$500,000 Settlement For Excessive Force

[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 interfering with the traffic stop officer training and remaining silent and is brought to us by Michael Roberts 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 on January 26th 2017 Denver resident Kristen Stan's cos was driving home from work when she was stopped by two officers from the Denver Police Department just outside of her home in Denver Colorado after the officers activate their lights and sirens miss Stan's cos drives a bit further to pull into the driveway of her home where her partner quinelle Steele is waiting she's yelling at me [Applause] [Music] are you doing they were just back up for sale what name stain your car okay state a car you're being pulled over I'll explain that in a second you need a back door Colorado has no specific code for interfering with a traffic stop however according to Colorado Revised statute 18 - 8 - 1 0 for the crime of obstructing a peace officer occurs when an individual knowingly obstructs impairs or hinders the enforcement of the penal law or the preservation of the piece by a peace officer by using or threatening to use violence force physical interference or an obstacle hindering the enforcement of penal law or the preservation of peace is a broad phrase which could certainly be applied to a traffic stop mr. Steele's roaming and hostile presence could be perceived by the officers as a safety concern and ignoring the officers orders to maintain a safe distance would likely constitute interference in a courtroom Franklin called us out 1500 block or DMV knew of the coupling starts another car none of the officers have stated why miss Stan's case was stopped and her willingness to admit to the possibility of a crime having been committed only serves to further incriminate her if the reason for her stop was indeed a swift turn across oncoming traffic then the very nature of this crime is subjective and hinges on the observations of the officers miss Stan's kisses acknowledgement that the officers may have interpreted her turn as illegal suggest that she herself questioned the legitimacy of the turn and it is likely that the prosecution could use her statements against her the less even if the turn was legal the 2014 Supreme Court case of hi in V North Carolina decided that officers are allowed to make sensible mistakes while in the line of duty and that an illegitimate stop may be justified if the officers misconceptions or mistakes were reasonable since the high-end decision several cases have invoked the high-end opinion to vindicate officers who mistakenly stopped citizens even in cases where the citizen was arrested on charges not relating to the original stop for example if an officer stops a citizen for making an illegal turn but ultimately arrests the citizen for possession of a controlled substance only to discover later that the original turn was in fact legal the high end decision offers the prosecution a means to validate the possession charge while acknowledging the illegitimate of the original stop in the 2015 case of Mason V Virginia Dee Arthur Kelsey who was a judge on Virginia's court of criminal appeals at the time wrote quote so dense is the modern web of Motor Vehicle regulations that every motorist is likely to get caught in it every time he drives to the grocery store which alludes to the notion that officers retained the power to pull over any driver at any time for any reason the high end decision illustrates the importance of remaining silent and not surrendering any potentially incriminating information to police officers which miss Stan's cos utterly failed to do code 9 thank you though I'm just trying to please I mean what are you I see a driver's my why do you think that why do you have an aggressor like you're digging into a car I'm just I'm gonna look I'm gonna look here well I don't know that because I'm in a very nice car you back up away from Jay you need to back up grab your driver's license back up grab your driver's side I will let you back okay I'm gonna step officers are trained to always keep a suspects hands in sight and when the totality of circumstances are considered it is clear that Mis stance cases actions pose a legitimate safety concern to the officers although there have been many cases which analyze an officer's ability to control the movement of detained civilians most cases which can test the validity of an officer safety concerns and relative orders are considered on a case-by-case basis courts are often forced to delegate a balance between an officer safety and an individual's Liberty and most courts hold officer safety to a high standard it is always a good idea to keep your hands in sight at all times when interacting with an officer and it is very likely that a court would determine that the officers concern about Miss stance kisses actions were legitimate and warranted [Music] closeout process dream precisely wait around play around here you go thank you keep the insurance on yes I do would you back up and let me get in my car why are you all why are you being so aggressive by asking friendly question oh that's beautiful me are you about homeless Rigo you pulled me over I can't believe she's really driving what is this you're calling for backup for a white girl and a black dude what cuz we stay in the hood you act like this in Park Hill is that your district you going