$400,000 Settlement Over Escalated Traffic Infraction

[Music] welcome to audit the audit where we sort out the who and what and the right and wrong of police interactions this episode covers parking enforcement de-escalation and professional conduct and comes to us from WISN 12 News's Channel be sure to check out the description below and give them the credit that they deserve let's dive right in and audit the interaction in the early morning hours of January 26th 2018 Milwaukee Bucks guard sterling Brown was illegally parked in a Walgreens parking lot where officer Joseph grams of the Milwaukee Police Department spots mr. Brown's vehicle and initiates contact are you doing dark places you don't see the issue here notice the confrontational nature of officer gramps's engagement it was officer grams who closed the distance between himself and mr. Brown but then demands that mr. brown step back and even goes as far as to physically push mr. Brown to assert his dominance the Milwaukee Police Department's official code of conduct includes six core values which operate as guiding principles for the department's officers under the values of respect and restraint in the official code book officers are expected to act with fairness self-control tolerance and impartiality when carrying out their duties as well as exercise restraint in the use of force and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense in the legitimate law enforcement objective to be achieved mr. Brown has not been aggressive or threatening in any way yet officer grams has already made physical contact with him if officer grams felt threatened or entrapped in any way he could have taken a step back and given himself more room to be comfortable instead officer Graham's demands that courtesy of mr. Brown and perceives mr. Brown's reluctance to move as a threat 2390 Roger back up back up to me I just told you to back up I just told you to back up that's right I told you to back up he's doing to try and get in the car I'll do what I want all right I own this right here according to a 2004 article published in the police chief journal the police environment is predominantly governed by the principle of our word against their word the foremost message is survival be awarding off physical injury or death or the onslaught of public criticism police culture mandates adhering to the chain of command and becoming dependent on and supportive of one's partners or fellow officers this attitude drafts a rigid mentality which facilitates a cultural distinction between a law enforcement officer and a citizen officers are trained to prioritize their own safety and the safety of their colleagues far above any potential threat and then trained to constantly expect danger and violence from any encounter with civilians this combination of cultural hierarchy and relentless training results in a warped psychological perspective that directly clashes with the principles and expectations associated with modern policing this statement is a testament to the egomaniacal mantra that is drilled into every cadets head during training and goes against the fundamental policing principles of civility service and objectivity it is clear that Officer grams is a victim of poor training little oversight and a complete lack of discipline [Music] I'm asking these are simple questions man no I'm these are simple question you're being and you're being like and you're being all bad all right I ask you questions so I could verify this okay you don't think I see these that are whatever I don't think so I'm asking your name okay I don't know who you are okay so that's why I add conflict escalation is a division of Systems Theory which details the process by which conflicts grow in severity over time conflicts begin with the disagreement and often end in hostility and polarization if peaceful intervention does not occur the law-enforcement parallel to conflict escalation is the use of force continuum which begins with officer presence and ends with lethal force the purpose of de-escalation training is to hinder the acceleration of the use of force continuum and avoid inflicting bodily harm in an effort to control a situation a principal aspect of de-escalation is the proper use of conversational tone and appropriate body language this graph developed by lieutenant Jeremy Romo of the st. Louis Police Department demonstrates the important role that nonverbal communication plays in conflict resolution Milwaukee officers undergo over a thousand hours of de-escalation training yet Officer grams has placed the burden of de-escalation onto mr. brown through his excessively hostile conversational tactics and confrontational body language mr. Brown has made no hostile gestures toward officer grams and has provided him with the information he requested in a frustrated but peaceful way these are legitimate questions right right because you got up in my face okay I got up in your face right really I asked you to back up and you do not do it I asked you to back up you did not do it you back up about three inches all right everything I'm doing on camera dude I don't kiss a legitimate and illegitimate request all right so can you explain this to me I'm hard to cross part to cross - yeah entirely parking lot and you park across - in many states law enforcement officers have extremely limited authority to enforce traffic laws on private property and may not enforce petty laws such as see parents outside of