Jump to content

Do you think her action's were justified?


Recommended Posts

this video is almost an hour long, if you have the time its worth watching..

On October 11, 2011, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper D. J. Watts engages in a high-speed pursuit of off-duty Miami Police Officer Fausto Lopez and removes Officer Lopez from his vehicle at gunpoint. This video records the verbal exchange between Trooper Watts and Officer Lopez

Now, the description say's OFF duty, yet he drives at ridiculous speed's in a Miami Dade Police Marked Cruiser no light's, no siren's, once he finally pull's over for the pursuing Florida Highway State Trooper she pull's a her service pistol on him, do you think her action's in the way she engaged the situation was right? or wrong?

In my opinion, regardless of the situation an Officer should always respect another brother/sister of the law.

gun drawn only for speeding? are state trooper's allowed that kind of behavior?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFY0GqN0AeQ&feature=related

Edited by Slimory

Kmpjq5P.gif


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He was in uniform and was in plain site when he got out of his cruiser, and regardless if he was armed or not, he is STILL a police officer, i just watched another video about it, the state trooper that pulled him over is under investigation and the Miami Dade Police Officer was rushing to an assignment/ posting for 7:00am.

for all she knew he could have been going to a destination in a hurry, no light's or siren's.

EDIT: " he's armed, you wanna fuck with a guy thats armed?"

If you can't trust a an Officer of the law, who can you trust?

Edited by Slimory

Kmpjq5P.gif


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't trust any one. as for going to a destination in a hurry? 120 MPH on the high way no lights.....im sorry whats the protocol of your driving course? OH RIGHT!! SAFETY, last i checked, 120, no lights...no siren.....ummm NOT SAFE

as for uniform in plain sight....hrm...step one...beat cop....step two....steal uniform

Edited by Asuna
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not and officer; however, I think her actions at the beginning, once she got him stopped were completely justified. I would have acted the same way. Once I had the situation under control, his service weapon removed, and had him at the FHP cruiser I would probably have removed the handcuffs. Everything she said once she had him in the cruiser was spot on. He was definitely hauling it it took her 6 min to catch up, ridiculous. If you have an off duty job that the whole department participates in--leave early enough to get there (should be dept. mandate). Imagine if he had have plowed into some family and his reason.."I going to be late" for a non-emergency situation, no excuse. All he had to do in the beginning was pull over and I'm sure she would have let him go. Officer or not if another police vehicle gets behind you with lights on, and you're not headed to same emergency, you slow down and/or pull over.

"All because you're late" pretty much sums it up for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have worked as a LEO so I do understand the dynamics at play here. First of all, high expectations of professional conduct are expected out of every LEO. This means on and off duty and especially when you're in a marked police cruiser. Integrity is paramount for any good LEO. To put another LEO in a position as Officer Lopez did is just plain wrong on so many levels. He expected to be above the law, in the article below it stated that he had routinely drove at a high rate of speed and had expectations that if another LEO ever did stop him that he would only get a slap on the wrist. In fact they found that this is a common practice in the surrounding police departments and Officer Lopez was the worst offender of them all. I've never understood why they bring up his personal life, to me it has nothing to do with the way he conducted himself on the Freeways in Florida. He should be held responsible for his own actions. Right or wrong you need to justify your actions as a police officer.

The Florida Trooper was justified to draw her weapon since she believed that the vehicle must be stolen, due to the reckless way he was driving and the fact that he would not stop for her. No they did not know if he was heading to a call, but generally for a legitimate call, you'd put your lights/sirens on to let another officer know (as well as having the dispatcher contact FHP). I believe they ended up issuing a court summons instead of taking him to jail (I'd say that was professional courtesy since any other person would have a free ride to the nearest jail). The Florida Highway Patrol has an obligation to the public to keep them safe and it sucks that a "brother in blue" would put them in a position like they did. I'm very surprised that Officer Lopez still has a job, but then again the department is still considering what to do in response to his actions.

