Demosthenes_ Posted July 14, 2014 Posted July 14, 2014 http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/07/14/miami-cop-fearing-termination-altercation-speeding-internal-affairs-lieutenant/ A Miami officer pulls over a man who was speeding. The man refused to show his ID and tries to get out of the car. In retaliation, the officer puts his hand around the man's neck to hold him back. After a few words, the officer throws the man to the ground and pins him. A few other officers show up to help the officer out. It turns out the man is an off duty internal affairs lieutenant. The other officers pull them off from each other, say some words, and then drives away. On one hand the lieutenant broke the law. His job is to live by the law and enforce it, otherwise he is a hypocrite and defines his job as unjust. He was not charged for speeding and was free to walk away despite breaking the law. In the other hand the officer was aggressive towards the man, so much as putting his hand around his neck and throwing him to the ground. Unless there were threatening words mentioned towards the officer from the man, none of these seem justified on any grounds. The only thing in defense of the officer is when the lieutenant opened the door, which he should not have and should have known not to do. In the end the officer was discharged.
RandR10 Posted July 17, 2014 Posted July 17, 2014 The hand around the neck move was desperation. He thought his number was up. These guys are trained to have their hand on their gun and have it ready to draw in these cases where the suspect is getting mouthy, because he could be armed and dangerous. It's a legitimate concern, but the apprehending officer seriously dropped the ball there and let the situation get out of hand as a result, and his life flashed before his eyes. Being an internal affairs officer familiar with protocol, the suspect's behavior is a little messed up as well. He was probably drunk based on his poor judgement. It's not surprising that this sort of thing happens though. You put two hyper-vigilant guys in a situation at odds with each other that could be remotely construed as threatening and they will both freak. It could be worse though. My brother had a cop draw his weapon and point it at him because he denied speeding in what he thought was a polite tone.
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