Cops in Little Rock, Arkansas harass a veteran holding a cardboard sign that reads, “God Bless Our Homeless Vets.” The veteran happens to be Jeff Gray, a YouTuber and legendary First Amendment activist. Like moths to the flame….
Here’s the 8th Circuit case discussed in the video.
Rodgers v. Bryant, 942 F.3d 451 (8th Cir. 2019)
Here is Jeff Gray’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HONORYOUROATH/
UPDATE on the crazy vigilante bicyclist of Park City, Utah that I did a video on last week.
UPDATE to the case where my video made the TV news in Idaho. The cop, former Meridian Police Officer Bradley Chambers, who disappeared, has now surfaced at another agency. Also, I now have all the police bodycam footage from the incident. The footage corroborates much of what we already knew. But it also raises new questions.
Here’s my first blog post on this incident with the prior videos and details.
In Phoenix, Arizona, cops were called by a Circle K gas station in reference to a white man they wanted trespassed from their store. When they arrived, the white man pointed across the street to a black man, claiming that the man was the actual culprit. Just taking his word for it, Phoenix officers Ben Harris and Kyle Sue violently attacked the black man. His name is Tyron McAlpin. He’s completely deaf and has cerebral palsy.
Officers Harris and Sue took him to the ground, punched him in the head at least 10 times and tased him at least 4 times, all the while shouting commands that he was unable to comprehend.
Media report here.
RAW Footage from Ben Harris’ bodycam:
Raw surveillance footage:
The Supreme Court has made clear that “one of the most precious of the liberties safeguarded by the Bill of Rights” is the sacred promise to every American, enshrined in the First Amendment, that citizens enjoy the freedom to complain about their leaders. Lozman v. Riviera Beach, 585 U.S. 87, 101 (2018). But the city of Surprise, Arizona and its mayor, Skip Hall, broke that promise, arresting Plaintiff Rebekah Massie in front of her 10-year-old daughter for criticizing a public official at a city council meeting.
The complaint:
UPDATE October 24, 2024:
Surprise Police Chief Piña recorded an internal message video for his police officers about a week after the arrest. In it, he defiantly and irrationally claims that there was no First Amendment violation. He also has another officer, who gained valuable experience in First Amendment (and other) violations, while working at the Phoenix Police Department, give the officers advice on how to respond to encounters with so-called First Amendment Auditors.
On August 13, 2024, Anchorage police responded to a 911 call involving Easter Leafa, who was reported to have threatened her sister with a knife. What followed was a series of events that ended with Officer Alexander Roman discharging his weapon, leading to Easter’s death. The State of Alaska’s Department of Law, after reviewing the case, concluded that the officer’s actions were legally justified. But does the newly released bodycam footage contradict the report?
Full Report from the State of Alaska Department of Law:
Here’s the 9th Circuit opinion in Calonge v. City of San Jose, 22-16495 (9th Cir. Jun 07, 2024) that was discussed the video:
Here’s a link to all the released bodycam videos.
This involves the Moweaqua Police Department and happened in Macon County, Illinois. This man was being investigated for allegedly making a threat on social media. Police officers showed up at his door without a warrant. They asked to speak with him. He was apparently lawfully armed at the time. He invited them in. Once inside, they wanted to disarm him. Not being agreeable, he asked them to leave. They refused. It all went downhill from there. This all could have been easily avoided.
Original full video, with explanation, is here.
Rhyker Earl, 26, suffered a seizure on the night of Sunday, Sept. 8, at a home in DeMotte, Indiana, about an hour and 15 minutes south and east of Chicago. His grandmother called 911 for help, and Jasper County sheriff’s officers came to the home. Earl suffered from epileptic seizures. Having just had a seizure, he was agitated and noncompliant with attempts by EMS personnel to take him to the hospital. One of the deputies took Early to the ground, whereupon other deputies, as well as EMS personnel, forcibly held him to the ground. He was handcuffed and restrained in a prone position on the floor of his grandmother’s kitchen. They repeatedly injective him with powerful sedatives, as they held him down. A short while later, he would be dead.
Statement issued by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office:
Media report here.
All raw footage here.
On the afternoon of October 8, 2022, Anthony Silva’s life was irrevocably altered when Stanislaus County deputies unleashed a brutal assault, leaving him quadriplegic and eventually causing his death on September 10, 2023. Renowned California Civil Rights Attorney, Dale Galipo, filed a lawsuit on Anthony’s behalf. He joined me to explain the current status of that litigation, including the outrageous fact that no government investigation ever occurred regarding the circumstances of Silva’s injury and ultimate death.
Read the lawsuit here.
Watch the prior video here.
A retired California police officer moved to Idaho and began working at the Meridian (Idaho) Police Department. In June of this year, a 16 year old kid crashed his dirt bike about a mile from his home. Later, when his brothers went to retrieve the bike for their brother (who was in the hospital), they were approached by Officer Bradley Chambers. Encountering the least bit of resistance from the boys, who had just struggled to load the bike into a truck, Officer Chambers chose violence.
Original video that was age restricted (probably due to the dirt bike wreck footage):
Police Report:
This shows the wreck scene, with police present at the scene. Two of the brothers who were later involved in the arrest incident are also at the scene at the time. The dirt bike had already been removed by one of the homeowners:
The dirt bike crash video (filmed by kids down the street):
RAW footage angle 1:
RAW footage angle 2: