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View Full Version : MI-Recording captures traffic stop when Michigan State Police trooper pulls gun on woman




Anti Federalist
05-19-2014, 02:25 PM
Maybe, you are just too scared to be a cop.

Even though "Line of Duty Deaths" of cops are down 5%, at 42, lower than the record low of last year.

It will not be long before theye justify terrorizing us as a reason for those low numbers.



Recording captures traffic stop when Michigan State Police trooper pulls gun on woman

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/05/watch_traffic_stop_video_that.html

STURGIS, MI – The fatal shooting of a fellow trooper was "at the forefront" of Michigan State Police Trooper Timothy Wagner's mind last month when he pulled his handgun and pointed it at an 18-year-old woman during a traffic stop near Sturgis.

That's according to a written statement Wagner provided to Detective 1st Lt. Chuck Christensen after Christensen informed Wagner he was under investigation for allegations of excessive force. The statement is included in a nine-page report by Christensen obtained by the Kalamazoo Gazette under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

Wagner was westbound on U.S. 12 at about 5:35 p.m. April 15 when he spotted the woman's eastbound red Pontiac, which he clocked on radar going 77 mph in a 55 mph zone, according to the report.

In-car video from Wagner's cruiser shows him doing a U-turn to catch up with the Pontiac. The driver pulls over to the shoulder about 45 seconds after Wagner made the U-turn and about 35 seconds after he activated his lights and siren.

Wagner exits his cruiser with his handgun drawn and approaches the Pontiac.

"With the recent incident involving the murder of Tpr. Paul Butterfield while approaching a vehicle at the forefront of my mind I elected to 'clear' the vehicle for my safety as I feel the vehicle could have suddenly pulled to the side in an effort to lure me into a vulnerable position where I could easily be shot," Wagner later told Christensen in his statement.

Video from Wagner's dash-mounted camera shows him handcuffing the woman then taking her to his cruiser, where the conversation between the two is recorded. The woman apologizes to Wagner, telling him she was trying to get home because she had gotten a call from her father informing her that the family's home had been broken into.

St. Joseph County dispatchers confirm the report of the break-in to Wagner as the woman sits in his patrol car.

Wagner tells the woman, "I chased you for two miles with my lights and sirens at almost 80 mph. Do you see a problem with that?

(Not consistent with his first statement. He would have had to been going about 160 mph to cover two miles in 45 seconds. - AF)

"Yes, I do," she responded. "I honestly didn't see you."

At the end of the audio captured from inside the car, Wagner asks the woman, "How'd you like having a gun pointed ...." The rest of his statement is inaudible.

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough, who was asked by Michigan State Police to review the incident, focused on that statement in calling for Wagner, a 19-veteran of MSP, to be fired.

McDonough considered whether to authorize charges of felonious assault and conduct unbecoming a public official against Wagner, but ultimately decided his handling of the traffic stop did not warrant criminal charges. In a statement issued Wednesday, however, the prosecutor wrote that he was "appalled and disgusted" by Wagner's conduct.

"When he asked if she enjoyed having a gun pointed at her I became sick to my stomach," McDonough wrote. "... I do not want Trooper Wagner to have the opportunity to do anything like this again and certainly not in St. Joseph County."

Attempts by the Kalamazoo Gazette to reach Wagner through his union, the Michigan State Police Troopers Association, were unsuccessful. Wagner has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation by MSP that is ongoing.

In a statement issued Wednesday, officials at MSP's Coldwater Post, where Wagner is stationed, said: "The video associated with this traffic stop clearly shows actions by the trooper that are not consistent with department policy. Inappropriate behavior like this is not condoned or tolerated."

Anti Federalist
05-19-2014, 02:28 PM
Michigan Live reports:

The fatal shooting of a fellow trooper was “at the forefront” of Michigan State Police Trooper Timothy Wagner’s mind last month when he pulled his handgun and pointed it at an 18-year-old woman during a traffic stop near Sturgis. This was according to a written statement Wagner provided to Detective 1st Lt. Chuck Christensen after Christensen informed Wagner he was under investigation for allegations of excessive force.