to say something I've been doing this for a long time man you look like a kid to me breath doing what doing this thing that you police do where you harassing people that just got the golf work that pay tax ah I've been doing breath 12 yes yeah you like your kid to me only argue with you that bad show me when you come out that uniform you irregular I tell you everybody to shut the [ __ ] up so I can find my that's all right hang tight from there okay very angry Wow I don't I can't see it I know them some respect around there's family subscribers come home go inside you know I've been worked for 12 hours and you pulled me over for what for pulling in on yogurt hello married he's running up and down vandalizing cars and pedophiles with kids YUM just roll down the street like she broke a real law doesn't rust I pulled in front of over and saved it other Vic's to give it the neighborhood what is it does that make I feel like y'all vindicate with people like that let's be all up on them harassing them driving extra fast well she got four contacts just keep an eye on this guy he's real amped up he's not yours when you pull me over for no reason Oh [Music] both miss Stan's cos and mr. steel were taken to the ground arrested and sent to jail mr. steel was charged with interfering with a peace officer and resisting arrest and miss Stan's kiss was charged with second-degree assault which is a felony ironically miss Stan's kiss was never charged with the original infraction which prompted the stop mr. steel took his case to trial and was eventually found not guilty all charges against miss Stan's case were dropped but no disciplinary action was taken against any of the officers involved the couple's attorney Michael Fairhurst stated that the scuffle resulted in a torn vertebrae in Miss Stan's kisses neck and both mr. steel and Miss Stan's kiss suffered from a traumatic brain injury with mr. steel also suffering from a collapsed lung and a fractured rib on September 16th 2019 over two years after the incident took place the Denver City Council agreed to settle the case for $500,000 following the encounter mr. Fairhurst bashed the Denver Police Department for a lack of discipline and accountability and said that the department violated the Constitution the Denver Police Union President Nick Rodgers also chimed in questioning the city's willingness to settle and declaring that the officers did nothing wrong overall the officers of the Denver Police Department get an a-minus because although this interaction ultimately dissolved into a physical altercation it was not the officers who escalated the encounter the officers managed to remain calm and keep their ego in check despite the hostile and vulgar bombardment from Moustakas and mr. Steele however while these officers didn't escalate the situation they also did not actively work to de-escalate it either it is difficult to fault them for that considering the behavior of miss Stan's case and mr. Steele and it is likely that nothing the officers could have said would have been well received but de-escalation is a major aspect of police duties that is often neglected and the officers lack of communication failed to lull the hostility of the confrontation in the end these officers did not overstep the bounds of their authority and aside from engaging in a debatably pointless dialogue exercised a respectable degree of restraint and acted reasonably miss stance cos and mr. steel get an F for escalating a minor traffic infraction into a physical dispute displaying poor character and a lack of self-control and not exercising their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent there is no question that miss Stan's case and mr. Steele's conduct was childish and uncalled for but the most baffling aspect of this interaction is the City of Denver's willingness to settle this case without going to trial the trend of cities doling out settlements to anyone who claims to be a victim of police misconduct could possibly have an adverse effect on the overall health of the compensation system that is currently in place and many cities may see their insurance premiums skyrocket or be denied coverage altogether this could result in taxpayers footing the bill for police misconduct directly or in some cases a complete disobey of their respective police forces large uninsured settlements have the potential to bankrupt smaller municipalities and in 2017 the Atlantic published an article detailing the power that insurance companies hold over local police departments and municipalities as a whole while I do believe that miss Stan's case and mr. steel deserve reasonable compensation for the injuries they sustained during this encounter recklessly handing out settlements may not always be the best option for cities and perhaps city should devote their funds to properly educating their officers rather than preparing for an inevitable lawsuit due to a lackluster training program let us know if there's an interaction or legal topic you would like us to cover in the comments below be sure to check out our patreon for uncensored ad free and exclusive content thank you for watching and don't forget to Like and subscribe for more police interaction content [Music]

Channel: Audit the Audit

Views: 974,437

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: iC7q_QFTePo

Length: 15min 11sec (911 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 07 2019