THE COMMUNITY OF ASHEVILLE NORTH CAROLINA IS REELING TODAY
FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF POLICE BODY CAM FOOTAGE THAT SHOWED AN
INTERACTION WITH AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN RESIDENT IN THE
AREA WHO THEY STOPPED OVER JAYWALKING.
THE VIDEO HAS GONE VIRAL AND IT'S NEARLY 9
MINUTES LONG BUT WE DO HAVE THE RELEVANT PORTIONS OF THAT
VIDEO TO SHOW YOU AND IT IS INCREDIBLY DISTURBING TO WATCH.
SO HE GETS OFF WORK AND HE APPARENTLY JAY WALKS IN THE
POLICE WERE NOT TOO HAPPY ABOUT IT.
IF YOU WATCH THE FULL VIDEO, YOU CAN SEE HIM ESSENTIALLY TELLING
COPS I'M TIRED, I JUST GOT OFF OF WORK, JUST STOP HARASSING ME.
AND THAT IT ESCALATES TO WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO SHOW YOU.
THE VIDEO IS INCREDIBLY GRAPHIC BUT IT GIVES YOU A SENSE OF
WHY THE COMMUNITY IS SO UPSET.
TAKE A LOOK.
BUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK, DO NOT STOP.
DROP THE BAG PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK.
SIR LOOKED.
MOTHER FUCKER.
43 ON FOOT, WHITE MALE, BLACK MALE, WHITE TANK TOP,
THNKS IT'S FUNNY.
YOU KNOW WHAT'S FUNNY
IS
ARE GOING TO GET FUCKED UP
HARD-CORE.
STOP.
I CAN'T BREATHE.
PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK.
OH MY GOSH, I CAN'T BREATHE.
I CAN'T BREATHE.
OKAY, PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK.
I CAN'T.
HELP.
LUCKILY HE DID NOT DIE FROM THAT INTERACTION.
MORE OFTEN THAN NOT FROM THESE TYPES OF STORIES SOMEONE
LOSES THEIR LIFE.
THERE WERE 2 CUPS PRESENT AT THE SCENE, ONE OF THEM WAS CHRIS
HICKMAN WHO HAS BEEN WITH THE POLICE FORCE FOR SOME TIME AND
HE WAS WITH A TRAINEE.
HE HAS NOT RESIGNED, HE IS STILL EMPLOYED BY THE POLICE
DEPARTMENT.
BUT HE HAS SINCE RESIGNED SINCE THIS INCIDENT AND ALSO THE
POLICE CHIEF SAID SHE WOULD BE HAPPY TO RESIGN IF THAT WOULD
QUELL THE PUBLIC DISCONTENT.
I'M SICK OF IT, OF SEEING THIS.
OBVIOUSLY THERE IS A RACIAL COMPONENT.
THIS AREA IS 12% BLACK.
AND VERY SEGREGATED.
I'M
TIRED OF SEEING COPS PUSH THIS GUYS HEAD INTO THE CONCRETE.
SO HE WAS JAYWALKING.
I KEEP USING BEVERLY HILLS AS AN EXAMPLE.
IN ASHEVILLE NORTH CAROLINA, IF IT WAS A BUSINESSMAN AND NOT A
DISHWASHER DO YOU THINK THEY'RE GOING TO TREAT HIM LIKE THAT?
DO
YOU THINK THEY'RE GOING TO GRIND HIS HEAD INTO THE GROUND AND
PUNCH THEM IN THE HEAD FOUR TIMES?
THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO
THAT TO A GUY THAT IS A DOCTOR OR A LAWYER OR A BUSINESSMAN.
THEN THEY WONDER WHY THE MIDDLE-CLASS ARE TIRED AND
ARE OFTENTIMES LITERALLY BEING CRUSHED.
I'M SICK OF IT.
WE ARE ALL SICK OF IT.
SO THEN SOME PEOPLE WILL SAY LOOK, YOU SHOULD'VE DONE
WITH THE COP SAID.
FIRST OF ALL HE WAS JAYWALKING AFTER A LONG DAY.
WHAT ARE YOU PICKING ON HIM FOR?
IF HE WAS IN A SUIT THERE'S NO WAY THE COPS STOP HIM.
YOU KNOW IT FOR FACT.
EUCLID SAY THEY DO AND THEN THEY GET INTO THIS ALTERCATION.
YOU KNOW IT STARTED WITH JAYWALKING.
AND HE SAYS AT ONE POINT DO YOU WANT TO GET ARRESTED OR A
TICKET.
AND HE SAID YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.
AT MOST YOU SHOULD GIVE
THEM A TICKET, RIGHT?
