This cop doesn't seem too happy with this motorcyclist

[boloson]

Thank you, particularly for the "none of us were there" comment.

and i still love your avatar....smoking the reefer lol

[nivek]

From that video, it looked like a crazy guy was pulling a gun. people are whacked, even with a cop behind him, if i was in that position i would have freaked. which imagine if that guy on the bike was a cop and also and had a gun, he'd prob draw it on the lune jumping out of a car with a gun, i would.

But, i think my first reaction would be to get the F out of there, prob nail the throttle and go to the local police, file charges against the off duty cop and recommend anger management classes.

I like cops, mostly all awesome people, but that off duty cop certainly made the situation dangerous and uncertain by interfering with the marked police. Honestly, 80 in a 55 is not uncommon.

[BSR6]

"Perceived threat"? If the off duty cop was scared and saw the motorcyclist as a threat then why did he jump out in front of him? Because he had his gun out and it would protect him? Why was he even there if he was off duty? Its just a traffic stop, and not worth it for the off duty copy to put himself at that kind of risk.

It just seems to me like this guy saw an opportunity to flex his muscle. If it was a uniformed cop that approached with his gun drawn then that would be a whole other story. Some say a cop is always on duty, but I think getting involved in a traffic stop for someone driving crazy is stretching it a bit. The issue is not the gun, its a combination of the gun and the fact that the guy is off duty, with an on duty officer right there on the scene.

[joeswamp]

From that video, it looked like a crazy guy was pulling a gun. people are whacked, even with a cop behind him, if i was in that position i would have freaked. which imagine if that guy on the bike was a cop and also and had a gun, he'd prob draw it on the lune jumping out of a car with a gun, i would.

But, i think my first reaction would be to get the F out of there, prob nail the throttle and go to the local police, file charges against the off duty cop and recommend anger management classes.

I like cops, mostly all awesome people, but that off duty cop certainly made the situation dangerous and uncertain by interfering with the marked police. Honestly, 80 in a 55 is not uncommon.

+1, It's not the gun that's the issue, it's pulling a gun without any ID.

In my mind, the LEO put himself in a really risky situation there. If this had happened in parts of Florida, where carjacking is not uncommon and lots of folks carry (half expecting to be carjacked), this situation would definitely have ended in an old-west style shootout.

None of us were there, but I suspect what happened is in the heat of the moment the LEO just sort of forgot that he wasn't in his uniform or cruiser.

[obsolete]

Has anyone figured out yet if the cops thought he was running?

[ilikenapalm]

They couldn't possibly have thought that he was running. There was no intent to pull him over. He also exited the highway at a reasonable rate of speed and didn't try to lane split or anything once off the highway.

[obsolete]

They couldn't possibly have thought that he was running. There was no intent to pull him over. He also exited the highway at a reasonable rate of speed and didn't try to lane split or anything once off the highway.

So he was just an innocent civilian minding his own business and this cop unholstered on him for a speeding infraction?

[GTStang]

perceived threat. 500lbs of metal coming at u would cause permanent/ serious bodily harm/ death. bike was still moving when the cop exited his car. does the cop have the right to pull out his gun? hell yea. was it excessive? maybe....but then again none of us were there & most of u arent cops so try to imagine what the cop was thinking when he approached the biker (not knowing who the biker is, type of person he is, killer, habitual traffic offender, doctor, etc)

I don't need to know nor care what the cop was thinking when he approached to be honest. What he needed to be thinking is I'm off duty, in an unmarked car with no lights. When I exit the vehicle I need to clearly identify myself as an officer for my safety and the guy on the motorcycle's safety.

And before anyone says you don't know what it's like to be a cop or put in that situation and I'm holding them to an unfair standard... too bad! When you choose to be an officer you are given great power over the majority of your fellow citizens. As such you will be held to a higher standard than them. These means sometimes you will need to keep your cool and head in high pressure situations. If you do not accept or meet these requirements then find another job!

[boloson]

"Perceived threat"? If the off duty cop was scared and saw the motorcyclist as a threat then why did he jump out in front of him? Because he had his gun out and it would protect him? Why was he even there if he was off duty? Its just a traffic stop, and not worth it for the off duty copy to put himself at that kind of risk.

It just seems to me like this guy saw an opportunity to flex his muscle. If it was a uniformed cop that approached with his gun drawn then that would be a whole other story. Some say a cop is always on duty, but I think getting involved in a traffic stop for someone driving crazy is stretching it a bit. The issue is not the gun, its a combination of the gun and the fact that the guy is off duty, with an on duty officer right there on the scene.

put yourself in the cop's shoes for a sec. he is trained to respond to all kinds of situations (medic calls, thefts, alarms, robberies, etc). of course response will vary from individual to individual but overall training is the same.

i jumped out of my car....no more cage to protect me.
the bike is still moving. what do u think this biker is trying to do? is he trying to back up & flee? is he going to ram that thing at me? is he going to get off the bike & attack me? is he going to run? he is a possible threat to my safety (was a threat to the public's safety already). ok better safe then injured, let me pull out my gun so the biker knows i mean business & that if he tries something stupid i am prepared to react accordingly.

this cop perceived a threat.... an imminent threat at that. was the gun a lil excessive? looks to be that way to me but i'm not him & i wasnt there. yes he was justified to display his gun (dont think he ever pointed the gun directly at the biker). is not a matter of "being scared" or "flexing his muscle" but simply responding to a threat to his safety & through his training and experiences, he responded the way he did. do cops get scared? all the time.

