The cops in Fort Collins want to give this guy an appearance ticket for trespassing. He refuses to sign it. They tell him that it doesn’t matter if he signs, if he doesn’t show up to court, he will be arrested. You would think that would be the end of it.
Instead, a cop gets angry and tries to stuff the ticket into the accused’s pocket. I’m not sure that “If the guy won’t sign, stuff the ticket in his pocket” is proper police procedure. If it isn’t, then this is battery. Anyhow, that’s when things went south. The guy backed away from the cop, and the cop uses that as his excuse to say he is “resisting.” While the guy is on the ground, they hold a pepper spray container within 3 inches of his eyes and spray him in the eyes. This caused permanent damage to his eyes. He is suing the cops.
Kulas’ attorneys say police officers are trained not to deploy pepper spray from less than 3 feet because of the risk of permanent damage to the person’s eyes. Fort Collins Police Department’s policy does not specifically mention a safe or minimum distance of pepper spray, but does say “pepper projectiles and OC spray should not, however, be used against individuals or groups who merely fail to disperse or do not reasonably appear to be present a risk to the safety of officers or the public.” In other words, pepper spray isn’t to be used to force someone to comply with your orders.
The police investigated themselves and determined that they should be cleared of all wrongdoing. See for yourself:
The man was charged with obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest in addition to the original petty trespass charge. All three charges were dismissed.
Don’t talk to the police. Tell them that you don’t want to make a statement. Then shut up. If they want to arrest you or write you a ticket, then let them. You won’t beat them in the street. Let your lawyer beat them later. Most cops are moronic meatheads who enjoy beating people up in order to gain a sense of power. Don’t give them an excuse.
13 Comments
joe · September 1, 2023 at 4:37 am
in tx, if you don’t sign the ticket, you can go to jail… by signing you are promising to appear…
Divemedic · September 1, 2023 at 6:34 am
Here, too.. But if you listen to the cop in the video, that isn’t what he says. He plainly says that the guy doesn’t have to sign, but is still responsible for appearing at his court date.
D · September 1, 2023 at 1:30 pm
> in tx, if you don’t sign the ticket, you can go to jail
Sign your name as “duress”.
You can not be compelled into a contract under threats of violence, financial harm, or imprisonment.
It’s an unconscionable contract.
Divemedic · September 1, 2023 at 4:47 pm
Unfortunately the courts don’t agree with that interpretation.
D · September 1, 2023 at 6:03 pm
I don’t care if the court’s interpretation is “it’s not illegal when *we* do it”.
Dirty Dingus McGee · September 1, 2023 at 4:40 am
Contempt of cop will NOT be tolerated. Yeah the guy had a buzz going, Stevie Wonder could see that. Cops are SUPPOSED to be able to withstand that, and just do their deal. But in 99 out of 100 times, the cop is the one who escalates it.
And of course they found they did nothing wrong when they investigate themselves. Can’t throw them selves under the bus. Guy will likely prevail for some damages in the lawsuit. Shitty part is, not $.01 will come from the cop or the dept budget, it will all get covered by either the taxpayers or maybe insurance.
Until such time that cops are held PERSONALLY responsible, nothing will change. The only way that these bully cops learn is when they are shown they are not invincible. Someone who is determined to make another’s life miserable, and is crafty enough, can make that person wish they had never been born.
Joe Blow · September 1, 2023 at 7:02 am
110% true.
The problem is the argument of qualified immunity is used overly broad.
Yes, if I’m doing the job my employer paid, trained, and told me to do, I shouldn’t be liable for damages that result from those employer sponsored actions. Drs and Nurses don’t get personally sued when hospital protocols are followed, correct? What if they commit gross negligence or dereliction of orders? Pharmacist gives tylenol instead of motrin b/c its close enough, nope, pharma boy gets sued.
Why are cops not held to the same standard? There was no arrest nor threat nor violence at all. No reason to restrain, detain, or otherwise physically contact the citizen at all.
This bad apple is why people hate cops today. Dunno why they can’t see the connection between policing their own? This is why things spiraled out of control in the hood. Bad cops caught planting evidence and drugs on people turned an entire race of people against them. Some ham-fisted meetings with ‘community leaders’ isn’t going to fix decades of bad cop behaviour. You have to be good for an entire generation before any of them will trust you again.
Mike Hemdrix · September 1, 2023 at 10:02 am
Never thought I’d say this, and I really hate to, but in this day and age: ACAB.
Aesop · September 1, 2023 at 7:13 pm
This will continue until people start hunting them for sport, and shooting them on sight.
They’ve brought that all down on their own heads.
The chief could’ve fired those two assholes for cause, and thrown them to the D.A., after revoking sovereign immunity.
Instead, they doubled down on their criminal conduct, and tried to paper it over, thus screwing not only themselves, but dragging the taxpayers along for the ride, and the civil damages.
Rodney King sent the warning 30 years ago.
Now they’re shooting the video themselves, and they still don’t get it.
C · September 3, 2023 at 10:17 pm
If only.
Most of the local cops meet at the same gas station (night and day shift) at usual hour. They cluster up and chitchat for 10-15 minutes before going their separate ways. Nevermind the ones who hide in the same out of the way places everyday. Probably the same everywhere else in the country.
Don Curton · September 2, 2023 at 7:32 am
There’s another group of people we talk about, people with poor impulse control and violent tendencies. We say, about those people, avoid them at all costs. If those people show up at an event, no matter what, just leave. Don’t initiate contact. If they initiate contact, smile, be polite, and do whatever possible to end the contact as soon as possible. Nothing good will result from those people being around.
I’m guessing we can now say the same about cops.
JohnBuoy · September 4, 2023 at 12:29 am
For about the past 20-25 years, or so, the least safest place to be has been anywhere within range of a LEO. Their training has devolved into them considering almost everything and everyone a threat, and any movement or action they can possibly take as ‘consistent with’ accessing anything that could possibly be a weapon will result in them using deadly force.
E M Johnson · September 2, 2023 at 1:57 pm
Everyone has a home…Eye for an eye would seem reasonable
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