WHY WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ESCALATE RATHER
THAN DE-ESCALATE THE SITUATION?
THE EXCUSE COP SEES ALL THE TIME
IS I WAS AFRAID FOR MY LIFE.
THE DUDE IS A JAYWALKER AND HE TOLD HIM TO WRITE HIM A TICKET.
INSTEAD OF WRITING HIM A TICKET HE CHOSE TO ESCALATE IT.
OF COURSE THE NUMBER ONE THING THE RIGHT WING SAYS IS WHY DO
YOU RUN?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
YOU GET SCARED.
ALSO THERE HAVE BEEN INSTANCES WHERE A PERSON HAS BEEN
SHOT AND KILLED BY A COP EVEN AFTER COMPLYING AND BEING
INCREDIBLY CAREFUL.
PHILANDO CASTILE IS A PERSON WHO COMES TO MIND AT THE TOP OF
MY HEAD.
HE LITERALLY TOLD THE COP I HAVE A LICENSED GUN IN THE
VEHICLE, AND AS HE REACHES FOR IT, SHOT AND KILLED.
IN THIS CASE I KNOW THIS SOUNDS RIDICULOUS BUT I HAVE BECOME
SO INCREDIBLY DESENSITIZED TO THIS TYPE OF VIOLENCE THAT
IF THE PERSON DOESN'T DIE FROM EXCESSIVE FORCE I FEEL RELIEVED.
EVERYONE SHOULD FEEL RELIEVED.
BUT YOU SEE THE STORIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND
IN A LOT OF CASES PEOPLE DON'T MAKE IT ALIVE AND I AM SO
HAPPY THAT HE DIDN'T LOSE HIS LIFE OVER THIS.
HE DID GET CHARGED FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT BUT THE CHARGES
WERE LATER DROPPED.
ALSO I WANTED TO SHOW YOU ANOTHER SHORT PORTION OF THE
VIDEO BECAUSE IT KIND OF GIVES YOU A SENSE OF HOW THE COPS
FELT ABOUT THIS WHOLE SITUATION AFTER IT HAD GOTTEN PHYSICAL.
TAKE A LOOK.
ARE YOU OKAY?
I HAVE BLOOD ALL OVER ME FROM HIS FACE.
SO BACKUP ARRIVES, AND THE COP SAYS I HAVE BLOOD ALL OVER ME
FROM HIS FACE.
THEY'RE NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE GUY WHO'S BLEEDING, THE
WORD ABOUT THE GUY WHO HAS THE BLOOD FROM THE FACE ON HIS
ARM FROM AFTER ASSAULTING HIM.
THAT'S THE OTHER THING THAT ANNOYS ME ABOUT THE POLICE
STATE WE LIVE IN.
BEFORE, THIS HAPPENED NONSTOP, WE JUST NEVER SAW IT AND
THEN IF ANYONE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT THEY'RE LIKE YEAH,
PROBABLY A CRIMINAL COMPLAINING ABOUT THE COPS, RIGHT?
WHAT DID THEY CHARGE HIM WITH?
SECOND DEGREE TRESPASS AND IMPEDING TRAFFIC.
I WANTED TO SEE IN THE
VIDEO BECAUSE I READ ABOUT A PERSON -- I'M LOOKING AT THE
VIDEO TO SEE WHO WAS IMPEDING TRAFFIC.
HE HAD ALREADY CROSSED
THE STREET.
THEN THEY STOP HIM AND THEN THEY ARE ALL OVER THE
STREET.
THE GUYS WHO WERE IMPEDING THE TRAFFIC WHERE
ACTUALLY THE COPS.
IF YOU CARED ABOUT THAT, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BOTHERED TO
DO ALL OF THIS CRAP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.
I WANT TO FOCUS ON SILVER LININGS.
I KNOW THAT
SOUNDS CRAZY BUT HEAR ME OUT FOR A SECOND.
FIRST OF ALL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY DROPS CHARGES AND MY GUESS
IS BECAUSE HE DID REVIEW THAT BODY CAM FOOTAGE AND SAW THAT
HE WAS NOT IMPEDING TRAFFIC AND THEN TRESPASSING WHERE?
THAT'S PUBLIC SPACE.
HE DID NOT TRESPASS ANYWHERE.
THE CHARGES
WERE DROPPED, THAT IS A GOOD SIGN.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
FOLLOWING CASES OF EXCESSIVE FORCE OR POLICE BRUTALITY, MORE
OFTEN THAN NOT THE POLICE CHIEF, THE POLICE UNION, THE PEOPLE
INVOLVED WILL PUSH BACK AGGRESSIVELY AND DENY ANY AND
ALL WRONGDOING, BUT THAT IS NOT THE CASE HERE AND I THOUGHT THAT
WAS INTERESTING.
