A motorcyclist, who was apparently going a little too fast, had an encounter with a man when stopped at a red light. The encounter really shook up the driver, and you can see just what happened in the video above.
Local news tells us the story;
Alex Randall, the motorcyclist who posted the video on YouTube and Reddit, says the plain-clothed detective approached him on foot while pointing a pistol, and he says the detective did not identify himself, or show his badge.
In the video, Randall says he stops at a red light at NE 145th Street and 5th Avenue NE, and the detective is seen on Randall’s helmet cam pointing the gun while asking, “How you doing?” The detective told Randall he was driving his motorcycle recklessly, putting people in danger, Randall said.
I am sure that the officer was truly annoyed with the supposed high-rate of speed at which Randall was accused of traveling, but it doesn’t warrant the pulling of a firearm.
“I turned and looked, and he’s there with a gun,” Randall said. “I was totally unprepared for someone to be standing right next to me on the street like that.”
I am not defending Randall’s actions, of course, because he would have been putting lives at risk if he was being irresponsible with his driving. While I wouldn’t speed (like that), I have to wonder how I’d handle a situation where a plain-clothed officer drew his firearm on me.
Having seen no ID or any sort of confirmation, Randall had no idea who he was really talking to — and who really had a gun on him. Was this an armed robbery attempt, or was this truly an officer? In the video, there’s really no way to tell.
Sheriff John Urquhart spoke out about the video, saying that what he saw was very troubling and needed to be addressed.
“That’s not the culture I want, that’s not the culture I will tolerate, and I will take swift action when I hear about it,” Urquhart said, adding that the video will be a teaching tool.
“What I’m going to do with that video, is I’m going to show it to every single new recruit that comes into the sheriff’s office, and I have 70 or 80 a year. I want them to know specifically what they’re not allowed to do.”
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.