Innocent concerned husband or belligerent drunk?

[Speedlace]

NWS
Dashcam VID
FF to 7:00 for the goodness.

Interview w/ Steven and Jean Kotlinski

Suit: Mundelein cops Tasered man without cause

Steven Kotlinski says he was sitting compliantly during a traffic stop early on New Year's Day when two Mundelein police officers pulled him from the car and shocked him five times with their Tasers.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/12/man-who-says-mundelein-cops-tasered-him-files-suit.html
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20101208/news/712099928/

 

[SirIsaacNewton]

Not following this.... The lady wasn't drinking why did all of that go down?

 

[Hitman]

STAY IN THE CAR! and SHUT YOUR MOUTH! How hard is that???

Still not sure why they yanked him out after he was in the car with seatbelt buckled?

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks3A-ui4giM[/ame]

 

[oleheat]

What a clusterf**k.







(In addition- I just can't help it. Yankee voices make me laugh. Good times. )

 

[Kee]

What is the lesson we learn here? Comply with the LEO!

 

[Kraut]

You know, drunks are like that. If you let them get to you it often becomes more of a headache than it needs to be.

 

[Malaka]

Yeah, he should of stayed the fck in the car especially if he had been drinking. But wtf? Getting out of the car to check on your wife warrants that kind of over-the-top response?

I would probably do the same thing to check on my wife if a traffic stop was taking a long time, and I would expect just to be -asked- to get back in the car until the stop was over, not be yelled at and threatened to be tasered.

Question: Is a passenger in a car that's been stopped by police not able to just get out and leave? Is the passenger legally obligated to stay if the stop in no way has anything to do with them?

update: Never mind, I read Brendlin v. California...

 

[Speedlace]

Not following this.... The lady wasn't drinking why did all of that go down?

Yeah, he should of stayed the fck in the car especially if he had been drinking. But wtf? Getting out of the car to check on your wife warrants that kind of over-the-top response?

It's about officer safety.
There are a large # dashcam vids where a cop is interacting w/ a driver and the passenger gets outs and attacks or starts shooting.

He wasn't asked to step out of car, so what is his reason for stepping out?

I would probably do the same thing to check on my wife if a traffic stop was taking a long time, and I would expect just to be -asked- to get back in the car until the stop was over, not be yelled at and threatened to be tasered.

The DUI test lasted less than 4 min.
Cop #1 told him three times and Cop #2 told him two times before he was told he was going to be taser. He own wife was screaming for him to get back in car.
He didn't budge until Cop #2 pointed the taser @ him.

 

[Malaka]

He wasn't asked to step out of car, so what is his reason for stepping out?


The DUI test lasted less than 4 min.
Cop #1 told him three times and Cop #2 told him two times before he was told he was going to be taser. He own wife was screaming for him to get back in car.
He didn't budge until Cop #2 pointed the taser @ him.

From what I saw, he wasn't initially told NOT to get out of the car when they asked his wife to get out for the sobriety test. Why wouldn't anybody not want to step out of the car and check on their wife? It doesn't seem like an unreasonable gesture to me if you don't know you're not supposed to.

In my opinion, the response from the officers to him leaving the car (for the first time AND without being told initially he needed to remain in the car) was too much. Maybe he's not used to people shouting at him repeatedly to do something it seems is a reasonable thing to do in normal everyday life.

Not trying to make excuses for him or anything, but damn. Is this how you want a member of your family treated during a traffic stop? How about the cops asking him to get back in the car, it'll only take a minute more? It could have definitely been handled more professionally by the cops.

 

[angrycookieman]

I agree that the cops could have and should have handled it differently. I watched a video the other day where a guy was stopped and the cop was respectful to him and nothing happened. The same guy was stopped a little later the same night and killed one or two cops. When asked why he said that the second cops were rude to him.

 

[Hitman]

(1)Why wouldn't anybody not want to step out of the car and check on their wife?

(2)In my opinion, the response from the officers to him leaving the car (for the first time AND without being told initially he needed to remain in the car) was too much.

1: No problem there. However as a competent adult, when a Police Officer in a very firm voice says to get back in the car, he will ONLY have to tell me ONE TIME! and I will immediately get back in the car.(Hint: i would have never gotten out of the car to begin with. Nothing wrong with mirrors and looking through the back glass)

2: This was NOT a routine traffic stop. It was an investigation into whether or not the driver of the vehicle was impaired in a manner that could cause death of serious bodily harm to everyone else on the road. Therefore it’s time to play the quiet game and only speak when spoken to.

2a: Below is a video of why LEO's have a justifiable reason to have a pucker factor of 110% when an occupant of the stopped vehicle gets out of the vehicle WITHOUT being told to do so.


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_y-gLm9Hrw[/ame]


/

Now, why the cop went back to the vehicle where the man was sitting down in the car with seat belt on and arrested him is up for debate. I kind of thought he would have just given him a tongue lashing or something not yanked him out.

 

[machinedrummer]

Could the LEO have her blow before all the other test? I feel that would have ended it much quicker and they all would have been on their way. I am not taking sides just wonder why it took so long to ask her to blow?

 

[Speedlace]

I agree that the cops could have and should have handled it differently. I watched a video the other day where a guy was stopped and the cop was respectful to him and nothing happened. The same guy was stopped a little later the same night and killed one or two cops. When asked why he said that the second cops were rude to him.

Source?

Could the LEO have her blow before all the other test? I feel that would have ended it much quicker and they all would have been on their way. I am not taking sides just wonder why it took so long to ask her to blow?

If she was failed the field sobriety test, it would help build a case against her and/or give probable cause.

 

[Hitman]

I watched a video the other day where a guy was stopped and the cop was respectful to him and nothing happened. The same guy was stopped a little later the same night and killed one or two cops. When asked why he said that the second cops were rude to him.

Source?

He's referring to Brannon's story about his OWN experience on the road.HERE Post#40

 

[angrycookieman]

Yeah, I remember seeing that for sure, that video is not one to forget. The comments from that thread may be what I'm thinking of, but I thought I saw something on gangland with a guy that did that. I have c.r.s. bad, lol.

 

[Hitman]

Yeah, I remember seeing that for sure, that video is not one to forget. The comments from that thread may be what I'm thinking of, but I thought I saw something on gangland with a guy that did that. I have c.r.s. bad, lol.

It actually shows how we all remember things differently depending on our own perception.

 

[lefty]

Could the LEO have her blow before all the other test? I feel that would have ended it much quicker and they all would have been on their way. I am not taking sides just wonder why it took so long to ask her to blow?

blowing would just confirm alcoholic intoxication, she could have been dui on another substance ie. prescription meds.

 

[Samuel Crypto]

2: This was NOT a routine traffic stop. It was an investigation into whether or not the driver of the vehicle was impaired in a manner that could cause death of serious bodily harm to everyone else on the road.

Actually the car was pulled over because of a registration sticker that was 3hrs expired (3am, Jan 1st).

 

[Hitman]

Actually the car was pulled over because of a registration sticker that was 3hrs expired (3am, Jan 1st).

ok.....

As the officer said the man was impeding in his investigation.

So once that test/investigation started it was no longer a routine traffic stop.

Still the point is the same. Sit down shut up and don't do anything unless you’re told to.

 

[Samuel Crypto]

Sit down shut up and don't do anything unless you’re told to.

I can agree with that. That said, the cops escalated this situation to a place where it did not need to go. More professional heads should have prevailed. This particular community's police dept has quite a reputation and history.