In my state, State Police will contact the agency and relay the information (time/location/unit) to the agency chief/sheriff to let them deal in house with it. I believe this is the way most State agencies deal with it, including FHP, this was just a situation were the trooper made a decision to intervene for public safety, believing that there was more to the situation then just an off duty police officer going somewhere in a hurry.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/miami-speeding-cop-avoids-jail-wont-have-criminal-2287016.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Slimory you said yourself that he was driving and ridiculously high speeds. There's a huge difference between speeding and operating to endanger, and the latter of the two would be a perfect description of what Officer Lopez was doing. No emergency lights and being off duty won't help his case. And what Ridgerunner said was probably the first thing that came to my mind: Check with the dispatcher to see if that cruiser should be out on the road or not and if so, who's driving it. Based on the situation, yeah I do think getting the person out at gunpoint is justifiable. What Officer Lopez did was a felony. And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you wear a badge or not. Everyone is a civilian. Nobody is above the law.

That also being said, situations like this would make me uneasy, and I'd pray not to run into something like this. This in my opinion would carry more risk for deadly trouble percentage wise than any other normal traffic stop. Gun vs. gun is a no win situation.

Tips/Donate: u.gamecaster.com/unr3al
Twitch Channel: Twitch.tv/unr3al_twitch
YouTube Channel: YouTube.com/unr3algaming
Twitter: @unr3alofficial

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This happened while I was in the academy, it ended being a preacher moment for our instructors. He was wrong, if I remember right he was in a hurry to get to a off duty gig. Also again if I remember right he wasn't the only officer from that same department to speed there also. She was right, he was wrong, LEOs are held to a higher standard and don't get to break laws with out just justification

This is a signature, not a good one, but one that's needed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The super trooper is a retard for pulling a gun on another L.E.O., it's a traffic violation...You pull a gun on somebody who has a gun, you better be prepared to use it. That could have easily ended with shots fired. Also, no it was not a felony, lol.

Find me and other AC members on http://www.accuratestudio.com 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The super trooper is a retard for pulling a gun on another L.E.O., it's a traffic violation...You pull a gun on somebody who has a gun, you better be prepared to use it. That could have easily ended with shots fired. Also, no it was not a felony, lol.

sooo failing to yield while doing 120+ isn't? what planet are you from?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Slim must be a youngster stating his thoughts, although, i've been a POST CERT officer for 8 years and going in a population of 67,000+ she was justified, and did the right thing, he stated he was "Off duty" traveling to a nearby school that his department gives "security" too... But running 120mph non-code3, absolutely un called for.... Sorry Slim, decent video to cause a stir, but until you actually hit the road you shouldn't try to justify someone else's case when you have no idea of the the job details, I hope you the best in this career in the future.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think her actions were completely justified. She did nothing wrong. The only thing I'm wondering is what the hell was that off-duty officer Lopez thinking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The super trooper is a retard for pulling a gun on another L.E.O., it's a traffic violation...You pull a gun on somebody who has a gun, you better be prepared to use it. That could have easily ended with shots fired. Also, no it was not a felony, lol.

Traffic violation !? Wow.... you should read more.... Endangering life of innocent people, driving 120 mph!! on an official vehicle, no emergency, plus!! failing to stop after long minutes, he knew he was being pulled over, he just play stupid... So what if, an off duty cop running at 120 mph hit your car, kill one of your passanger. Would you say that of her or would you say, thanks officer ! -_- smph

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as I am aware the Miami officer was on his way to a off duty security job, he was late for work.

She was justified to be suspicious of the vehicle, a Miami police vehicle going like a bat out of hell on the motorway outside their jurisdiction, it could easily be a stolen cruiser, a fake police car etc.

The officer gives clear signals for the vehicle to stop, yet the Miami officer carries on, that's fleeing and eluding /leading police on chase / failing to yield (depending on the terminology used), at that point it would only be sane to assume that the police vehicle is either stolen, or a impersonator that does not want to be caught by police.

