Video Shows Florida Cop Aiming Gun At Black Men Who Won’t Stop Filming
A Florida police chief is defending the actions of an officer pointing his gun at a car full of black men that happened in February 2013 in Boynton Beach.
As one officer pulls one of the young men out of the car and pins him to the ground, another pulls up, draws his weapon, and approaches the vehicle. “I’ll fuckin’, I’ll put a round in your ass so quick,” he says.
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Boynton Beach police chief Jeffrey Katz doesn’t believe the incident in the video…rises to the level of misconduct…
“No gotcha moment exists here…which is why I suspect nobody ever came forward to make a complaint about this,” Katz wrote on YouTube, “Rest assured, absent a complaint we still looked into this incident and found the officers’ actions to be appropriate and justifiable given the totality of the circumstances.”
If you disagree with him, he feels you’re just using the video to “stoke racial tension and fear.”…
As far as the recording, Katz says it “escalated” the situation, and was just an attempt to capture that “gotcha” moment, not to protect themselves from armed cops. As we’ve been reminded repeatedly since protests started in Ferguson, Mo., filming interactions with police officers is legal in all 50 states.[su_sky_ad]
AlbtMka August 27th, 2014 at 7:30 pm
False arrest
granpa.usthai August 27th, 2014 at 7:33 pm
well the BBPD Chief doesn’t think so, and they’re the ones with the guns (for now).
trees August 28th, 2014 at 4:54 am
Yeah, go get yourself a gun and point it at a cop. Brilliant move gramps.
granpa.usthai August 27th, 2014 at 7:31 pm
filming LE Officers is legal in all 50 states?
uh, shouldn’t someone tell these LE Officers?
Tommy6860 August 27th, 2014 at 7:43 pm
WTF, these are nothing more than racists with badges. Did he hit the driver before yanking him out of the car? And the police chief doesn’t think there was any misconduct. You can bet had this been a car load of prim and proper white guys human courtesy would have been extended for appearing not guilty. #FFS!
whatthe46 August 27th, 2014 at 11:32 pm
don’t forget the rape kits in the trunk. no not these guys.
trees August 28th, 2014 at 4:52 am
I watched the video over and over, the officer slaps something away that is outside the vehicle. Could have been a cell phone, who knows, all the cop knows is that he has four uncooperative black males who are calling him names and refusing to provide a drivers license. Who knows what else is in the car? Who knows what kind of guys these are, he hasn’t determined ID or run any background checks…the driver of the car is refusing to cooperate and appears to have extended something out of the car’s window, at that point the officer immediately slaps the object away and grabs the driver and restrains him. The second cop comes in immediately, gun drawn. The cops are not in the business of taking chances. They will come at you hard and in a lethal way if you resist and they think you’re armed. Can you blame them? They have the most difficult job there is….
mea_mark August 27th, 2014 at 7:44 pm
{Boynton Beach police chief Jeffrey Katz doesn’t believe the incident in the video…rises to the level of misconduct…} — And there is the problem right there. They don’t think they are conducting misconduct. They have a different set of laws they follow. They act like they don’t have to follow the laws of our country, they are above them.
Tommy6860 August 27th, 2014 at 7:45 pm
Exactly. The cops treated the people in that car like they did, as soon as they determined guilt by skin color.
edmeyer_able August 27th, 2014 at 8:16 pm
I think buying stock in the company that makes the GO-PRO camera would be a good investment right now.
Denise August 27th, 2014 at 8:33 pm
“if you disagree with him, he feels your using the video to stoke racial tension and fear.” There’s been racial tension in this country every since the first Europeans arrived. How bout he’s using the video as proof of misconduct to hand over to his attorney. Foresaid attorney will then do his own investigation to determine whether or not there was any “misconduct” by law enforcement.
The police “thinking” there is no misconduct doesn’t cut it.
Pistol-Packing August 27th, 2014 at 8:50 pm
To many factors that are unknown. For example, for what reason were they pulled over? Before I pass any false judgement, I would want to know the total circumstances.
edmeyer_able August 27th, 2014 at 8:53 pm
Of course .YOU would…..lol
mea_mark August 27th, 2014 at 9:37 pm
just give’em a cookie …
Pistol-Packing August 27th, 2014 at 10:59 pm
Hmmmmmmm COOKIES !!!!!
Pistol-Packing August 27th, 2014 at 11:00 pm
Obviously, YOU WOULD pass false judgement without knowing details….
edmeyer_able August 27th, 2014 at 11:07 pm
Yea I used to be a cop in Ferguson Mo.
edmeyer_able August 27th, 2014 at 11:43 pm
Speaking of jumping to conclusions, he was shot on sight while talking on the phone and leaning on the TOYGUN, police wont release the video.
greenfloyd August 28th, 2014 at 5:30 am
That’s the key question. The whole “home invaders” thing seems really thin.
I’m disappointed, yet not surprised that no lawsuit as been filed. However, another even more disturbing thing about this case is chief Katz’s suggesting these young men did not show a proper “fear” of the police.