AS I MENTIONED, THE POLICE CHIEF HAS
SUGGESTED THAT SHE WILL STEP DOWN IF IT MAKES THE COMMUNITY
FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE.
SHE ALSO SAID THE FOLLOWING:
YOU DON'T USUALLY HEAR THAT REACTION FROM OTHER COPS, MUCH
LESS A POLICE CHIEF.
I FEEL THERE IS SOME PROGRESS AND THAT
IS SOMETHING TO FOCUS ON AND KEEP PUSHING FOR REAL JUSTICE.
SHE ALSO SAID THAT SHE WAS GOING TO FIRE HICKMAN AND
HE RESIGNED RIGHT BEFORE SHE FIRED HIM.
THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS ALL THE TIME, BUT I WANT TO GET TO
THE OTHER CHARGES AS WELL BECAUSE YOU ARE RIGHT,
THERE ARE SOME GOOD PARTS, THE BODY CAMS ARE GOOD, BUT THIS
HAPPENS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
THEY CHARGE THEM WITH ASSAULT ON A GOVERNMENT
OFFICIAL AND RESISTING A PUBLIC OFFICER.
WHO WAS ASSAULTING WHO IN THAT VIDEO?
AND THEN THEY TELL IS, NO, JUST BELIEVE THE COPS.
BLINDLY TRUST
THAT COPS ARE ALL GOOD GUYS.
WHEN I SEE RESISTING AN OFFICER,
SOMETIMES THAT'S THE ONLY CHARGE, THAT MEANS WE ARRESTED
HIM FOR NO REASON BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN UNDERLYING
CHARGE FOR RESISTING AN OFFICER, MOST OF THE TIME THEY DON'T.
HERE THEY DID, THE INFAMOUS SECOND-DEGREE TRESPASS AND
IMPEDING TRAFFIC AND ASSAULTING A COP NINE OUT OF 10
TIMES MEANS THAT THEY ASSAULTED YOU BECAUSE IF YOU ACTUALLY
ASSAULT A COP, I WANT YOU TO GET ARRESTED.
THAT IS A TERRIBLE THING, I DON'T WANT ANYONE GETTING
ASSAULTED, LET ALONE COPS.
BUT HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE SEEN HE ASSAULTED ME AND THEN YOU
LOOK AT THE VIDEOTAPE AND THEY ARE KICKING THE CRAP OUT OF HIM.
YEAH, I GOT HIS BLOOD ON ME FROM PUNCHING HIM IN THE FACE SO
MANY TIMES.
SEE HOW HE ASSAULTED ME?
ONE OF THE COPS WAS PUNCHING HIM REPEATEDLY ON THE HEAD, AND
AFTER HE HAD ALREADY BEEN RESTRAINED, HE IS ON THE FLOOR,
THE OTHER COP TASES HIM SIMULTANEOUSLY AND BY THE WAY,
WHEN HE KEPT YELLING I CAN'T BREATHE, WHO DID THAT
REMIND YOU OF?
ERIC GARNER.
EXACTLY.
LASTLY I WANT TO POINT OUT THE TASERS.
THE TASER'S INITIAL
IDEA WAS IF YOU ARE IN A REALLY BAD SITUATION AND YOU WERE
THINKING OF SHOOTING SOMEONE, INSTEAD SHOOTING THEM, STUN
THEM INSTEAD AND I THOUGHT, THAT IS NOT WHAT COPS ARE GOING TO
DO.
IF
THEY THINK THERE IS ANY KIND OF DANGER THEY ARE GOING TO SHOOT.
WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO USE THE STUN GUNS FOR?
WHEN THEY FEEL LIKE SOMEONE IS NOT COMPLYING AND IT IS A HASSLE
TO GET THEIR ARMS BEHIND THEM, OR THEY ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME,
GIVE ME THE STUN GUN, I WILL MAKE THIS GUY LISTEN.
IT'S NOT STUN THEM INSTEAD OF SHOOTING THEM, IT IS JUST STUN
THEM TO SHOW THEM WHO IS BOSS AND WE SAW THAT HAPPEN THERE IN
THIS VIDEO.
THEY ALREADY HAVE THE GUY DOWN ON THE GROUND.
ONE COP
IS ALREADY PUNCHING HIM IN THE HEAD AND THE OTHER ONE IS LIKE,
LET'S DO A GRATUITOUS STUN HERE.
BY THE WAY, THAT STUFF CAN
GIVE YOU A HEART ATTACK, BUT THEY TREAT IT LIGHTLY.
ON THE
OTHER HAND, REMEMBER THE GUY IN THE GROUND WAS JAYWALKING.