Surprise Ending To An Unusual Police Encounter

[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 the sovereign citizen movement the uniform commercial code and the right to travel and is brought to us by real world police's channel be sure to check out the description below and give them the credit that they deserve before we dive into the interaction i want to give a big thanks to the sponsor of this episode policy genius if you have a family that depends on your income you need life insurance it's that simple traditionally the process of buying life insurance was riddled with formalities and complicated paperwork but the policy genius team has reinvented the insurance shopping experience from start to finish not only does policy genius offer personalized quotes from top companies in minutes but it also allows you to compare your quotes all in one place and get unbiased advice from policy genius experts you can save 50 or more on life insurance by comparing quotes with policy genius and you can save 1300 or more per year by using policy genius to compare life insurance policies given the unpredictable nature of 2020 it is never too late to be prepared for whatever 2021 has to offer and policy genius has made it easier than ever to ensure that your family is protected from unforeseen events head over to policygenius.com audit the audit to shop the market and start saving today thanks again to policy genius for sponsoring this episode at approximately 12 30 a.m on august 3rd 2019 48 year old michigan resident andre gardner was heading to a nearby family member's house after leaving the local corner store when he was stopped by an officer it is unclear what department the officer is with but this interaction occurred in the city of kalamazoo so it is likely a kalamazoo public safety officer what was that i said i haven't committed like i said i just need there was no is the license plate behind that piece of paper i'm a traveler all right talk man i can't remember her name danielle um you danielle your shift commander down there i already talked to her two or three months when they gave me tickets before i traveled i have the right to travel i haven't broken any laws i haven't committed any crimes so i just come from the store like i always do every single day i haven't bothered anybody i mean you know like i do well like i said you're right not a huge deal it's just a civil infraction is all it is but i'm not in the program i already went to court and everything judge um anna black blanchard she already know me personally okay yeah anna blanchard she know me personally i write my own emotions it's um you can't give me a ticket because i'm not interested like i said i didn't plan on writing anything or anything like that yeah so i'm just trying to go right here to my family house like your family's house yeah okay do you mind if i just verify that it's your house and we'll get you on your way like i said family songs okay no i'm not saying you live there i'm saying verify you know that it's not i'm just let me grab your van and we'll get you out here okay based on his statements and behaviors mr gardner appears to be a sovereign citizen which is a catch-all phrase that refers to a loose network of anti-government individuals who share similar beliefs the fbi considers the sovereign citizen movement to be a domestic terrorist organization and describes sovereign citizens as quote anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country they are separate or sovereign from the united states while the beliefs of each sovereign citizen may vary there are a few points on which almost every sovereign citizen agrees sovereign citizens believe that the original american government that was established by the founding fathers was secretly replaced potentially during the civil war or the depression by a new government based on admiralty law sovereign citizens also believe that the 14th amendment was enacted to trick individuals into surrendering their sovereign citizenship and accepting u.s citizenship and that when the government abandoned the gold standard in 1933 it began to use its citizens as collateral and trade agreements with foreign governments by pledging each citizen's future earnings to foreign investors because of this sovereign citizens maintain that a secret united states treasury account is established for each citizen at birth and a large sum of money is placed in it this creates two separate identities for every american citizen the straw man which is the corporate shell account pledged as collateral and an individual's true identity under sovereign citizen beliefs this true identity is not subject to the us government's jurisdiction and government documents such as birth certificates social security cards and driver's licenses only represent the straw man identity as a result sovereign citizens often issue their own driver's licenses and vehicle tags and challenge the applicability of traffic laws to them as mr gardner does by claiming he is not part of the quote driver's license program and therefore cannot be issued a ticket like i said it's not a huge deal i understand your your reasonings okay and i appreciate it i'm not i'm not here to judge or anything like that that's what you choose to do and that's what that's on you okay well like i said technically my job i just got to verify it okay and we'll get you out of here okay we're not not trying to hand me up or anything like that okay sounds like you've been through this couple times now yeah gotcha do you mind if i just get your vin real quick and we'll i'll move it for you okay i appreciate that man is it been registered ever before yes it's registered to you knows this is a family van okay like do you mind if i just get your name real quick so i can jot down and talk to you like i said i haven't rode i've i've pulled like eight traffic stops tonight haven't given a single person a ticket well you know i if they say in ucc code michigan i had the right to reserve my uh my name because i ain't committed to crime the officer asks mr gardner to identify himself but mr gardner insists he does not need to provide his name because he has not committed a crime even though mr