"why was he there off duty?"
u never drive on the highway on your days off? wrong place at the wrong time i guess.

"Its just a traffic stop, and not worth it for the off duty copy to put himself at that kind of risk."
i completely agree with u.





what if this biker drove into a car & killed a child inside it? ya'll would be praising this cop...gun or not

[DucDave]

I read the first page. Are there an Bewbies between that and here that I am missing? Hard to explaing the legs on this thread otherwise....

[keeena]

From that video, it looked like a crazy guy was pulling a gun. people are whacked, even with a cop behind him, if i was in that position i would have freaked.

I think many people would be freaked. I would. Would it have been better if the off-duty car had emergency lights or he showed a badge at the same time or just blocked the bike, stayed in car and let the on-duty handle things for a few moments? Yeah, probably. But seeing how quickly the off-duty controls the situation and does not go into a rage, ripping rider off bike, ramming bike, etc...kind of shows that he's not being overzealous. Its too bad they have to show a weapon for a traffic stop thanks to all the dirtbags out there.

I would only think the original clip would be worthy of argument if the rider was slapped for a felony evading (or whatever it would be called) due to backing up a few feet; I think that the bikers initial reaction could be reasonably explainable up until the point that he realized it was an officer.

[NeverlosT]

im with ducdave here. How many people need to say the following:

1.) "Unwarranted muscle flexing"
2.) "You dont know what its like"
3.) "he could have rammed the cop"
4.) "no need for off duty gun threats"

I count 4. weve got 136 posts before mine. Without some serious bewbies hidden in there at about post 40, I cannot understand it.

[MysteriousR1]

Its called a forum.

[FirstDuc-1098]

it's called a rainy day

[Punjistick]

I don't really care one way or the other. Both sides look like they could have handled that better. When the guy on the bike turned his head around completely and saw the marked cruiser he should have stopped ASAP. You don't go on coasting down the off ramp like there's nobody behind you.

That being said how much force can a bike generate in 3' from a complete stop? What's he gonna do a 12 o'clock wheelie and bring the bike down on top of the officer.

I wasn't there so I don't know what really happend. I'd like to see the rest of the video after the guy is off the bike to see what was said by the officers and what he had to say.

I get the impression that that officer wanted to nail this guy for for speeding, etc. and wasn't going to let him get away no matter what.

[ssg]

That being said how much force can a bike generate in 3' from a complete stop?

It's only like 800# of weight at ~12-15 mph hitting you against a car, what's the worst that can happen

[RandyO]

It's only like 800# of weight at ~12-15 mph hitting you against a car, what's the worst that can happen

bike tips over and pins rider under bike

ramming a person with a bike is just as likely to injure the rider

[ilikenapalm]

If the LEO really thought the biker would be a threat to his life, why would he jump out of his car in the first place?

[LowSider]

The Badge would be enough ,the gun as a last option

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smQHXiFKMxk

That's about 15 minutes from my house. Haha.

20 says they were headed for Hull.

[NeverlosT]

im sure someone posted this but it is the whole vid. Dude just did a little wheelie and sped a bit and whammo. If that cop pulled a gun on me id poop em. What a douche. He didnt even seem to be running.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7PC9...eature=related

[drowe531]

http://www.abc2news.com/mediacenter/...et&navCatId=14

Looks like the kid faces some serious jail time now for posting the video

[MysteriousR1]

http://www.abc2news.com/mediacenter/...et&navCatId=14

Looks like the kid faces some serious jail time now for posting the video

That is pretty pathetic. Seems like a charge out of spite to me. A little upset that their "officer" acted a little out of control and the world saw? But, no matter what the rider will ALWAYS be wrong and the "officer" will ALWAYS be right.

[TheIglu]

So if i'm walking down the street recording the public and I record a cop talking with my camera, I could be arrested?

Oh, that's good. I wish I had that type of higher citizenship.

[noudidnt]

this is a total bs charge against the rider. If the police can use the argument that the marked State Police vehicle behind the rider was enough to let the rider know that the car in front was a cop, then the rider can use the argument that the camera on his helmet in plain sight, is enough notification that the situation is being recorded.

[drowe531]

Some people are saying another forum it was because of the audio because it is illegal to record someone without there permission.