Cop Pointing Rifle At Ferguson Protestors: "I Will Fucking Kill You" (w/ video)

[WilliamPitt]

Today, a video was uploaded to YouTube of last night's Ferguson protests in the wake of Michael Brown's killing. It shows a police office prowling the street among dozens of protesters milling about. He has a rifle, and has it raised and aimed at peaceful civilians. The money shot comes about 30 seconds in, when he points the gun directly at multiple people and says, "I will fucking kill you. Get back!"

The person recording the video then asks the officer for his name. "Go fuck yourself," he replies.

Video at link: http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/cop-pointing-rifle-at-ferguson-protestors-i-will-fuck-1624463375/+robharvilla

[Xithras]

1. That cop needs to be fired yesterday

One of the most basic rules of firearm handling is that you don't point a gun at something unless you intend to kill it, or it intends to kill you. What was the officers justification for using lethal force against these unarmed protesters?

[Hoppy]

9. Maybe he was following that rule.

[valerief]

29. Appears to be a case of white supremacy. nt

[BaggersRDumb]

2. Looks like he said it to a white guy, imagine what he would say to a Black guy who dared

to say anything to him.

If we dont take over EVERY SINGLE POLICE DEPT IN AMERICA and change them, we deserve the beatings and killings they will be putting out very soon when Koch bros tell them to...

[azmom]

3. That is insane

They think they are at war.

[kelliekat44]

6. These cowards would never go to a real war. nt

[pintobean]

20. Many of them have.

[Jackpine Radical]

22. That's correct, and is a big part of the problem.

When I think of the instinctive reactions I came back from Vietnam with, I am very glad nobody tried to make a cop of me. The (mostly) guys coming back from the ME & Afghanistan need PTSD treatment, not M-16 rifles.

[tblue37]

34. But most of them are just nasty bullies who have been cops

for many, many years, and who chose that career specifically because they wanted to abuse people without having to suffer any consequences.

Those who act as though they are in a war zone are often just imitating the behavior of troops that they have seen on TV or the internet. But most of them never even needed a model for their abusive behavior, because they were quite capable of coming up with such behavior all on their own.

[Marr]

4. Seriously-- why have the cops *still* not been corrected on pointing their weapons at

civilians like that? This is extremely unprofessional and irresponsible. They look like overzealous Marines in a war zone.

[ManiacJoe]

21. In the video, the sgt did correct him.

However, a training refresher is definitely needed for that cop.

[BlueStreak]

26. Training refresher? Are you kidding me?

That guy doen't beling on any police force. He shouldn't even be allowed a gun permit. He is obviously mentally unstable.

[safeinOhio]

44. Roid Rage.

Get his blood tested.

[ManiacJoe]

62. You will get no argument from me.

Training refresher? Are you kidding me?
That guy doen't beling on any police force. He shouldn't even be allowed a gun permit. He is obviously mentally unstable.

However, getting him retrained seems more likely than getting him fired.

[bigtree]

5. ... it was one of the most peaceful and quiet nights yet.

I was collecting tweets to show just how nice it was without the police lining up ready to attack everyone, when the mood shifted rapidly and dramatically.

I posted the entire account here:

VERY quiet and PEACEFUL tonight in Ferguson- THEN, one PLASTIC bottle thrown and its a POLICE STATE!

here's a tweet I was collecting when it was happening:

Talib Kweli Greene ‏@TalibKweli 23m
Cops just rushed in pulled out on us. Keep your hands up or I will blow your brains out is what I was just told by police.

more:

Amanda Terkel ‏@aterkel 15m
Cop pointing gun at people. Reporter asked him his name. Cop told him to go fuck himself. #Ferguson


Ryan J. Reilly ‏@ryanjreilly 16m
"Get that camera out of my fucking face." -- officer who pointed gun at protestors #Ferguson


Alex Bolton ‏@alexanderbolton 17m
Police charge crowd, pointing guns at the chests of reporters and protesters, then move on. #Ferguson


Yamiche Alcindor ‏@Yamiche 6m
Police just charged into the McDonald's and are pointing guns at people


Ryan Devereaux ‏@rdevro 14m
This police unit keeps charging into the nonviolent crowd, terrifying citizens, pointing guns, dragging people away

[cleduc]

7. Appalling conduct - particularly under the circumstances

If they don't get a handle on this, more folks are going to get hurt or die.

