Police dash cam video exonerates New Jersey man, leads to indictment of cops

[Mark 1911]

I posted this in the self defense forum as it seemed more appropriate than political. The self defense involved is legal defense, but self defense just the same. A New Jersey man who was facing years in prison after being falsely charged with resisting arrest has had all charges against him dropped after a police dash cam video was shown in court.

The video from a second police car purportedly shows Bloomfield, NJ, cops Orlando Trinidad and Sean Courter violently attack and arrest Marcus Jeter, who faced prison on charges such as eluding police and assault.

Police dash cam video exonerates New Jersey man, leads to indictment of cops* - NY Daily News

[video=youtube;HQB7Ukd7gfk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQB7Ukd7gfk[/video]

[video=youtube;GVaU8qm2LhQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVaU8qm2LhQ[/video]

 

[MisterChester]

Glad to see the end results. Those cops deserve to lose their badges and go to jail.

 

[jagee]

Wow.

No one is above the law. It sickens me that police (those particular officers) abuse their power like that.

 

[SteveM4A1]

 

[Kirk Freeman]

One can see WHY we have such bitter fights over police video.

The harder I have to fight them for the video, the better the video is for the defendant.

Everything should be recorded or it did not happen.

 

[Mark 1911]

The scary thing is that if not for the video, this guy would likely have gone to jail.

 

[9mmfan]

Simply disgusting. Thugs with badges. Put them in general population and lets see how they fair.

 

[Archer]

I grew up not very far from where this happened. Unfortunately there seems to be a disproportionate ratio of scumbag cops to honest ones. Growing up, I had cops steal personal property from me more than once, violate my fourth amendment, intimidate me, etc. In high school, I saw a cop grab a classmate who weighed maybe 145 pounds soaking wet by the collar and throw him bodily into the ground, all because the kid had a cup of soda and the officer thought it contained alcohol. In college, I delivered food in very bad areas around Newark, Irvington, and the Oranges. I was pulled over more times than I care to count for trumped up PC. I found myself disgusted more often than not by police in that state, so this story does not surprise me. There was an overall extreme (literally, extreme!) level of arrogance, self-righteousness, and aggression on their part during many encounters with them during my 14 years residing in that hell hole.

A prime example: My elementary school DARE officer, Officer Michael Megna, was charged in 2006 for being part of a drug and steroid smuggling ring, along with 5 other borough officers.

 

[Redhorse]

One can see WHY we have such bitter fights over police video.

The harder I have to fight them for the video, the better the video is for the defendant.

Everything should be recorded or it did not happen.

I've thought about getting a dash cam myself. Thoughts? I have no idea about the legality of it so it may be illegal and I just don't know it.

 

[Indy317]

Everything should be recorded or it did not happen.

It is pretty much heading in this direction. As the technology becomes smaller, reliable, and cheaper, more and more agencies will begin to use them.

Greenwood police officers outfitted with body cameras - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Daleville police add cameras to uniform - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

 

[MagicKev]

I'll probably get flamed for this and granted this is not a completely worked out thought, but here it goes.

It is time for police officers to have to carry their own liability or 'malpractice' insurance. Not the department paying for it with tax payer's money, but the officer themselves paying for it. Here's the kicker. If you work in a department with a high number of bad officers with judgements against their liability insurance due to them being scumbags....well guess what, your insurance premiums go up. That's how it works in other industries. It's time for departments to take out their trash. This will ONLY happen when it hurts them NOT to.

Your thoughts?

 

[TheSpark]

What is shocking to me is that the video that exonerated this poor guy was not destroyed.

Hopefully the tables are turned and now these cops are facing years behind bars.

 

[femurphy77]

Glad to see the end results. Those cops deserve to lose their badges and go to jail.

How about sending them to jail WITH their badges? They were cops while they were thugs hiding behind those badges, they should be made to wear them while in jail also. That might scare any other cop with proclivities towards violence into reconsidering their career choice.

 

[long coat]

Are the also going after the people in IA?

 

[buckstopshere]

Another day another doughnut. Those cops in the most anti-liberty states are the worst. New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, California just seem to be the most draconian.

What possible defense could those two that pleaded not guilty have? Interesting to see how this plays out.

 

[ChalupaCabras]

... That might scare any other cop with proclivities towards violence into reconsidering their career choice.

Hate to rain on the parade, but the entire point of having police is for them to do violent or dangerous things. A cop that isn't inclined towards violence wont execute his duties very well either.

How about we just start hiring cops with more character, and perhaps some better training? That way they behave violently towards the proper people.

 

[PRasko]

You have a smart phone? Android? You can get dash cam apps for it that track gps speed, record video and sound, and do so while the phone is locked.

I use one daily.

 

[Cemetery-man]

After seeing videos such as this over the years I decided that if I ever get pulled over I'm going to hit the OnStar button and tell the operator to listen and record what goes down. Just in case.

 

[Ford Truck]

I'll probably get flamed for this and granted this is not a completely worked out thought, but here it goes.

It is time for police officers to have to carry their own liability or 'malpractice' insurance. Not the department paying for it with tax payer's money, but the officer themselves paying for it. Here's the kicker. If you work in a department with a high number of bad officers with judgements against their liability insurance due to them being scumbags....well guess what, your insurance premiums go up. That's how it works in other industries. It's time for departments to take out their trash. This will ONLY happen when it hurts them NOT to.

Your thoughts?

 

[Ford Truck]

I'm still waiting for the good cops to arrest the bad cops.