120 Comments
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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

The big thing for me is that the cop said, “we don’t know what you were doing.”

It’s like yes you fucking do. The guy said he was on a walk with his son.

That’s what they were doing. lol.

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Pablo's avatar

5:30 in the morning? If I was a cop, I would definitely be suspicious but they proceeded to escalate very quickly instead of checking name, address, etc.

But practically none goes for a walk at 5:30 am with a kid.

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

Good thing you’re not a cop! It’s not suspicious for someone to go on a morning walk with their kid.

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Hope Furniss's avatar

A lot of us down south get up early and walk in the early hours cause it’s freaking hot in the south. So yes we walk at 5:30 in the morning. 🙄

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Mystic William's avatar

My son, a great Dad, has two small kids. One woke at 4:30 in the AM the other day. Wide awake making noise. Having a blast. He didn’t want to wake the other one so he took his child out for a walk. From 4:45-5:45 am. The child fell back to sleep and he brought the child home in a stroller and let the child sleep in the stroller for a couple of hours. He slept in the couch until he had to go to work. We work together. He usually starts work earlier. He explained why he was starting late for him. This is not typical but it isn’t suspicious.

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Pablo's avatar

You’re missing the key part about 5:30am but since you’re deliberate about it to make your point, yeah, ok.

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

Well, I simply do not agree with you. I don’t see anything suspicious about it. It seems very strange to me that going for a walk is suspicious. 5:30am isn’t really that early.

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Pablo's avatar

That’s because you’re not a cop and never have to pull up a child’s body from a dumpster and then go tell parents about it.

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

The County Sheriff seems to disagree with you.

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Aug 24, 2024
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That0neGuy's avatar

Suspicious isn’t a crime at all but it’s worth having a conversation especially since it’s 5:30 am. Don’t have to be no fan of the blue but don’t need to be Dick, either..

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Mystic William's avatar

You have an autistic child. He likely doesn’t want to be around people. Your work starts at 7 am. So you take your son for a walk at 5:30. He gets his walk, no one is around, you spend some quality time with your son and your wife gets some extra sleep.

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Pablo's avatar

Take a bigger picture, it’s one of many scenarios. Maybe you have an autistic son, or maybe his drugged and not autistic, or maybe he’s not even your son. Take a ride with a local cop if you have a chance, I bet you’ll see quite a variety of scenarios.

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Mystic William's avatar

At any given moment any situation could be many things. Police can’t slam

You to the ground just because there is a plausible scenario. There has to be something other than ‘well, here is a possibility…’.

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Robert's avatar

If you believe that was a good stop and interaction you must be one of the cops friends or his lover.

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Pablo's avatar

Oh, wow, Bobby, do you always start a conversation with a slur or this is just how you were taught by your mom’s boyfriend?

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VAcattleguy434's avatar

so now you & the police decide when someone can take a walk??? I am out often @ 5:30- its cool and there are less assholes wandering around telling people when they can walk.

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Sharon R. Fiore's avatar

Those are the exact reasons why I walk very early too. The sun is not beating down on you, you don’t have to awkwardly pass someone you don’t know, etc.

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Pablo's avatar

Me AND the police? That’s an unexpected angle, not sure how you arrived to that conclusion. Please read the whole thread.

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Jonesey's avatar

See your point. Think you should adjust your views. Not everyone keeps the same schedule. That man and his son should be able to walk any god dam time they want WITHOUT being harased and then assaulted.

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Pablo's avatar

Thank you, Jonesey. It’s a free country so you’re welcome to think what I should do with my views. As I do with yours. When there is a child abduction due to family dispute or body gets discovered in wooded area because of some pedo, public will be crying out about police negligence. Walking with a kid at 5:30 in a non-residential area - see the video - is unusual and cops were correct to stop by and inquire. They just went 0 to 60 under a minute instead of deescalating and checking on child welfare. So, good intention and very poor execution.

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Jonesey's avatar

Agreed. And i don't think we are too far from each other on this one. I will fully admit to that scene shooting an emotional lightning bolt straight up and in me. I do agree a check in might have been in order. But the heavy handedness and willingness to go straight to escalation, that will never be ok with me. From either side. Peeps are just as guilty at times of being total pricks. Have to find a way to have more honorable interactions i guess.

I do appreciate the difference of opinion and your willingness to state it.

Jonesey

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Jennifer James's avatar

I know lots of people that walk early! It’s a small, very safe town in Oklahoma. He had NOT COMMITTED A CRIME! How would you feel?