[Faryn Balyncd]

8. Is it a pre-requisite for police candidates in Missouri to DESPISE the Bill of Rights?

[cal04]

10. Pic and videos

Officer points gun at me and other media on W. Florissant #ferguson


Isn't it illegal to point a gun at someone and threaten to kill them? So will this cop be arrested and charged?
https://twitter.com/jbarro

[coyote]

11. Here is Officer Go Fuck Yourself

http://twitter.com/OpFerguson/status/502134482447523840/photo/1

[VanGoghRocks]

16. Tentative ID of Officer "Go Fuck Yourself": St. Ann Detective Ray Albers, per

an unrelated St. Louis Post Dispatch article:

www.stltoday.com/news/multimedia/ray-albers/image_6d5825aa-d194-11df-979e-00127992bc8b.html

[jwirr]

12. Was that Chris Hayes he was threatening to kill? It sounded like him.

[xocet]

58. Here is a link to the original livestream...

The incident starts at about time index 20:27 in the livestream:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/51598475

This appears to be the journalist:
http://www.gofundme.com/d828w4

[damnedifIknow]

13. I'm fairly informed on this subject

but I didn't even know how bad it really is.

[frylock]

14. standard cop public relations..

I am the law
And you won't fuck around no more

[Renew Deal]

15. That guy needs a new career

[TheKentuckian]

51. He can start it after doing time for terroristic threatening.

[xocet]

59. No doubt. n/t

[whttevrr]

17. Ray Albers needs to be fired

This guy should not be allowed anywhere near a weapon.

[VanGoghRocks]

18. I really think this video is all the evidence President Obama needs to send in

the 82nd Airborne or federalize the MO National Guard to disarm the local constabulary forces. I mean, seriously? This is actually starting to resemble to a tee the 1950s and someone else is going to get killed if those cops are not put on a very short leash.

[Stonepounder]

24. He can't send in the 82nd due to posse comitatus.

He can, however Federalize the National Guard. The problem is, I am not sure who has the authority to tell the Ferguson PD to 'stand down'. And what happened to the Staties? I agree that we absolutely need to get the locals out of Ferguson and get some professional law enforcement in there.

I was a student at Ohio State when the Kent State shootings took place and the Governor called in the National Guard who set up a cordon around the University and several blocks beyond. I lived inside the cordon area, so had a curfew. The Guard was there for several weeks. I chattted a number of them up and found them to be professional, courteous, and respectful while at the same time following their orders. That is how professionals work with civilians.

That is not what is happening in Ferguson.

[VanGoghRocks]

25. During the Rodney King riots in the early 90s here in LA, George H.W. Bush I believe ordered in

the Army and Marines, so the posse comitatus baloney is more honored in the breach than in th'observance, methinks.

Even if PC applies in Ferguson, though, I would say that President Obama could a) federalize MO National Guard and b) declare martial law, at which point, the local constabulary had better stand the fuck down or risk getting themselves shot, a fate over which few would shed many tears.

ETA: I'm so mad over this rampant vigilantism under color of law that I'm saying intemperate remarks, for which I apologize.

[Stonepounder]

30. You don't have to apologize to me!

I keep biting my tongue and slapping my hands to not post something that a jury would rule 'over the top'.

Somebody has to send in some professionals to defuse the situation. This is becoming a national embarrassment.

1. National news
2. International news
3. Reporters being hustled off to jail and later released with no charge
4. Repeated videos of the police instigating violence with vulgar language and overtly threatening behavior.
5. Amnesty International sending in observers.

Do any of these clowns have any clue on how bad they are making the US look on the world stage?

[atreides1]

28. Eisenhower did it.

Little Rock Arkansas...September, 1957!

[VanGoghRocks]

36. JFK threatened to do it to Alabama -- 1961! That lame-ass Governor

Patterson promptly backed down.

[rhett o rick]

33. I don't think posse comitatus applies any more. We no longer live in constitutionally controlled

democratic republic.

[Stonepounder]

45. Well, there is, of course, that.

We simply maintain the 'fiction' of following the Constitution and 'one man one vote' and representative government and all that.

[jayfish]

19. Should be arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. -NT-

[whttevrr]

23. Is it time to ask news shows to do a story on this?

I tweeted this:

@thecyclemsnbc Will you do a story about Ray Albers? The #ferguson cop who threatened to kill unarmed citizens.

[tblue37]

27. "ACLU Demands Removal Of Officer Who Told Protestor: 'I Will Kill You' ":

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ferguson-police-officer-i-will-kill-you-video

The American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Missouri is demanding that the state's highway patrol identify and remove a law enforcement officer who was videotaped telling a protester in Ferguson, Mo., "I will fucking kill you" Tuesday night.

