Again...the driver refused to comply with simple commands from the officer. You would think a commissioned officer in the military...especially a lowly 2LT would understand complying with commands you're being given.
Had he simply done what the officer said the first time he asked...we wouldn't know who this weekend warrior was...nor would we care.
And it's really kinda sad to see people on here who consider themselves Conservative continue disparage the officers and the rule of law. You're letting your own personal bad experience with law enforcement cloud your common sense and judgement.
Are there bad cops? Of course...but it's not these two. And given the ay police are under attack from every corner these days you can' blame them for being tense in this situation...especially given how the driver refused to stop and then refused to comply with the officers. That right there ramps up the tension.
And IMHO you can't get mad at the cops for enforcing the laws passed by the city/county/state. They merely enforce them. Don't like the laws...vote people in that will change the laws...or get elected to a city council yourself and be the change.
And I can tell you for a fact...that had that idiot 2LT behaved in the same manner on ANY military installation...the Military Police officers that pulled him over wouldn't have acted any differently.
If he had done what the officer said, he'd likely be dead.
Consider, the door is locked. Power windows, and to open them the engine or at least ignition has to be on.
By the time the window is down, the police have weapons drawn. Stick your hands out, as they want, and then they want him to open the door. At that point they have him bracketed, weapons drawn, and are obviously agitated.
Had the driver brought his hand
back inside the vehicle to unlock the door, it is likely he would have been shot. The driver was complying with the first command to put his hands out the window, and got maced for not bringing his hands back inside to unlock the door (still beats a bullet). Conflicting commands and confronted by officers with weapons drawn.
The officer tried, numerous times, to open the locked door, even reaching into the vehicle for the lock or to attempt to unlatch or unlock it and getting increasingly agitated because the door was locked. Again, the other officer had his weapon drawn, in compliance with seat belt laws, the driver had his seat belt on and the door locked, and could not open the door or get out without removing a hand from view. With the level of agitation on the part of the police, removing a hand from view would likely have resulted in serious injury or death to the driver.
The Lt. repeatedly asked what this was about, and even was told that he would be informed in a moment, but was given no answer during the initial body cam video. Had he been given an answer, dialogue would have been initiated and the situation could have been defused. That opportunity was not presented. Frankly I saw the "This is messed up" comments not as resistance so much as disbelief. If the Lt didn't have a chip on his shoulder before, he will going forward unless he is the sort of man who will attribute the problem to individuals and not the profession they represent.
IMHO, the situation could have been handled better by the officers.