Pixiq

“Because he was not injured, and the camera was not damaged, he had no assault claim”

This is absolutely untrue! The person that told him that is simply trying to deter him from filing a claim against the CPD officer.

I lived in Chattanooga 2 years ago, and while it is a beautiful city, most (not all) of the people I met were well below average when it came to their IQ’s (Police officers included). I moved to Florida for that reason alone, and have noticed that my blood pressure has lowered significantly since moving, though the term “police intelligence” appears to be an oxymoron regardless of locale.

So if I punch a cop but I don’t injure them, they have no claim of assaulting a police officer against me, no?

Who wants to test that case?
Jake Stichler recently posted..Net Worth Update: June 2010

Since when does an injury have to occur for the action to be considered an assault?? Spitting on someone is 4th degree assault around here… I’m sure that’s standard… so you can’t tell me that grabbing someone by the shirt and yanking them around is not assault.

“you can’t tell me that grabbing someone by the shirt and yanking them around is not assault.”

When a cop does it, no. You, however, would be charged with resisting arrest.

Is there an alternate link to the video? I’m being told its unavailable.

The fact that there were other people nearby or closer is not. by itself, proof that the order was pretextual and/or unlawful. It’s (strong) evidence of it certainly, but it isn’t dispositive.

Back up and keep filming.

Winston is being told to file a complaint with the Internal Affairs Division. I wonder what will happen to that complaint? Will it get lost? He should skip that step & file a direct 1st Amendment lawsuit against the officer & the department.
Plus, despite the sympathetic tone of the segment to Winston, the local news still allowed police to get the last word & left it as if their word were fact.

Ordering ONLY the totally civil and non-violent in ANY way camera away from a scene every other person is allowed to stay at or pass by is not EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW.

He was singled out, purely due to having a video camera. Had be been recording ANYTHING else, he’d never have been confronted. The officer only cared s he was filming fellow officers.

Instead of wanting a copy of their “law abiding, by the book” officer to protect the officers themselves and their dept from a frivolous lawsuit, the officers tries to eliminate any evidence that could be used, even to protect the police from a fake claim.

Pure and simply police intimidation, violating his rights as a citizen and that of the press.

But are ANY of us surprised?

Mike

“Winston is being told to file a complaint with the Internal Affairs Division.”

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

“The fact that there were other people nearby or closer is not. by itself, proof that the order was pretextual and/or unlawful. It’s (strong) evidence of it certainly, but it isn’t dispositive.

Back up and keep filming.”

Civil suit =” preponderance of the evidence”, not “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

In other words, a jury would have to see that as not selectively backing up just the videographer. I doubt they’d see it as that.

Mike

You could stand your ground and 1) hope that you don’t get arrested for failure to obey a lawful order; or 2) hope that your defense attorney can raise reasonable doubt regarding the lawful nature of the order in the resulting criminal prosecution, or 3) back up and keep shooting.

I think it’s a matter of choice and risk acceptability. If you expect that the officer will testify that the order in which he gives commands to the relevant individuals is a matter of professional discretion and that he fully intended to give similar orders to the other persons, 1 and 2 become more risky.

In Tennessee you have the right to resist unlawful arrest but obviously that’s a tricky proposition if there aren’t other cameras filming YOUR confrontation with the cops.

I wonder if he could file charges with the sheriff’s dept or state troopers?

I forget what web site I was on but someone said women cops are only good at talking or shooting-they can’t do shit else and I guess this is proof of that. I could see putting a Bob Etheridge wristlock on her.

Chatanooga. Isn’t that the police department whose officers arrested a paramedic for taking his wife to the ER when she had a stroke?

The very same. I remember that story well.
Rance recently posted..BinaryGravy: RT @healthygulf: BP Deepwater Drilling Disaster: Latest trajectory map http://bit.ly/cv2pFe

Cop has been suspended. Unfortunately with pay.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/jun/21/chattanooga-officer-who-a...

Chattanooga is also the same place that a police officer pushed a Walmart greeter to the floor and threw a man through a glass door on Christmas Eve.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_141946.asp

Wow… I didn’t hear about that one. It is scary the level of corruption within his department that he didn’t get charged. It takes a sick, twisted person to shove an old man.

hard to back up if someone is tugging at your shirt