Ilhan Omar spreads misleading viral video of a white cop arresting a black woman

So today, Rep. Ilhan Omar spread a video intending to show how a white cop “choked out” a black woman and how horrible it is:

Another video:

Of course, the doofus doesn’t look into the case, she just spreads the video because she doesn’t care about the truth, she just wants to incite more anger against the police. Well, here’s the rest of the story:

The video circulating on social media involving a use of force incident occurred on December 23, 2018. The Bellevue Police Department thoroughly reviews all use of force incidents and continually re-examines its policies and procedures to ensure they align with best practices. This particular incident was investigated through the department’s Use of Force review process and the department’s complaint process. It was found to be in compliance with department policy.

The police say it was not out of compliance with their policy. So, what do they say happened here?

“I want the public to know that we take all use of force very seriously,” said Chief Steve Mylett. “The video is disturbing. When taken in its complete context the officer’s actions were determined reasonable for the resistance he was faced with. From the officer’s perspective, he believed the driver posed a threat to him and others in the area through her refusal to comply with his lawful repeated orders, continual efforts to remove her hand from her purse, and her attempts put the car in gear. As a result of the totality of the situation and the driver’s resistance, the officer used force to overcome the active resistance.”

They say she continued to refuse his orders. You don’t see that in the video because it’s later in their interaction. Is that true, or is it false? Well, we don’t know. So you can’t judge the interaction just based on the video we see. And that cuts either way.

On December 23, 2018, at approximately 11:00 am, the driver was stopped for suspicion of failing to transfer her automobile title, a violation of Washington State law. The driver refused every one of the officer’s repeated lawful commands, including producing her identification, showing her hands, and exiting the car. Instead, the driver reached inside her purse, despite the officer’s four separate commands not to reach into her purse. This action caused the officer to fear she was reaching for a weapon.

The driver also left the car in gear and suddenly moved her hand to the gear-control; the officer believed she was attempting to flee or assault him with the vehicle. The officer repeatedly asked her to exit the vehicle, and she refused.

When the officer removed the driver from her vehicle, she continuously refused to comply with the offer’s command to put her arms behind her back. As the officer attempted to take her into custody she pulled away from the officer and refused to be handcuffed. In order to prevent injury to the driver and himself, the officer took the driver to the ground, and based on the continued resistance, applied a vascular neck restraint technique. video of BPD training with this can be found here.

The driver was arrested on charges of Refusing to Comply with Police, Obstructing a Law Enforcement Officer, Resisting Arrest, and Motor Vehicle Transfer of Ownership Violations.

Look, we have to be honest here. Police departments have lied in the past in order to cover up for their officers. It happens. We can’t simply assume the side of the police here. But it’s equally dishonest to simply assume that the video shows everything we need to know about this interaction, and to throw the cop under the bus.

Which is exactly what Ilhan Omar does.

The cops post other videos that show her just not following orders. And I’m sorry but when you don’t follow police orders, you’re kinda asking for it. Maybe follow what they say and file a complaint later about it instead of angrily arguing and risking a physical altercation.

More:

The subject was not injured, and she did not file a complaint. Efforts to contact her to obtain a statement as part of the use of force review process were unsuccessful.

So, if she didn’t file a complaint, why do we need to “reform” anything here? Omar assumes ill intent on behalf of the officer. Perhaps this was an unjust arrest. We don’t know if it was or not. But you definitely cannot judge whether it was or not just based on the snippet of video. No matter how hard Ilhan Omar would like it to be another reason for people to protest, loot, riot and destroy.


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