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C. H. Smiles's avatar

You don’t have to provide anything to walk around. It’s America

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Deltawhiskylima's avatar

I agree that it could seem suspicious. Good cop work that went south quickly.

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Mystic William's avatar

At what point was it good cop work?

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

It wasn’t. There’s no way this is what “good cop work” looks like.

Even if we look past the fact that they deemed him suspicious for being on a morning walk with his son, the entire encounter went very poorly, and imo, it’s because of how the one officer escalated things.

Good cop work would be more like, “you’re correct sir, you do not need to identify yourself per this states law, but we’d appreciate if you did because we had a report of suspicious activity we’re obligated to investigate.”

When he explained he was simply on a walk with his kid, the cops should have left it at that and carried on.

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Mystic William's avatar

A father and son going for a walk at 5:30 might be unusual, but it isn’t suspicious.

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Deltawhiskylima's avatar

It is suspicious (trafficking in persons) until it is confirmed that this indeed a father and son out for a walk at dark o'clock in the morning, and that is what the cops should have said up front. "Great, we need to make sure this is not some sort of TIP, child sexploitation or abduction," and then proceeded from there in an appropriate manner.

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Mystic William's avatar

Yeah. I would not have minded if a policeman said that to me. I would say ‘thanks for checking’.

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Robert's avatar

That's ridiculous, Pablo.

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Pablo's avatar

Why?

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Richard Hubbard's avatar

I guess I can’t walk down an alley with my grandson anymore if the local police

Thinks it’s a dicey neighborhood?

Officers should be fired NOW!

Also I guess you need proper ID to walk in

AMERICA!!!!!!

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Richard Kendrick's avatar

That asshole should lose his job yesterday.

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TJ's avatar

They are not your friends. Don’t talk to the police. If you get stopped like this, tell them you’re calling your lawyer. If you don’t have a lawyer, call someone to come document the encounter.

Don’t get mad; that’s what they want.

These fuckers will face the wall with the rest when law and order are restored.

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Gilgamech's avatar

Who walks at 5.30am? Poor people. People who don't have air conditioning or maybe even a car. People who work two or three jobs. But yeah probably not middle class white people.

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Chelie's avatar

Lots of people walk or run at 5:30 am before work. I used to. I also have an autistic son has trouble sleeping. These stupid cops showed complete disregard for the safety and well being of the little boy was is autistic.

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Kevin Heslip's avatar

I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever wanted to punch someone in the face more than I do after watching that.

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BH's avatar

I typically support cops as much as possible. But when I see immature and unprofessional behavior like this I get disgusted. Did this cop really think this guy was a criminal? What a fuckwit.

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

Agreed.

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Roo’s Views's avatar

All to common place, we are not in Mayberry anymore folks!

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

Ain’t that the truth!

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Alicia Kwon's avatar

:( That is really sad and disturbing. I hope there can be healing between people police so that corrections is actually helpful correction that helps all thrive , and where individuals are treated with respect, even if under suspicion.

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

So long as cops who do these kinds of things get held accountable, there can be.

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Alicia Kwon's avatar

There is a lot of culture of “protecting their own” that’s hard to overcome, but there are a lot of good cops out there too!

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Patient Patient's avatar

Apparently not many of them- these videos keep appearing despite cops literally walking around with cameras on. Three cops here and none of them interested in obeying the law, that’s 100% “non good” cops. And their patronizing screwing with the crying child is just heartbreaking to watch, where is their humanity?

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Alicia Kwon's avatar

Look there are guinely horrible people in law enforcement. But you’re gonna see the videos of them more than the countless times an officer did a good or decent or okay job, because those don’t go viral.

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

That’s true. I detest ACAB people. We should be able to hold bad cops accountable while recognizing it’s a small percentage of them that are doing these things.

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Jessica J's avatar

I don't see that happening when they prey on people like this, they will also target certain people who ask them questions about the laws they are breaking. Don't move to Hillsborough County FL

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Roo’s Views's avatar

This I can absolutely get behind, the division is intentionally increasing. So the badge doesn’t remember their neighbor when it comes time for the round ups.

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Jessica J's avatar

That part!! It's happening everywhere this of course after they are brainwashed and desensatized.. they are thugs and purposely target outspoken critics bc fuck us and the constitution. That poor baby. 😢

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

City cops can be the worst.

