Another example of a cop abusing his authority and breaking the law. [video=youtube;1XExqABO4kc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XExqABO4kc#t=19[/video] http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Saratoga-sheriff-to-discuss-viral-video-5883183.php A Saratoga County sheriff's sergeant abruptly resigned Monday as he was charged with official misconduct and harassment after a video was posted on the Internet over the weekend that purportedly captured him slapping a man whose car he wanted to search. Sheriff Michael H. Zurlo said his office began an investigation into the actions of Sgt. Shawn R. Glans immediately after they learned the video was posted on the department's Facebook page around 9 p.m. Friday. The video shows Glans demanding to search the vehicle of a young man, Colin Fitch, who was standing next to the deputy in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store in Halfmoon. Fitch refused to consent to the search as Glans peppered him with expletives and said they could get a search warrant if he didn't turn over his keys. Glans grows increasingly agitated during the encounter, which was being secretly filmed by Fitch's friend Adam Roberts, who was standing next to the pair. The kid was lucky his buddy had the guts and smarts to secretly film the abuse. The real question is "what if the incident had not been filmed and posted on the Saratoga PD Facebook page?" Without the video, the cop once again gets away with being a bully. And if the kid complains, its just his word against the cops - and all the cops buddies, who will make sure the kid regrets making a public accusation. "You want to (expletive) resist?" Glans tells Fitch as the deputy steps toward him and the video captures a loud slapping sound. The video camera was pointed downward at the time of the alleged strike. Glans then grabs Fitch's keys, throwing them to another deputy. "Search the (expletive) car," Glans tells the other deputy, who has not been identified. And here we see the standard procedure for cops that don't get their way - charge the person with resisting arrest or assaulting a cop. Was the kid resisting? No, he was standing quietly with his arms crossed, he was not trying to flee, he was not being aggressive or threatening. When the cop said he would get a search warrant, the kid said that was fine. But the kid stood up for his rights, and cops just can't stand a mundane who acts like he isn't a slave to the cop. Zurlo acknowledged Glans struck the young man. Glans, 48, was arraigned in Halfmoon Town Court on Monday afternoon on one count of official misconduct, a misdemeanor, and second-degree harassment, a violation. The charges state that while on-duty and in uniform Glans "did knowingly commit unauthorized physical acts in seeking to secure and expedite the search of a vehicle with an intent to benefit himself," according to court records. The harassment charge says Glans slapped Fitch "in the back of the head with an open hand." Now this is unusual - a cop actually being charged with abuse - thanks to the video. We will see if after this fades from the public spotlight if justice prevails or if the charges are dropped and the cop is quietly hired by another police department. Glans told the Times Union Saturday that he was concerned about public safety after seeing the gun in the car, The cop groupies will latch onto the claim the cop saw a gun in the car - but other than that claim, I cannot find any other evidence there was a gun. The kids were not arrested after the car was searched, and no mention of a gun being confiscated despite NY's draconian gun laws. If there was a gun, you can bet the PD would be claiming the abusive cop was acting to prevent a mass killing or some such BS. Maybe more will come to light later, but it sounds like the "gun in the car" is a fabrication. And even if there was a gun in the car, the cop could have taken the legal approach of detaining the kid and getting a warrant. But the law takes a little time and the cop is impatient, plus he has to teach an uppity mundane a lesson. ...but that he would have acted differently if he knew it was being videotaped. "If I had to do it all over again ... I'd probably do the same thing. If I knew the camera was there, no, because it does look bad," he said. After the video captured Glans allegedly slapping Fitch, Roberts kept filming and can be heard telling Glans that what just happened was "intense" and he asks the sergeant if he was going strike him next. The sergeant responded that he could "rip your (expletive) head off and (expletive) down your neck." So the cop acts differently when he knows he is being filmed and might be held accountable. How many times do cops get away with assaulting, injuring, and killing people because there is no video and no witnesses willing to speak up and face the cops harassment? How many innocent people get falsely charged with resisting or assault, have to go to get a lawyer and go to court, and deal with those charges for the rest of their lives?
the cop DID get away with it. How come he's not in prison, where he effing well BELONGS? The guys in there GOT something for ex cops like him, believe it. They got exactly the right thing for his kind.
all cops should have to wear a video cam on duty, with failure to produce the vid, upon demand, being a very serious federal felony, for the cop and everybody in the chain of command above that cop. If the sob's dont like it, they can always quit and get a REAL job, you know?