Even after Ferguson, MO, that’s still the way it stands today, almost 2 years later, in a recently posted Boynton Beach PD YouTube comment. I could have gone along with “respect,” or “authority,” instead he used “fear!”
trees August 28th, 2014 at 7:17 am
Yeah, a really poor choice of words. Did he really say that?
greenfloyd August 28th, 2014 at 7:29 am
Check out the comments on the YouTube vid above… posted just a day or two ago.
greenfloyd August 27th, 2014 at 11:58 pm
The more detailed gawker link explains:
NoInfo ToShare August 27th, 2014 at 8:53 pm
I hate to take the side of the cops, but the brother who’s calling him “cracker” and saying “your ass” was kind of asking for trouble. You CAN’T egg on cops!
trees August 27th, 2014 at 11:48 pm
Explain this video to me……..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1urLh8Kh_9A&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D1urLh8Kh_9A&has_verified=1
granpa.usthai August 28th, 2014 at 4:58 am
a hug would have probably been nicer?
trees August 27th, 2014 at 11:54 pm
How about this one??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsCWK4XYHV8
granpa.usthai August 28th, 2014 at 4:55 am
why are either one of them wearing winter clothing in Florida when everyone else is wearing shorts and summer clothing?
trees August 28th, 2014 at 4:58 am
Now, this guy ended up in the back of the cruiser with his gun still hidden in his pants. The cops committed a major error. The suspect pulls the gun out, probably trying to get it off his person, but realizing that he has nowhere in the squad car to hide it. When the cops realize their mistake they are quick to subdue their suspect, and in all fairness this guy is probably lucky to be alive. They roughly subdue and restrain him, but let’s face it, he’s armed and resisting…. Let’s see how calm, cool, and collected you are when you realize your suspect has a handgun concealed in the back seat.
greenfloyd August 28th, 2014 at 2:52 am
Almost 2 years on and there have been no law suits or even a single complaint filed!? Of course this is pre-Mike Brown/Ferguson, MO. IMHO, this case should be revisited and a lawsuit filed, a request for an FBI Civil Rights investigation.
From the comfort of my armchair there appears to be serious misconduct by these 2 cops. The first cop was out of bounds and I think he knew it, yet still persisted in needlessly escalating an already tense situation. It’s hard to believe a trained law enforcement officer would so causally approach four “home invader” suspects in a car. If indeed that’s what he was thinking. I seriously doubt it was, he let it become personal.
The second cop is not only out of bounds he’s out of this world. He has no idea what’s actually going on, he’s in robo-cop mode. It’s just a wonder he did not kill or rape someone with that “rod” of his! Where is he now?
trees August 28th, 2014 at 4:27 am
I’ve watched this video a few times now, what I see is four people in a car who are refusing to cooperate with the cop/s. The cop at first is friendly and asking them who they are and where they live, they refuse to provide ID when asked. I’m sorry, but if you want to find out who’s in charge when coming into contact with the police, a really good way to do so is to refuse to comply when asked for your drivers license and to start calling the cop names. The police are going to take control of the situation, so challenging them for control and taunting them is really pretty stupid. When the driver continues to challenge the authority of the first officer he is pulled from the vehicle and placed face down. The second cop, seeing the actions of the first cop, comes in ready for action and taking no prisoners. A perpetrator can gain the upper hand in a blur of motion, you let your guard down, you fail to secure the situation and all hell can and will break loose. With all due respect, there are many officers who have lost their lives because they failed to control the situation. The default position is to consider the suspects as armed, and yes, if you are being investigated by the police you are a suspect. Want to relieve the tension? Want to have the officers relax and treat you with respect? Answer the questions and provide the license they asked for.
granpa.usthai August 28th, 2014 at 5:27 am
well ARMED BLACK unregulated militias are the answer, trees, just like out in Nevada. Now, you take the demand for every ones ID because the Officer was angry about being caught on camera. If there had been about 1000 + missing Military armaments pointing in his direction, he wouldn’t have cared anymore about who they were than they did the heavily ARMED WHITE unregulated militias in Nevada. The Officer who came running up to the car with his weapon drawn would have happily secured his firearm.. No one would have been smacked up side the head, nobody would have been thrown to the ground. Well ARMED BLACK unregulated militia is the key, then the black folks would be treated with just as much respect as the white folks .It’s bound to happen – have you helped to arm your local Black unregulated militia yet?
greenfloyd August 28th, 2014 at 6:03 am
Wait a minute, cops know “home invaders” are usually not a charming bunch, often violent and well armed. So we either have a very stupid cop or more likely, an attempt to cover-up a bogus stop which led to the use of force on four black men, for no apparent reason. Other than they did not display the proper amount of “fear.” Meanwhile, hello? home invaders out there! hello?
trees August 28th, 2014 at 6:43 am
I tend to agree with you on the juvenile nature and relatively harmless appearance of the youths in the video. Clearly the cop feels fairly safe, as he hasn’t drawn his weapon and is circling the car. I agree, but the rub is this, when he asks for the drivers license of the vehicle’s operator the response is, “why”? Wrong answer, and then he’s met with,
“Sir I’m recording your ass, what the f**k you gonna do, bitch?”