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Jessica J's avatar

Actually here they aren't as bad as unincorporated sheriff's office employees. We all know I drone on about this here in FL but at least others are now too. Here is a local corrupt commie who is horrible and unethical and helps launder tax money that damages women,kids and vets here. It's a mess. Check out Webbers video on E Hillsborough.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ltFh2EZ0em4?si=31GIPdnHSsyjqxzx

https://voteedwardsforjudge.com/

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Alicia Kwon's avatar

<3 Years ago I had some good conversations with officers whilst I was also involved in racial justice stuff. The officers, on the whole felt alienated by both sides - they knew the system was broken but didn’t feel eqiupped to fix it. They felt burnt out and demonized for every sin of their brother even though most of them wanted to do a decent/good/great job, depending on the which officer you asked. On the other side, I knew of black cops that went into to it to make a difference, burned out and left. And that’s just the racial tension side of things. On the other side, there’s the intentional “defund the cops” that actually leads to more crime, versus equipping cops and others with non-violent strategies and more soft skills, as well as utilizing community members - paid and volunteer to help when there are mental health, racial and other complicating issues at play. Then there is the militarization of the police against protestors - covid money was actually used for THAT….so some cops can’t take action when it is appropriate, others are expected to take violent action. And the best tend to leave or work quietly without rocking the system. However, I did mean an exceptional woman cop who joined me in taking off her mask at the park once she knew I was comfortable with it, and helped show my daughter how she was training her service dog, and let her go around with her as the dog learned to sniff! Apparently she had done some undercover work too. So there’s good people too! We all need to see all sides. There is the black guy who got fired from Harvard for calling out research that shows that people of color aren’t more likely to have a fatal encounter with the police than white people, but that they are more likely to have a police encounter…so complicated. Add the question of how did hard drugs end up in black neighborhorhoods…divisiveness profits control, so does having people on drugs in stead of thriving. But if everyone is thriving, there is no need harsh rules. Corrections need not be about force. The law should serve the people, not the other way around. Like surveillance should be for the government instead of for the people. I’d love to see AI flip the cameras!

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Jessica J's avatar

That's their standard just doing my job, just following orders I'm part of the problem bs excuses.

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Alicia Kwon's avatar

I can feel your frustration. And there is a lot of complicity. And complacency. But don't feel saying it as you did is right because I am an empath and I was there for those conversations. It wasn't BS. BS is what comes out of the mouth of every mainstream news media outfit on both sides and from our government on both sides. With these individuals, they were simply expressing how they felt. Disempowered. It idoesn't mean they can't do better WITH support. It means division is fed by saying what you just said rather than seeking for empathy that leads to authentic change and empowerment. These officers need to be supported while those that do egregious things need to be held FULLY accountable, without having extra protections like a club. More empathy can actually lead to those disempowered officers feeling able to step into courageous, thoughtful, compassionate, wise action.

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C. H. Smiles's avatar

It’s obvious these cops were bored and just wanted to fuck with somebody. Similar to when they were younger in school getting straight D’s

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

I’m still waiting for the Investigation to conclude. I will update once I get more information.

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Victoria Guthrie's avatar

Thank you. It would be a relief to know what happened afterwards.

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Victoria Guthrie's avatar

Or maybe it won't be helpful to know if it just gets worse after that point. My heart is hurting after seeing this.

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Zombie Nation's avatar

That ID garbage is the biggest affront to citizens and then this. The cops work for the blob, clearly.

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Paul Sudrabin's avatar

To serve and protect

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Chelie's avatar

Assholes. The little boy who is autistic is traumatized for life. They never get over stuff like this. How do I know? I have an adult son who is autistic. And by the way, to any law enforcement officers who have any background with those who are autistic will know that children & adults who are on the spectrum have great difficulty sleeping. Countless nights that we who care for a child with autism have spent sitting up with our kids,sometimes walking, into the wee hours, going for car rides, watching movies, reading and playing with their toys. Who knows? This Dad may have pulled an all nighter with his son and took him on a walk so mama could get some sleep.

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Todd Mercier's avatar

Quite a bit of unnecessary force considering how hard it is to get an ID these days. Bad move by the cops for sure.

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Patient Patient's avatar

Seen enough of these videos, it’s routine. People aren’t safe in their neighborhoods because of these gangs.

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Chelie's avatar

A dad & his young autistic son are hardly gangbangers. Law enforcement need to be more professional. They crossed the line. I go over & above in supporting LE. I live in a city where gang activity exists. This man and his son weren’t doing anything criminal. The cops could have driven him home as an act of courtesy and compassion. This could have been resolved in a civil manner so he could retrieve his ID and the boy would have felt safe.

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Mush's avatar

He talks to that kid like a robot

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Patient Patient's avatar

Without a heart he has essentially become one.

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Jeremy Mercier's avatar

He only made the kid freak out more.

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Dan Segal's avatar

If the man decides to sue I will donate at least $100 to the effort

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