A video submitted to the Free Thought Project Monday, shows a ridiculous interaction with an overzealous cop.
Zachary Noel and his friend Steven were driving into Salina, KS for a tattoo convention when they came upon a red light in a construction zone approximately 10:30 at night, so they stop.
The passenger in the vehicle, Steven, tells the Free Thought Project that they saw a ?cop hanging out in the construction zone with a reflective vest on.. and a police van parked in the construction area.?
According to Steven, this was some type of ?checkpoint,? which was more like a cop just hanging around in a construction zone harassing motorists.
The officer in the reflective vest walks over to the vehicle and sticks his head in the passenger side window, where Steven was sitting.
He tells them that the tint on the back window is awfully dark; to which they respond with complete indifference as this was not illegal.
He then points out that the driver, Noel, does not have on his seat belt. The light turns green and they tell the officer ?okay thanks,? and drive off.
Before they make it another city block, they are greeted by 2 motorcycle cops, which is when Steven turns on the video and starts filming.
According to the paperwork the arresting officer is Salina PD officer Cranmer.
Below is the video of that encounter.
Captain Mike Sweeney of the Salina PD issued a statement to the Salina Post, stating that Noel refused to get out of the vehicle.
What do you think, was Noel refusing to get out the vehicle? Was he even given enough time to actually refuse anything?
Noel simply asks, ?On what grounds?? he is being asked to get out of the vehicle; to which Cranmer replies, ?Because I?m telling you to!?
Within the next 5 seconds, Cranmer asks a few more times and then proceeds to taser the driver, with no forewarning of the taser.
Cranmer claimed that they were trying to drive away and were putting the truck in drive, however there is no ?drive? as this vehicle is a floor shift manual.
The revving of the engine that we can hear during the tasering is likely from Noel seizing and locking up his legs, thus depressing the gas pedal, from the 50,000+ Volts being sent through is nervous system.
Noel is then arrested on charges of resisting arrest and driving under a suspended license. Neither of which were true according to Noel.
He was clearly not trying to drive away with a taser in his skin. Also the charge of a suspended license was a mistake on the part of the state.
According to Noel, the ?suspended license? charge was bogus. They first told him it was from an unpaid speeding ticket, however they were able to prove that the speeding ticket had been paid.
Next they tell him it was for a ?fix it? ticket, stating that he needed to fix a mirror on his truck. He was simply told to get it fixed and nothing else.
It had long been fixed and no notice of suspension had been given. Noel was arrested and booked into custody on charges of driving under a suspended license and obstruction. He is out on a $1,000 bond.
This incident illustrates the importance of filming police interaction. The city will have a hard time proving that Noel was ?refusing to exit the vehicle? because of the quick decision of his passenger to turn on his phone.