Now, I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure a black cop reacts in a similar fashion. I mean, what’s the cop going to do? Admit that he’s the kids bitch and wish him a good day? When a cop asks for a driver’s license you can be pretty damn sure you better have one and surrender it for inspection. Don’t think race was a factor here for the officers, I do think race was a factor for those occupants in the car, though….
greenfloyd August 28th, 2014 at 7:25 am
I don’t know, but I don’t think you treat a car load of “home invader” suspects like an ordinary traffic stop. You get back-up, lots of back-up, then from a distance you order the guys out of the car, nice and easy, one by one, then sort out all the other stuff…you have to treat them as armed and dangerous. Idle speculation on my part, the first cop may have pulled them over for the reason stated, yet quickly learned these were not the guys and instead of getting back to finding the real criminals decided to teach these rude boys a lesson. Mind you that’s just my speculation. Only the cop himself knows for sure.
fahvel August 28th, 2014 at 3:00 am
perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
trees August 28th, 2014 at 5:10 am
Really? Who’s in control? You, or the cops? Who’s the authority, you? Want to be treated with respect? Then afford them respect. You wanna kiss the concrete? Act like an ahole, don’t be surprised when you get more than you bargained for…..Your right to be treated respectfully went out the window when you acted disrespectfully and refused to cooperate. Challenge them for control, tell em they ain’t sh*t and nobody tells you nothin, let me know how that works out for you.
Carla Akins August 28th, 2014 at 5:35 am
Here in the US, we still have the presumption of innocence (unless you’re black) and law enforcement still has to have “cause”. Filming police actions is NOT illegal and they are hired to protect public safety and uphold the law, they are also expected to be able to control their temper.
The very second you excuse abuse of authority and demand total compliance – you have given in to a totalitarian regime and we’ve all lost the rights afforded us by the Constitution.
trees August 28th, 2014 at 7:14 am
I agree, I think what set the officer off was the refusal to exit the vehicle, refusing to provide a driver’s license, telling him to eff off bitch, and then the driver sticking something out the window while they all sit in the car mocking him. I think if you ask for trouble they’ll give it to you…..
raincheck August 28th, 2014 at 5:58 am
The jails *are* packed…
lamenting over mass stupidity August 28th, 2014 at 10:05 am
Yup
bnapy August 28th, 2014 at 1:26 pm
I’ve read all the comments below, and if you can’t see the injustice done to these young men you’re a damn fool. I watched the video three times…if your LISTENING its clear they were initially cooperating with the officer. He tells the officer he just spoke with the police and they let him go. When asked for his identification, the driver asks a simple question, “Why”. The officer responds with, “Because your driving the car”…
So your doing nothing wrong, you get pulled over and are questioned a second time by the police. You try to explain that you just went through this… Your asked a question (Where do you live?), and answer that question. Then are asked for your ID, and you ask “Why”. The officer tells you, “Because your driving the car”. Then says, “I’ll need ID from everyone”. Keep all this in mind..
I currently live in NC, and maybe they do things differently up here. When I’m pulled over the first thing the officer states is, “I’ve pulled you over for blah blah blah, can i please have your license and registration”. I grew up all over the east coast, and this has been my normal experience. Also, only in rare instances have the passengers in my vehicle been asked for identification.
If I were treated like this, based on my past experiences. I’d verbally snap, and give them a piece of my mind. The police have no right to keep you in the dark about what they are doing, if your a suspect it needs to be CLEARLY STATED. So you can easily show/prove your innocents, and be allowed to move on with your business.
The police in this video, were overly aggressive before the verbal berating began. By not answering a simple question like “Why [do you need my ID]” it shows what they thought about the young men in that car.
Mind you, I doubt these officers are conscious racist…but there is a fear of young black men in america that attacks the subconscious of other [so called] “races” in America including many blacks. We call it a “stereotype”, when its done by law enforcement its called profiling. These men were a victim of profiling and treated improperly!
I honestly think the officer could have avoided the entire situation if he was upfront with those men. Put yourself in their shoes, and wonder how you would act if this happened to you.
Maybe I’m ignorant for thinking these men had to film their encounter with the police, because they knew what was going to happen. Maybe I’m ignorant, for thinking my questions should be answered. Maybe I’m ignorant for thinking you have to show respect to get it.
This is an example of some MFn BS.
Jody Ellis August 28th, 2014 at 2:28 pm
These Cops are Not Brave or Mature Enough to have a Badge or Gun! I wouldn’t allow them a Rubber-band & a Stick. Disgraceful Public Servants You’re Fired!
VegasJessie August 30th, 2014 at 4:57 pm
I think the rate of insanely abusive cops is exponentially increasing. What the hell is going on in this country?