quote:

Originally posted by cmr076:
Seems like a good way for an off duty cop to get shot. He didn't even have his badge out?! WTF

:edit: read the comments. Apparently the cop eventually ID'd himself. In my opinion the first few seconds are all that matters though.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by cmr076:
Seems like a good way for an off duty cop to get shot. He didn't even have his badge out?! WTF

:edit: read the comments. Apparently the cop eventually ID'd himself. In my opinion the first few seconds are all that matters though.

Read comments again, about the badge out.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:

Regardless of whether people feel this was a set up of the cop in question, he took the bait! He showed his ass and will likely lose his credentials that he never showed.

Question for anyone who thinks it was okay for the officer to pull his weapon. Was the guy willing to shoot a douche-bag on a motorcycle for speeding? Or just throwing his weight around to intimidate the rider into compliance? Either shows a very large lack of professionalism and would result in you or I going to jail if we were the ones that did it!

His badge was clipped on his pants.



And has there been anyone in this thread who said he thought it was okay for the officer to have his gun drawn? I must've missed it.

quote:

Originally posted by TigerDore:
I never saw the badge. I doubt the motorcyclist did either, not with a loaded gun in his face. Unless he was looking down to check out the puddle forming around his feet, I don't think he could have seen it.

quote:

A detective with the King County Sheriff's Office was placed on administrative leave Tuesday morning after a video surfaced showing him pulling a gun on a motorcyclist during a seemingly surprise traffic stop.

Sheriff John Urquhart condemned the actions captured in the footage on a Facebook post early Tuesday.

"I was deeply disturbed with the conduct and tactics that were recorded," he wrote. "... In every encounter I expect my deputies to treat others with respect."

The Seattle Times identified the motorcyclist as Shoreline resident John Randall. He was reportedly stopped at a red light at Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 145th Street Aug. 16 when an plainclothes officer appears from his left shoulder pointing a gun.

"How ya doin'?" the officer asks, setting off panic in Randall, who repeated that he is unarmed.

The detective asked for Randall's identification and threatened to "knock him off" his bike.
Randall asked permission to remove his helmet and turn off his vehicle several times before reaching for his identification, but then the detective picked his wallet from his pocket to grab his driver license, himself.

Randall also repeated to the detective -- who did not identify himself in the video -- that he couldn't hear him through his helmet, which seemed to inflame the situation. He maintained he kept his hands raise in the air until the detective holstered his weapon.
The detective goes on to accuse Randall of reckless driving and traveling at more than 100 mph -- an "arrestable offense," he said -- which Randall denied as exaggeration in the text he included with his video.
Randall indicated in the video's text that he was not cited and that he filed several complaints with the Sheriff's Office and oversight agencies.

He wrote he was not physically hurt, but "scared and angry."

The detective, who was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, has not yet been identified by the King County Sheriff's Office. His name will be available Wednesday evening.

"Drawing your weapon on someone when investigating a misdemeanor traffic offense is not routine," Urquhart wrote in his Facebook statement. "All of these issues will be covered in a full investigation. In the meantime, the detective involved will not be working with the public."

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

I don't doubt that he never saw it. I wasn't insinuating that he did.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
I would guess there is a reason we don't see what occurred in the 1 to 5 minutes before the confrontation. I'd want to see that before I pass judgement.

quote:

Originally posted by mjlennon:
This story has made the front page of cnn.com now...It would seem even CNN takes issue with the length of time it takes him to identify himself as law enforcement.

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck Perry:
I'm still giving the officer the benefit of a doubt.