Black Lives Matter activists are always accusing the police of needlessly escalating situations with suspects, so it’s refreshing when there is a situation the activists cannot challenge due to a bodycam being present. Although the suspect in this incident is white, you can see how this type of situation could have been used to accuse police of unnecessary escalation if he had been black. Officer Randy Wheeler pulls over a man for driving at night without his headlights on, and the dashcam on his vehicle shows Wheeler quickly pulling out his gun, but it was unclear why. The bodycam revealed the full story, reveaing a gun on the seat next to the driver.
The Conservative Tribune reports,
As soon as Wheeler asked the driver about the gun, the driver foolishly reached for it and in that split second, Wheeler had his firearm out and trained on the suspect (H/T WZ).
The driver had a traffic warrant out for his arrest and was also charged for his unlawful firearm possession and transportation of illegal prescription pills.
Trinity Police Chief Steven Jones had some wise parting advice for the anti-cop crowd at the end of the video.
“The next time you see a questionable video involving law enforcement, remember this video and remember there could be more to it that you cannot see. Show your intelligence by reserving your judgmental comment until the facts are revealed,” Jones said.
Bodycams are a great way to protect law enforcement from false accusations. However, there must be a balance, between requiring police officers to wear them at all times vs. during serious incidents. There are some activities, such as talking strategy among themselves, that need to remain private.