When he finally does pull over, he does so in the central reservation, something that even the dumbest of people would know not to do, it is safe to assume that if a person got hold of a police vehicle, he could also have gotten hold of a weapon/brought one with him, the past actions of the male driving indicates that something is wrong, she anticipates this and puts him at gunpoint, had it been a stolen cruiser, it could easily have been a fatal officer shooting had she not put the suspect at gunpoint, we'd be criticising her for not putting him at gunpoint had the car been stolen, potentially after killing a cop.

It stopped being a cop on cop encounter when he failed to stop for the FHP officer, at this point it can no longer be assumed to be an officer of the law operating the police vehicle, and should be dealt with accordingly, I see no issues with the FHP officers actions, it's the Miami officer who should be in trouble for showing judgement not in character of a police officer, I'll encourage him to apply for the security job on a full time basis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Andrew.

In my opinion its a justified traffic stop...If she were to get in any trouble (in which she got suspended for her actions) the dispatcher should due to the fact that in the video you can hear what she is say and the dispatcher ask the description of the vehicle. The dispatcher could have said she isnt allowed to do that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Soooo i'm assuming you think it's alright to pull a gun on someone for speeding, if he was showing aggression i would understand, but he was or is a POLICE OFFICER.. there should be SOME kind trust in an OFFICER of the law, if you watch the video closely, when he was being taken to her cruiser in cuff's, he still had his service pistol on him..

@Dralis, regardless of how old i am, i'm still allowed to state my opinion regardless if any of you think it's right or wrong, i think there was a different way to approach the situation, a police officer should in no way be treated that way, if it was an criminal with a lengthy record i would understand, but a police officer with no record in a marked cruiser? really?

Side Note: Keep the flaming to a minimum..

Edited by Slimory

Kmpjq5P.gif


 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Slim....protocol for a fleeing vehicle is draw your weapon when it stops and it becomes a felony traffic stop as NicolaiB stated, he was acting as if some one had thr cruiser that was not an LEO

Edited by Asuna
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Soooo i'm assuming you think it's alright to pull a gun on someone for speeding, if he was showing aggression i would understand, but he was or is a POLICE OFFICER.. there should be SOME kind trust in an OFFICER of the law, if you watch the video closely, when he was being taken to her cruiser in cuff's, he still had his service pistol on him..

@Dralis, regardless of how old i am, i'm still allowed to state my opinion regardless if any of you think it's right or wrong, i think there was a different way to approach the situation, a police officer should in no way be treated that way, if it was an criminal with a lengthy record i would understand, but a police officer with no record in a marked cruiser? really?

Side Note: Keep the flaming to a minimum..

It is no longer reasonable to assume that it is a police officer driving the vehicle when it fails to stop for another police vehicle, and officers pursuing has to act accordingly to the situation and the potential dangers.

Before speaking to the diver and verifying his information, it is only reasonable to assume the worst has happened, a Miami cop has been killed, and the suspect made his getaway in a police vehicle, it's fairly safe to assume that if that was the case, the suspect wouldn't think twice about taking out another cop, the suspect could very likely have taken the service weapon, as well as the gun used to kill the officer, as well as any other guns stored in the vehicle (shotgun AR-15 the like) , so the officer has to respond the potential dangers of the situation, I.E. doing a gunpoint arrest. She would have been dead if she assumed that the driver was a cop, and did not do a gunpoint arrest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually EVI it is a felony. He violated Florida State Statute 316.1935 Fleeing to Elude which is a felony of the 3rd degree. I think the trooper was justified for one she thought the car was stolen in the first place and two who cares if he is a cop, if he is willing to run from another cop then how do we know he's not willing to shoot another cop. I understand what professional courtisey is, but that is too far. Police aren't above the law and they are actually held to a higher standard than everyone else and if you can't handle that then you shouldn't be a cop. I have about 3 months left in my police academy (which also in Florida) and one of the first classes we had was on integrity and ethics. What that Miami cop did was not only unethical, but extremely dangerous. If that cop had hit and killed someone everyone would be screaming for that cops head and asking why cops are allowed to get away with this and all the normal shit that comes with those incidents.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=Fleeing&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.1935.html

Edited by l3ubba
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...