gardner was only pulled over for a civil infraction for violating section 257.225 of the michigan vehicle code which requires license plates to be kept free from foreign materials that obscure or partially obscure the registration information section 257.311 of the michigan vehicle code obligates drivers to have their licenses in their immediate possession at all times when operating a motor vehicle and to display the license upon demand of any police officer during any traffic stop in supporting his argument that he is not required to identify himself mr gardner refers to michigan's ucc code the ucc is the common abbreviation for the uniform commercial code which is a set of model rules that states have adopted to regulate commercial transactions while each state has its own version of the ucc the rules are very similar from state to state sovereign citizens believe that the ucc can be used to regulate their interactions with the government and many sovereign citizens will file a ucc one statement with the secretary of state as a way of declaring their sovereignty ucc one statements are legal notices filed by lenders to announce their rights to collateral for secured loans and are usually filed by lenders with the state secretary of state office when a loan is originated sovereign citizens may file ucc one statements that list their strawman identity as the debtor and their true identity as the creditor believing that this distinguishes them from the straw man many sovereign citizens also refer to section 1-308 of the ucc or section 1-207 which is the same part of the ucc before it was renumbered believing it allows them to avoid quote-unquote contracts with the government that would subject them to its jurisdiction this argument is commonly used by sovereign citizens to argue that they are not required to follow police instructions such as signing a citation or as in mr gardner's case providing his name so you just pulled me over i'm traveling i'm just minding my own business i ain't even i didn't even know you was out i just really i want to go oh you're all the time man night shift guy yeah yeah i used to be at work on third but i'm out we off tonight already i work at evergreen packaging oh nice nice she got a good job seemed like you're an upstanding guy i just got cussing my daughters last thursday so nice three daughters so you know that's a congratulations that's actually something to be proud of there you go i see a lot of people that don't have custody of their kids have been working on it for a long time i'm just i'm just a happy man right now you sound like you're a happy man okay but like i said do you mind if i just get your name just to say that i talked to you i'm not like i said i'm not writing you a ticket okay there's there's not even gonna be a judge involved because i'm not writing a ticket okay i just always reserve my rights man that's just all i do man i always reserve my rights when i haven't done anything and i'm not i'm not i don't wanna i'm not trying to violate your rights or anything like that you know just when i'm when i stop somebody i'm supposed to make get the vehicle get the name and say hey just in the future this this and this i don't have to write your ticket which i said i i'm not already said i'm not going to i'm not under that i'm not going to write you a ticket yeah i just man i'll give you my word that's why i gave you my vin number so you can make sure yeah automobile and solid yeah yeah you know because it ain't nothing stolen you don't look like that type of guy no man i'm a stand up guy you seem like that like i said i just just say i talked to hey i talked to this guy man i used joe schmoe just like the last time i got put over i i don't really give my name to nothing you know because like i studied a lot too at the downtown at the point where i'm sorry i practiced law oh okay no so i do a lot of studying i'm talking about rigorous over the last eight years so gotcha i read ucc code so that's how i live you know ucc 1-2071-308 and i'll be reserving my rights just to keep myself i know just real quick just because i've never pulled somebody over who's said this to me before out of curiosity do you mind just like explaining it to me a little bit i'm not familiar with you so like the like how you've got i see you guys you see it you see codes yeah it's like 457 travel that's just giving the public notice i have to put that on there so it can be a notice that you know i'm traveling in the other sluppers if anybody take dominion of my property while i'm traveling thinking that's why i say not for hire back there because if it was for hire then i have to have a license registration and all that but i'm not fired i'm i'm i'm traveling on my own yeah private i'm not traveling not driving but traveling and say that only too i'm not in any state's um program mr gardner states that because he is quote-unquote traveling and not quote-unquote driving he is not required to have a driver's license or registration which is a common sovereign citizen belief sovereign citizens argue that for a citizen to be driving they must use their vehicle to conduct commercial activity and that citizens who use motor vehicles for personal transportation do not need to follow any government regulations such as obtaining driver's licenses license plates vehicle registrations or insurance because the right to travel is an inherent constitutional right to support this contention sovereign citizens will refer to a wide array of statutes court cases legal dictionaries the magna carta and other pseudo-legal references sovereign citizens are correct in their belief that the right to travel is a fundamental liberty that is protected by the constitution as the u.s supreme court explained in the 1958 case of kent versus dulles in this case the court held that quote the right to travel is a part of the liberty of which the citizen cannot be deprived without due process of law under the fifth amendment freedom of movement across frontiers in either direction and inside frontiers as well was part of our heritage it may be as close to the heart of the individual as the choice of what he eats or wears or reads freedom of movement is basic in