Remember the video I did back in July of 2023, with attorney Chris Wiest, about the lawsuit that he had just filed for a guy named Demetrius Kerns? Kerns was almost hit by a police officer who was driving recklessly. Then when he stopped to get her information afterwards, and she apologized to him, her supervisor then showed up and began to escalate the situation, demanding Mr. Kerns’ ID and ultimately putting him in handcuffs – and later falsely charging him with obstruction, in retaliation for the fact that he was filming and being critical of the police. As Chris and I discussed, eventually he would have the opportunity to take the depositions of these two officers.
Well, it’s been a couple of years now and I have an update for you. The case isn’t over yet. It’s still pending. These things can take years. But I actually have the full video depositions of these two officers, and I’m going to go through them with you so that you can hear exactly what they had to say when confronted under oath. First, part 1 – the sworn testimony of Officer Carly Lewis. And then in Part 2 we’ll get to the rather-unbelievable video testimony of her supervisor, Sergeant Naftali Wolf.
By now we’ve also seen footage of the Alex Pretti incident, from multiple angles, and we’ve also seen clips showing federal officials clamoring to convince the public that what they’ve seen was completely justified – even prior to any investigation occurring. We see both sides pushing politics and sowing division, rather than looking objectively at the facts to figure out what happened, and then fairly applying the law.
I’ll walk you through what we actually know happened, based on the currently-available video footage, and then let one of the best civil rights lawyers in the country – Patrick Jaicomo, with the Institute for Justice – who is literally at the forefront of the efforts at holding federal officials accountable for civil rights violations, cut through all the b.s., all the propaganda, and give you the actual information that you need to know right now. And there’s a lot of it – that you’re not hearing anywhere else right now.
Two officers with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources set up a sting using a decoy deer in a field next to a road. They saw a guy just stop and look at the decoy deer. He didn’t shine a light on it; he didn’t shoot at it; just looked at it, and then drove away. He did nothing illegal. But, he was an irresistible target for the two officers, because his truck was new and expensive; he had valuable gear they wanted for themselves. He hired a lawyer; she obtained the bodycam, and she was shocked at what she saw. She got the charges dropped and has now filed a lawsuit on his behalf. I got a chance to interview her and review all of the bodycam footage. It shows an out of control government agency, harassing law abiding citizens and trying to steal their stuff.
Remember the cop who moved from California to Idaho, and then slammed a kid on the ground because he wanted to take some pictures of a dirtbike? My video on it went viral – now over 6 million views – and made the TV news in Idaho. And as that was happening, the cop abruptly sort of disappears… Well, now a year and four months later, I have a final update for you. That case went to a jury trial, and the verdict may not be what you expect. And you’re not going to believe where that officer ultimately ended up, and what his new employer had to say about that incident; about my video.
Imagine if cops showed up at your front door, banged on the door and demanded that you come outside and answer their questions. Why? Because the contractor working next door says you yelled at him and hurt his feelings… Knowing your rights – that the police cannot just stand on your front porch, detain you, force you to answer their questions, and shout things at you without your permission – you tell them to leave. You even call the cops on the cops. I mean, they don’t have a warrant, and they don’t have your permission. Right? But even though the courts have said this violates your constitutional rights, what if the cops just don’t care? What if the people at 911 don’t care? What if the supervisor doesn’t care? What if they just ignore your constitutional rights?
This involves the Coolidge, Arizona Police Department. Here’s the Police Report and Dispatch Log:
As the Supreme Court held in the 1980 case of Payton v. New York, absent valid consent or exigent circumstances (i.e., an emergency actively occurring) law enforcement may not cross the threshold of a residence without a warrant.” Either to search or arrest.
As the Supreme Court held in the 2018 case of Collins v. Virginia, police cannot enter the curtilage of a home (which is the area close to the home that is treated as a part of the home, such as an enclosed yard, garage or driveway or porch) to search a vehicle parked within that curtilage of that home without a warrant, even where they have probable cause. The Courts (including the 9th circuit) have held that it is “commonsense” and “easily understood” that area “an arm’s-length from one’s house” is curtilage. (citing Morgan v. Fairfield County 6th circuit 2018)).
