A lot of us have mixed feelings about police body cameras. On the one hand, they’re a great learning tool for all of us – we can re-watch shootings, analyze them and be better prepared for a day that hopefully will never come when we have to draw down on a dirtbag.
On the other hand, the sometimes-ubiquitous footage captured on body cams can be used by “activist” groups that just want to destroy a cop’s life and career to score cheap political points.
And then there are the times when the police are involved in a questionable shooting, but the body cameras were all switched off, or someone taped over the footage with reruns of ‘Empire.’ Fishy. Here are three recently-released body cam incidents in America, and some of the great things we can learn from them.
The first was in Napa County, California on February 17th. Hernandez Morales – a previously-deported illegal alien – was sitting in a parked car, in the dark, in a remote area when two sheriff’s deputies stopped to check on him. Just a car parked with a dude sitting in it in the complete dark, so they decided to check and see if the motorist was okay. Morales was acting hinky, probably because he was an illegal alien scumbag who shouldn’t have been in the country in the first place, so deputy Riley Jarecki asked if she could check out the inside of the vehicle.
When she approaches the driver’s side window, Morales rolls the window down and immediately fires two shots at her. Point blank. And he missed.
Jarecki retreats to the back of the vehicle while calling out “Shots fired!” to her partner. She then pumps 15 rounds into Morales from the passenger side of the vehicle, thereby saving the American taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in another deportation proceeding. American hero!
Deputy Jarecki did everything right here. The first thing she did, which we can all learn from, is she didn’t panic, and she retreated to cover around the rear of the vehicle, where the illegal alien didn’t have a good shot at her. All police shooting data supports this fact: The person behind cover wins the gunfight.
The other thing we learned? Practice your five-foot drills. Yes, it’s fun to practice shooting at 10 or 15 yards with your sidearm. But a huge number of shootings happen up at close range. The illegal alien had not practiced his five-foot drills. Deputy Jarecki had, and the body cam footage tells the rest.
Next up is Maricopa County, Arizona in January, when an ISIS terrorist… wait, what? Yes, a bona fide ISIS terrorist. Ismail Hamed called 911, told the operator that he was an ISIS terrorist with a knife and some rocks, and he wanted a cop to come over “real quick” so he could deal with them. One (1) sheriff’s deputy responded to the call, which in hindsight was maybe not the best decision when an ISIS terrorist calls 911? Maybe?
Sure enough, Hamed started throwing rocks at Sgt. Brandon Wells the second that he asked the jihadi wannabe for ID. Hamed then pulled out his knife and advanced on Wells, who drew his gun and started backing away. Sgt. Wells was also probably wondering why he didn’t wait for backup at that point.
Wells retreats about 50 yards across the parking lot, with Hamid trailing him with a knife the whole time. After warning Hamid many, many times that he was going to shoot him if he didn’t drop the knife, Hamid finally charges Wells and earns his 70 virgins.
The lessons? First, we have ISIS terrorists in America and it’s not making national headlines. Plus, practice your five-foot drills.
Finally, an Antifa activist in Eugene, OR showed up at his daughter’s middle school to pick her up. However, activist Charlie Landero had lost custody of his daughter – probably for being an Antifa domestic terrorist – so the school called the cops on him.
When Landeros refused to leave, cops tried to arrest him, and he pulled a gun on them. One officer wrestled Landeros to the ground and when he refused to drop the gun, another officer reduced the ranks of Antifa by one, from close range. Landero’s backpack was filled with loaded 9mm magazines for some reason.
The lesson? Once again, practice those five-foot drills.
only criminals want gun laws
You know, I have been a cop, while in the military, and, I realize that it’s different from being a Civilian cop. I have also been a guard at a Maximum Security State Prison. Most of my friends for the past 40 years have been cops, of one kind or another, and I used to take the Cop’s side of any dispute, no matter what! But, in the past 4 or 5 years, I have had to rethink some of my perspectives, as, I am very, very sure that there is a segment of the cop society that have absolutely no business carrying a badge, or a gun! I shudder to think that Youtube has changed my perspective, but, you can really see a systemic change in cop behaviour, and, Body Cams just reinforce the fact that there are far too many Bullies, Dumbazzes, and a-holes out there, “Protecting and Serving!” I bet I catch some major flak from some of my friends, and, that’s ok. But, before you label me as not knowing what I am talking about, I suggest you spend a hour or so on You Tube, and WATCH FOR YOURSELF some of these Police Actions, and THEN tell me that this is how YOU do the job! And then tell me how, in any stretch of the imagination, it’s ok to steal somebody’s property or money, just because you CAN! I have no problem with Asset Forfeiture, if the person is charged with, and convicted, of a crime! But, to just confiscate property or money, without even filing charges is THEFT, pure and simple!
I agree. Our Constitutional Rights, specifically the right against unreasonable search and seizure, no longer exist as long as asset forfeiture is legal. Glad to learn that there is at least one LEO who is aware of what is really going on. Thank you for speaking out.