our scheme of values however as the court pointed out the right to travel can be limited within the bounds of due process of law and a state government's right to regulate the use of motor vehicles is firmly established in american jurisprudence in the 1915 case of hendrick vs maryland the supreme court held that quote a state may rightfully prescribe uniform regulations necessary for public safety and order in respect to the operation upon its highways of all motor vehicles those moving in interstate commerce as well as others and to this end it may require the registration of such vehicles and the licensing of their drivers this is but an exercise of the police power uniformly recognized as belonging to the states and essential to the preservation of the health safety and comfort of their citizens therefore mr gardner's argument that he is a traveler who does not need a driver's license is completely contrary to the established legal precedent on this issue you know like i'm not in the food stamp benefit program so i don't receive foodstuffs put my signature on it i'm not in the michigan driver's license program because my signature on the license i got the right to travel i got the right to bear arm i got the right those frequencies yeah yeah right you know all that all those you know for sure i practiced this one more than anything well do you mind just sitting tight real quick and we'll get you out here i don't mind okay perfect thanks man all right sir you're all set to go like i said i'm still i'm gonna honor my word i'm not writing you take anything like that i'm you've been a cool guy that's a good thing man 40 years i ain't never met nobody come like you came man dealing with the police like yeah especially now like what i'm doing now like yeah yep like i said just in the future always be cool like you've been real cool with me and like we can have an encounter like this every time we're perfect you know so like i said you you do you i respect what you got yeah but i appreciate it we'll go from there okay all right yep have yourself a good night man okay after running the vehicle's vin the officer allowed mr gardner to leave without issuing a citation it is unclear whether mr gardner filed a complaint or attempted to pursue any legal action regarding the traffic stop but based on the substance of the interaction it seems unlikely that he would do so overall the kalamazoo officer gets an a-plus for engaging in a civil and productive dialogue with mr gardner remaining calm and cordial throughout the encounter and for exercising professional discretion and not issuing mr gardner a citation although there is a strong argument to be made that the officer should have cited mr gardner it is likely that the officer was more focused on his long-term relationship with mr gardner it is well documented that sovereign citizens can be dangerous and hostile individuals particularly toward members of law enforcement and this is one of the many factors that contributed to their recognition as a domestic terrorist organization by the fbi bearing this information in mind it is entirely possible that the kalamazoo officer viewed this stop as an opportunity to establish a good relationship with mr gardner that may serve him well if they ever interact again officer discretion is a powerful tool that can be used tactfully and respectfully and using that discretion to establish positive relationships with members of the community can be an extremely effective way to de-escalate future encounters with those citizens the officer's authentic approach and willingness to converse with mr gardner significantly contributed to the peaceful resolution of this encounter and this is exactly the type of behavior that has the potential to change an individual's perspective on law enforcement i commend the kalamazoo officer for his remarkable display of professionalism and fair use of discretion and this interaction should serve as a model for the benefits of a positive attitude and the tactical advantages of long-term relationships with members of the community mr gardner gets a c-minus because although he maintained a calm and collected demeanor throughout the interaction he cited laws and codes that were either wholly invalid or completely misinterpreted subscribed to an ideology of pseudo-legal philosophies and attempted to use those ideologies as justification for committing a civil infraction in 2010 the southern poverty law center estimated that approximately 100 000 americans were quote hardcore sovereign believers with another 200 000 quote just starting out and african americans make up a significant amount of the overall sovereign citizen population interestingly enough the posse comatatus which was the founding organization of the sovereign citizen ideology was rooted in racism and anti-semitism and those beliefs are still honored by many of the major sovereign citizen organizations of today many of the individuals who are drafted into the sovereign belief system lack the historical context to understand what exactly they are subscribing to and it is important to draw a distinction between first amendment auditors and sovereign citizens i highly encourage all of you to gain a deeper understanding of the motivational differences between auditors and sovereigns but understanding this difference can serve members of law enforcement particularly well thanks again to real world police's channel for featuring this video be sure to give them your support you can find a link in the description below let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic you would like us to discuss in the comments below thank you for watching and don't forget to check out the ata patreon page for more police interaction content you

Channel: Audit the Audit

Views: 706,992

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: a3HDjjOQK5I

Length: 16min 33sec (993 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 18 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/mrrp]

If he doesn't have insurance it's a problem for everyone on the road (and the sidewalks).

That cop is part of the problem, and is creating a monster.

[u/Magjee]

...shouldn't he have charged him?

WTF