The Arrival

Late one afternoon the man drives down a busy parkway en route to visit his mother. His vehicle’s rear license is not attached to the trunk, but displayed in the back window instead. 

He switches lanes without signaling, attracting the attention of a police officer. The man continues to drive down the road until his car stalls out.

As the officer approaches his car, the man recognizes him. 

Eight months earlier, the man had an encounter with this same officer. The man reaches for his cellphone in an attempt to record the officer’s actions. Suddenly, the officer shouts at him. 

“You’re not going to get video of this. You’re not going to make any phone calls. Nobody is going to know about this.”

The man tries to tell the officer he doesn’t have any type of weapon and isn’t trying to hurt the officer. The officer only becomes more angry.

The Arrest

The man abandons reaching for his cell phone and begins to slowly step out of his car with his hands up. That’s when it happens…the officer violently elbows the man in the face.

Then the officer tasers the man in the back. 

The man falls to the ground. He is not resisting. The officer tasers him a second time. Then the officer handcuffs the man.

“I’m complying. I’m not resisting, “ the man shouts as he lies prone in the street.

A second officer arrives on the scene. The man thinks maybe the second officer will help him. Unfortunately, the man is wrong. 

The second officer runs toward the man–who is handcuffed and laying in the street–with his gun drawn.

The officer stomps on the man’s face, then proceeds to put his knee on the back of the man’s head and point his gun at the man’s right temple.

“If you move, I’m going to shoot you and splatter your brains all over the street,” the second officer shouts.

Terrified, the man doesn’t move. 

Both officers lift the man, now bruised and bloodied in the face, and place him on the trunk of his car. Later, when the man’s mug shot is taken, his bloody nose and lips are clearly visible in the photo.

The Outcome

The man suffered multiple injuries during the traffic stop, including a ruptured lip and deep cut on his nose, which took two months to heal, as well as back spasms from being tased.

After the traffic stop, both officers filed reports that directly contradicted what had actually happened.

Bystander cell phone videos of the man’s encounter with the police were released on social media and immediately went viral. The officers were fired a little over 24 hours after the incident, and the police department dismissed 89 cases involving the two officers.

The officers were charged with aggravated assault and battery, and violation of oath of office. 

The officer who elbowed the man in the face pleaded no contest to aggravated assault and battery and was sentenced to six months in a work-release program, then five months home confinement, followed by nine years and one month on probation. 

The officer who stomped the man’s face was convicted of aggravated assault and battery and violation of oath of office and sentenced to 11 months home confinement, followed by nine years and one month on probation. 

Years after the incident with the officers, the man still suffers from PTSD. He finds it difficult to maintain relationships and steady employment. The man filed a civil suit against the officers, the former police chief, and the county, alleging a pattern of ignoring 67 previous use of force incidents involving the officers. Five years after filing the lawsuit, the man reaches a settlement with the county for $400K.

He could be happy and healthy today if reconsidered how we invest our money.