Orlando Copwatch Founder To Go On Trial For Videotaping Incident

But his camera and footage from that night have gone missing

The Orlando Copwatch founder who was arrested on New Year’s Eve after videotaping a police officer making an arrest is scheduled to go on trial Wednesday (tomorrow).

John Kurtz is charged with battery on a police officer after a cop accused him of hitting him in the chest. He is also facing resisting arrest without violence and obstruction charges.

He is facing six years in prison.

Meanwhile, the video camera he was using to record that night – the one that would likely prove what really took place that night – went missing after police impounded it. Nobody has any logical explanation as to where it could have gone.

And the cop who arrested him, Orlando police officer Adam Gruler who is renowned for his frequent use of his Taser gun also has a history of arresting people for videotaping him.

In 2007, he arrested a WFTV news videographer who was questioning him on the side of the road after Gruler, not in uniform, was pulled over by Orange County sheriff deputies for apparently driving reckless.

Here is a video of the incident but I haven’t been able to find any other information on it.

 

Kurtz’s trial was originally scheduled for last month but it was postponed for tomorrow.

Here is a Facebook page with all the details about his arrest and case, encouraging local residents to attend in support of Kurtz. I would attend if I lived in the area.

Kurtz, who spent seven days in jail after his arrest, has been playing a huge role in documenting the ongoing arrests of activists defying an Orlando ordinance by feeding homeless people in a city park.

On a related note, the hacker group Anonymous has vowed to go all out on the City of Orlando if it doesn’t stop arresting people for feeding the homeless.

Maybe Anonymous can find the missing camera.

Comments

6 years huh? How much did the murderers of Oscar Grant and John T. Williams get? If you're not cop, you're little people.

JdL

Typical government thug bullshit. Clearly the crooked cop "lost" Kurtz's camera deliberately. This is exactly the kind of nonsense that we citizens have to force the thugs to stop doing. Their strategy is clear: either lock Kurtz up or bankrupt him; either way, the thugs "win".

This Adam Gruler sounds like he's worse than the usual government thug, and that's really saying something! He should be fired and prosecuted for his crimes. Officials need to do this before the public gets tired of waiting.

"Clearly the crooked cop "lost" Kurtz's camera deliberately"

LOL clearly.

Once again "Johnny Law" clearly shows his "Cops Can Do NO Wrong" attitude.. and proves there's a them (Blue is True) continuing movement against (us), the general public.

For someone ("JL") to think the camera all of a sudden became "lost" with NO explainable reason, well....

You've not only lost any credibility you might have had here.. but also any respect what so ever. Let's face it "JL".. nothing you could ever say will change how the people who post here think about you.

Rail Car Fan

OPD. This is the same organization that body-slammed a geriatric man and broke his neck, pushed a woman down a flight of stairs from behind, and recently broke the teeth of another woman by throwing her face-down on a curb. In watching the video for the latter two incidents, neither woman appears to have provoked the cop or deserved the abuse.

Of course, OPD did it's usual job of covering up for its officers. I think one of them lost 8 hours of vacation pay.

Come to Orlando and get slammed to the curb by our cops!

Hopefully the jury will see the BS in "Losing" the camera and deliberate for 10 minutes before finding him "Not Guilty".

I bet it got lost "inadvertently."
Just a hunch...

Question is, did the camera ever get checked into evidence in the first place? Or did they just never acknowledge having received it?

If I were a corrupt cop, that's the way I'd play it.

Maybe Anonymous can hack the personal file of Adam Gruler and post it on the web so everyone can read it. Perhaps there is even some dash cam video of the arrest that shows Mr. Kurtz's camera they can find. Now that would be sweet justice. I'd also check the departments Brady list to see if Gruler is on it.

He should have bought a Nintendo Wii instead of a video camera.

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