“With the recent incident involving the murder of Tpr. Paul Butterfield while approaching a vehicle at the forefront of my mind I elected to ‘clear’ the vehicle for my safety as I feel the vehicle could have suddenly pulled to the side in an effort to lure me into a vulnerable position where I could easily be shot,” Wagner said.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/dashcam-state-trooper-pulls-gun-teen-girl-did-enjoy-gun-pointed-you/#g63ETdAUfHSeBlP5.99

Kotin
05-19-2014, 02:35 PM
Couple of ruined days. Never been in the line of fire? Then save your opinions on the officers fitness, I don't know the prosecutor but aren't they usually political buffoons? And what else is the MSP going to say...Yea we think it's great to pull our guns. I wouldn't like a gun pulled on me by a cop but I would let it go

the above is the first bootlicker comment.. fun times

Anti Federalist
05-19-2014, 02:40 PM
the above is the first bootlicker comment.. fun times

Copsucker.

phill4paul
05-19-2014, 02:43 PM
No longer does it take an actual act of aggression for a cop to pull a sidearm. Now it is merely the "perception" of endangerment. So, basically no reason at all to justify drawing on another citizen.

Anti Federalist
05-19-2014, 02:44 PM
Another copsucker:


zackwest
zackwest 2 hours ago

Thats the way the (sic) do things in a southern state. Don't see what the problem is

Henry Rogue
05-19-2014, 03:12 PM
No longer does it take an actual act of aggression for a cop to pull a sidearm. Now it is merely the "perception" of endangerment. So, basically no reason at all to justify drawing on another citizen.
In the not to distant future it will probably be standard procedure.

VIDEODROME
05-19-2014, 03:19 PM
If he is so damn uptight, why doesn't he quit being a cop and do private security? He could work with ADT installing systems or work for BRINKS delivering for banks.

SeanTX
05-19-2014, 03:55 PM
No longer does it take an actual act of aggression for a cop to pull a sidearm. Now it is merely the "perception" of endangerment. So, basically no reason at all to justify drawing on another citizen.

Sort of like how it has been for dealing with barking dogs for a while. And then people wonder why it's happening more often with people too.

helmuth_hubener
05-19-2014, 04:16 PM
Another copsucker: Nothing wrong with cops, as long as they're keeping people from buying stuff you don't want them to.

aGameOfThrones
05-19-2014, 04:30 PM
At the end of the audio captured from inside the car, Wagner asks the woman, "How'd you like having a gun pointed ...." The rest of his statement is inaudible.



http://oi58.tinypic.com/330bpft.jpg

phill4paul
05-19-2014, 05:58 PM
In the not to distant future it will probably be standard procedure.

Sure it will. That is were it is leading. Hell, it has already been done time and again and the action excused.

surf
05-19-2014, 06:29 PM
someone has to ask - is the cop ok?

Pericles
05-19-2014, 06:32 PM
In the not to distant future it will probably be standard procedure.

Yeah, like just about everything I get from the state of Texas has "Veteran" stamped on it in red. DL, concealed handgun...

I can just imagine the conversation - "So you vets think you are special do you?"

"I geuss it is just the way the state of Texas is letting you know that if I was going to shoot you, you'd be dead already."

Anti Federalist
05-19-2014, 06:34 PM
someone has to ask - is the cop ok?

The heroic Officer is fine, after his terrifying encounter.

He is currently enjoying his paid vacation, and will be back to work shortly.

Thanks for asking. - Police Union Representative Friendly.

SeanTX
05-20-2014, 12:50 AM
someone has to ask - is the cop ok?

Very ok. I read elsewhere he has 19 years in, so he's earned himself an early retirement .

Weston White
05-20-2014, 02:01 AM
zackwest
zackwest 2 hours ago

Thats the way the (sic) do things in a southern state. Don't see what the problem is

Michigan is a southern state? Well no surprise as to why Zackwest fails to see what the problem is.

Occam's Banana
05-20-2014, 02:52 AM
[St. Joseph County Prosecutor John] McDonough considered whether to authorize charges [...] against Wagner, but ultimately decided his handling of the traffic stop did not warrant criminal charges.

So if a mundane does the same sort of thing to a cop in St. Joseph County, can we expect that no charges will be authorized by McDonough?

What's that you say? We can't expect this? Oh ... well ... it's good to be King, I guess. Isn't it? Or one of the King's Men ...

EBounding
05-21-2014, 07:00 AM
I happened to hear the local sports radio show talking about this. Some people didn't care for the officers words, but the hosts and every single person who called were perfectly fine with the gun being drawn.

"The officer maybe shouldn't have said what he said, but I'm perfectly fine with the gun being drawn."
"It's scary out there!"
"Why didn't she pull over immediately?"
"Cops have a stressful job."

.....

mrsat_98
05-21-2014, 07:35 AM
If he is so damn uptight, why doesn't he quit being a cop and do private security? He could work with ADT installing systems or work for BRINKS delivering for banks.

You don't get paid time off if you step through the ceiling. i.e. the mundanes status is changed to royalty.


someone has to ask - is the cop ok?

F no, he had issues to start with.

JK/SEA
05-21-2014, 07:38 AM
hey, she lived through the experience...whats the problem?....

next.