct orders: I was out of the car, and I had my papers with me.
But he didn’t give me a chance to do anything else since he still had a hold of my wrist. With one motion, he twisted my left arm around to my back, and then at the same time saying you are under arrest for disobeying a direct order. I sank to my knees, dropped my papers phone and wallet and said over and over again you’ve got to be kidding, you’ve got to be kidding, are you kidding me.
Miller says that Sullivan was charged with "disobeying a lawful order" and "resisting arrest," and was kept in handcuffs for 90 minutes before being released. To paraphrase Radley Balko, (not) another isolated incident.
And from Reason.tv, "The Government's War on Cameras."
He was doing just fine for pulling her over for going to slow... but blew it when he arrested her for filming :/
I wish more of the damn snails going too slow for traffic are arrested, they are a dangerous driving hazard!
Sounds like she got lucky. Sometimes they shoot you after they handcuff you.
Stupid cops who abuse their power damn union pigs
Keep up on this story.
And here is that prominent upstate NY case:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_641681&v=a7ZkFZkejv8&feature=iv
She was in a state park...usually the speed limit isn’t but more than 30 mph. Sometimes these guys just get a certification to carry and are handed a ranger badge and have never actually been law enforcement. He let his temper get the best of him at the idea he wasn’t being trusted because he had on a badget and uniform. In today’s world, that doesn’t mean squat in the trust department. Law enforcement need to be trained not to run away with their ego’s and tempers. With his kind of behavior he could provoke somebody that would shoot his arse!
I guess you did no comprehend her statement that she was looking for her camera tripod.
Have you never ridden the road looking for a lost hubcap?
She is so lucky she wasn’t badly beaten. Maybe she should only travel in a country in which she has diplomatic immunity.
Maybe she could start a reality show” Harassment by Cop”.
If she ever has trouble, maybe she should call a liberal or ACLU lawyer, instead of a policeman.
JBT Bump
Gosh, I just love cop haters. But, when a cop saves them from harm they suddenly love the police or when they are in trouble the first number they dial is 911, not the ACLU or their lawyer. Go figure. Just sayin’
“according to the site’s proprietor, Carlos Miller” This guy posts by the username “RaginginMiami” over at DU. He is a world-class moonbat.
I am tired of this crap!
We cant get on a plane without a rectal exam.
Cant drive down the block without being photographed.
Heaven forbid we document what our tormenters are up too.
Britain is ruled by a tyrant, and the population is thoroughly cowed. No one questions authority, but a tipping point is being approached. Then, one day, a cop shoots a very young girl in the back as she runs away from him ...
And a crowd of people just comes from nowhere and starts to approach the cop. The cop holds up his badge -- Be afraid! But the crowd just keeps coming. They aren't afraid. They're mad. And everything starts to change, because the People decide to reject tyranny.
I pray that it happens here.
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You will now officially be called a cop hater.
This cop will get his due. Karma is a ......
Well, I am not ready to break out my Guy Fawkes mask, but I am fed up with this one way power BS
I’m surprised the cop didn’t tase her, beat her, pepper spray her, and shoot her dog (if she had one), and then call the state social workers to take away her grandchildren (if she had any in the car), impound the car, give her a psych exam, and strip search her.
But let’s not stop there! Why not freeze her bank accounts and do a little asset forfeiture action? Then taken her guns (if she has any) and any books that the government doesn’t like?
I’m surprised that he didn’t think the cellphone was a gun and just shoot her. Cops have done that in the past to civilians. As long as he says he feared for his life he walks scott free!
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