The YouTube video involving a brace of La Quinta, California cops and pair of citizens above is highlighted by freethoughtproject.com. As regular readers know, context is everything. Here’s cameraman Alejandro Natividad’s account of what precipitated the confrontation . . .
We were on our way to my friends house and we were at a stop light. When the light turned green my friend began to make some weird motions and really freaking me out. I told him the light was green and he had a deer in a headlights look. A deputy walked up and asked what was going on I told him he was acting weird I don’t know. He asked if we had any weapons and I said ‘no.’
At this time my friend was still doing some weird motions and finally answered the deputies question if he was okay. I had mentioned that we’re in the middle of the street and he came to and stepped on the gas and drove onto the corner. I jump out of the car and walked out with my hands up and was standing where the recording took place. Deputy drives up comes out of his vehicle with his gun drawn. That’s when I decided to record.
Even without hearing the officer’s account, it sounds to me like he had good reason to suspect something dangerously hinky was going on. Add to that the fact that the driver was arrested for DUI (marijuana) and released the next day.
Now, as for whether the officer should have kept his firearm trained on the camera guy throughout the incident, and whether the camera guy should have complied, I’ll let you hash that out. As for me, if a police officer orders me to the ground at gunpoint, down I go. You?