the public domain generally traffic signs on private property are not supported by state laws or local ordinances but operate more so as suggestions designed to maintain the safety of individuals on the property Wisconsin statute 3/4 6.02 grants officers the authority to enforce traffic laws upon all highways and includes private roadways where the owner has agreed to allow traffic enforcement in the definition of the phrase highway at this point in the interaction it has been established that mr. Brown committed a minor traffic violation and officer grams is within his authority to stop mr. Brown and ask for his identification however mr. Brown does not owe the officer an explanation for his actions and officer grams demand for commentary and ensuing lecture is unnecessary unprofessional and only serves to further escalate the encounter officer grams has more than enough information to issue mr. Brown a citation and move on to the next call but instead the officer proceeds to instigate a reaction for mr. Brown through his condescending tirade came out oh yes you have time to park the car she's learning to sew so we're gonna wait a little longer we're just gonna figure out what we're gonna do I'm trying to get I'm trying to get on before the camp I just wanted one officer Graham's radios for backup and several squad cars arrived multiple officers begin to surround mr. Brown and soon after the incident begins to spiral out of control the officers take mr. Brown to the ground and taser him but ultimately did not charge him with a crime or issue him a citation following the incident mr. Brown sued the City of Milwaukee for violating his constitutional rights an internal investigation was launched into the incident which resulted in disciplinary action against 8 MPD officers three of which received suspensions one officer was fired after posting racially charged tweets mocking mr. Brown and boasting about his role in the encounter the Milwaukee City Council went on to approve a four hundred thousand dollar settlement offer which mr. Brown turned down to further pursue the litigation the city purposely inflated the settlement offer in a hardball move to her mr. Brown's legal endeavor by taking advantage of the federal role of Civil Procedure known as rule 68 under Rule 68 mr. Brown would be responsible for the city's legal fees and incurred expenses if he were to lose the case or eventually win damages less than the $400,000 offer the terms of the settlement also specifically named the city and essentially absorbed the individual officers of any wrongdoing Brown's attorney Mark Thompson condemned the settlement offer and the city's attempt to save face instead of admitting wrongdoing and declared that any offer that does not include an official apology will not be accepted mr. Brown's case is still ongoing overall officer grams in the Milwaukee Police Department get an F for escalating what could have been a simple traffic ticket into a physical altercation which resulted in no official charges or citations in 2017 the MPD was featured by CBS News for its training programs specifically targeted at conflict de-escalation if this interaction is any representation of the over 1,000 hours of highly decorated and nationally recognized de-escalation training endured by Milwaukee officers then this interaction should also serve as evidence that there is a catastrophic flaw embedded deep within the officer training process that poses an ominous threat to civilians everywhere if an incident like this can happen to a high-profile celebrity and result in a lack of accountability and yet another city insulating its officers from their wrongdoings then it can happen to anyone and there is no question that officer misconduct has become a national epidemic mr. Brown gets an A for remaining calm during this interaction and following up this encounter with legal action I commend mr. Brown for challenging the actions of the Milwaukee Police Department on principle and refusing to accept the crooked and unethical settlement offerings of the city mr. Brown is breaking the status quo of police accountability by refusing the settlement terms and pressing on with his lawsuit far too many instances similar to this one result in much less transparency and disciplinary action for the officers and a disproportionate compensation for the victims it was only a matter of time before an officer victimized a citizen who silence and recompense could not be bought in a settlement and I sincerely hope that mr. brown pushes his case as far as it can go and holds these officers accountable for their actions let us know if there's an interaction or legal topic you would like us to cover in the comments below thank you for watching and don't forget to Like and subscribe for more police interaction content [Music]

Channel: Audit the Audit

Views: 2,054,776

Rating: 4.9087534 out of 5

Keywords: amagansett press, first amendment audit, 1st amendment audit, auditing america, news now california, sgv news first, high desert community watch, anselmo morales, photography is not a crime, san joaquin valley transparency, first amendment audit fail, walk of shame, news now houston, police fail, 1st amendment audit fail, public photography, auditor arrested, police brutality, highdesert community watch, pinac news, cops triggered, news now patrick, east hampton

Id: ZXOKf3hRKko

Length: 13min 51sec (831 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 20 2019