A so-called “knock and talk” exception to the warrant requirement isn’t really an exception at all. But it allows police to enter the curtilage of a home to ask questions of its occupant “precisely because that is ‘no more than any private citizen might do.’ (Florida v. Jardines (2013). So while police, like “the Nation’s Girl Scouts and trick-or-treaters,” can approach a home to speak with its occupant, nothing in the implied license to have that consensual interaction suggests a visitor can restrict the movements of a homeowner next to his own home any more than she could force the resident to buy cookies or hand out candy. (U.S. v. Lundin (9th Circuit. 2016)).
There is no right to detain, arrest, or otherwise seize the homeowner implied by the license to perform a knock and talk. To the contrary, that implied license may be revoked by the homeowner. (Davis v. US (9th Circuit 1964)).
UPDATE: On January 6, I posted a video showing Wake County (NC) Deputy Andrew Deras walking up to the front door of the Briggs family’s home. Nobody answers the door, so he just lets himself in and begins to look around. About a minute later, shots ring out from inside the house. He shot the family dog. Mr. Briggs was at work. Mrs. Briggs was out of town. Their 4 kids were at school. It was just Zelda, the family’s beloved Belgian Malinois, being a good girl, doing her job protecting their home from armed intruders. Zelda didn’t make it. After my video was published, it ended up making the local news in North Carolina, and resulting in a response from the Wake County Sheriff’s Department. Unbelievably, Deputy Deras seems to have completely disappeared.
These cops are involved in a high speed pursuit, in the snow, with a reckless drunk driver. Then they find out that he’s actually one of their fellow deputies (Macon County Sheriff’s Office – Illinois). Surely they didn’t turn off their bodycams, actively try not to obtain evidence against him, and give him a paid vacation, did they?
An autistic father was playing Pokemon Go with his 10 year old son. A police officer with the Canandaigua Police Department (in Canandaigua, NY) interrupts their game, detains the father, questions him, mocks him, searches him, and interrogates him, accuses him of being on drugs or drunk – even though he was very clearly autistic. He not only violates his rights, but humiliates him in front of his son. And humiliates his son as well. And then just walks off into the sunset, like he just performed some great service…
A cop walks up to the front door of a family’s home. Nobody answers the door, so he just lets himself in and begins to look around. About a minute later, shots ring out from inside the house. He just shot the family dog. The husband was at work. The wife was out of town. The 4 kids were at school. It was just Zelda, the family’s beloved Belgian Malinois, being a good girl, doing her job protecting their home from intruders. Then the cop walks back outside.
Does he call the family to tell them what happened? No. He calls more cops and basically an army of police officers arrive at this home in this quiet neighborhood, and they begin to circle the wagons. They then proceed to go all through the family’s home, garage and backyard, for a period of about 40 minutes – all without even notifying this family, or obtaining their permission to do so. Oh, and also – without a warrant. Surely they made this right with the family? Apologized? Compensated them in some way? Surely they fired the officer and prosecuted him for unlawfully entering the family’s home and killing their dog?
Police report excerpt:
Raw surveillance footage:
Raw bodycam from one of the officers (not the shooter):
Raw bodycam from another officer (not the shooter) at the Briggs home:
Raw surveillance footage of Paul Briggs leaving the home about an hour earlier:
A 63 year old diabetic who was apparently suffering a low blood sugar episode, being confused, went into a gas station and believing himself to be the owner of the store, grabbed beer and milk, then went outside and began to drink them. The actual store owner called police, seeking help for the man, who he believed was suffering a mental emergency. But when the police arrived, they immediately went hands-on, trying to grab the man’s beer, and then body slammed this elderly diabetic man onto the concrete ground, while taunting him.
After realizing the man is diabetic, they called paramedics and their supervisor. The paramedics said the man needed to go immediately to the hospital, but the cops said no. So the paramedics left without the elderly man who was suffering an apparent medical emergency. Then when the supervisor got there, the cops said nothing about the medical emergency, and then lied about the man throwing his beer on him, which is easily disproven by the video footage. So instead of medical help, this man got violence instead, and then a bunch of criminal charges. Now, in just a few days, the man is facing a trial, for which he may be looking at years in prison.
