Reporting by Brent McCain, Story by Legendary Jim
Teague, TX – Cops are scared to death of armed motorists. It’s the truth. Most hassles are about the gun; so, let’s just cut to the chase. Where is it?
The gun.
Police charged this motorist with unlawfully carrying a weapon.
He didn’t carry it far. He stepped out of the car, as he was told to do. Then they cuffed him once they found the gun. One, two steps at the most, and, like, there it was!
Although the total time devoted to arresting this man exceeds an hour and a half, this half-hour video segment could be worth a motorist’s time to watch carefully for the first few minutes. They tell the story. The rest of the street drama is highly repetitive.
At a little after 2 am on April 1 of this year, the Teage Police pulled the driver over for excessive speed – more than 60 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone.
When a female officer approached his vehicle, she asked him for his driver’s license and proof of insurance.
The ensuing hassle is based on what a male officer who came on the scene later termed his unwillingness to behave in an obedient fashion.
The trouble started when motorist being detained asked the female officer just who had pulled in behind her. She said it was another officer. It turned out to be a male officer, her backup.
The motorist gave the officer his license, but had trouble locating his insurance card.
When the cops asked him to step out of the car, the male officer asked “Where is the gun, man?” First time that came up, right off the bat. Apropos nothing so much, just where is the gun?
The speeder said it was in the car.
It was in his back pocket.
That’s not illegal until you are out of the car; if you have a concealed carry permit, it’s still okay.
Then there was the hassle over whether he said they could search his car. First he said yes; then he changed his mind.
That led the male cop to say he thought he might be messed up because of medication. All the facts surrounding that have been redacted. Apparently, there was no particular evidence regarding any of that.
When they searched, they found an AR-15 style M4 patrol rifle with multiple magazines and a supply of green tip 5.53 ammo, which the Chief of the Teague Police termed armor piercing, though it’s not classified that way.
His argument to Legendary Reporter Brent McCain, “Marijuana pipes aren’t illegal until you smoke marijuana in them.”
The upshot is this: The DA refused to prosecute the case. He wasn’t drunk, and they did no blood analysis.
The matter is likely to see federal court scrutiny due to an illegal arrest and a denial of civil rights.
Do we really need all this? Speeding is a misdemeanor; you receive a court summons, and either you show up, or you don’t.
Insurance? All that is on the computer.
Gun in a hip pocket?
That’s legal as long as you’re in the car. If a cop tells you to get out of the car, it could be a communication problem if he doesn’t know you have a gun. Maybe. Maybe not.
It could also be an obedience problem.
Say wha’?
The matter is likely to see the inside of a courtroom as a federal civil rights case. An Austin law firm is handling the affair.
Do we really need this?
Like, all this?
No, but it’s time-consuming, tedious, and, well, very dangerous to POP (piss off police).
We probably need the man’s name, all that, but the key to this is his Cause Number, the one that would go on a District Court File. He doesn’t have one. Can’t tell the players without a number.
This brief recording speaks volumes about the logic of aggressive, proactive police work and the determination to file serious charges. Pay close attention to what the Chief of Police tells an inquiring reporter. It speaks volumes about power relations with the cops, and the gender politics in dealing with female police officers.
Conversation begins at 2:03
And the floggings will continue until morale improves.
So mote it be.
- The Legendary