<snip>

"I will fucking kill you," the officer says. "Get back."

"You're going to kill him?" the videographer asks. "What's your name, sir?"

"Go fuck yourself," the officer says. He is soon guided away from the confrontation by another uniformed officer.

<snip>

[Stonepounder]

46. I'll believe it when I see it! n/t

[tblue37]

47. At least the ACLU can attract a little bit of publicity to this matter, though.

But I am sure you are right--the cop will not even be punished or prevented from participating in the policing of the protesters, much less fired.

[Savannahmann]

31. I see the Public Relations officer was out and about last night

Working to communicate the message to the public. Unarmed people are a severe threat.

[JEB]

32. We are wasting precious tax dollars on these corrupt cops.

The money would be better spent educating our people rather than threatening them.

[Taitertots]

35. Police officer or not. He just committed a serious crime.

If nothing happens to him, then it is obvious that all of the so-called "good cops" are just armed guards for this criminal.

[VanGoghRocks]

37. Back in the early part of the 20th Century, the operative phrase was 'goon squad'.

[hifiguy]

38. This needs to be circulated as widely as possible.

This crawling shit has no business being in a position of authority over any living thing.

[pinboy3niner]

60. Don Lemon just showed the video on CNN

He also said the officer "has been suspended indefinitely."

[JDPriestly]

39. Why haven't these guys been fired?

They are clearly incompetent. They need to be fired. The entire police force needs to be reconstituted. The Feds cannot act fast enough. They need to put that town's police under a federal injunction. Where is Homeland Security when we need it? Why isn't Homeland Security securing the out-of-control police force in this situation?

[safeinOhio]

54. Serve and Protect…..

not so much.

[cer7711]

40. Anonymous - STRIKE!

That is all.

[Demit]

41. Seeing this, not hard to imagine how the Officer Wilson/Mike Brown confrontation began.

I can easily see Wilson having already pulled his weapon while he was still in the car, pointing it at Brown's face & saying "I will fucking kill you." It appears they teach that procedure at the Ferguson Police Academy.

[tblue37]

48. According to Dorian Johnson, the cops was saying,

"I'm gonna shoot you," as he first grabbed Brown's neck and then the front of his shirt.

[Demit]

55. I know, but there's some question about whether the gun was still holstered.

The way the cops are being so openly foul-mouthed & contemptuous, so ready to wave their weapons around in the faces of nonthreatening people...that's not a response to events, that's proof of a long-established culture, IMO. They are used to being kings of the hill in that town. They're the ones with the guns and they want you to know it.

[tblue37]

57. Agreed. nt

[TeeYiYi]

42. Removed from duty.

Officer Go Fuck Yerself has been removed from duty, per twitter news feed.

https://twitter.com/PzFeed

TYY

Edited to remove second story as it happened in California.

[Oilwellian]

43. I was just going to post this

[tblue37]

50. Good, but this is just PR. I bet he will quietly return to duty while

attention is directed elsewhere. We need to keep watch over this to make sure that when (not if) he is returned to duty, we hear about it so we can squawk loudly.

[Rex]

49. Gosh...nobody gonna come in here and defend the cop?

They must be slipping or getting tired of defending the indefensible.

[TheKentuckian]

53. Gotta bring a full lunch pail for that despicable job, it is more than full time.

They are probably just catching a breath and will be along with the absurdities shortly.

I call "under a lot of pressure in a tense situation" for the opening bid moving to the usual "bad apple" deflection pretty quick.

[Rex]

56. Yeah that is the usual SOP ain't it?

I'm having some fun with a few 'posters' that are angry about linking Bush and ISIS. Very amusing.

[indepat]

52. What do you get with a militarized police force: the likes of this when boot-jacked, armed-to-the-

teeth thugs threaten to kill peaceful protesters expressing their discontent.

[TheKentuckian]

61. Now if the average "consumer" threatened to Officer Go Fuckyerself brandishing a weapon

what might happen? Long prison term at best and at worst and most likely a trip to the morgue.

Old boy needs to be in some deep, deep shit. Probably Federal charges for such terrorism toward the press on top.

I think we have grown so used to essentially unchecked thuggery and contempt and disdain for the public that maybe most folks can't even wrap their heads around how way over the line this is.
This is serious criminal behavior that isn't about a suspension or even being termed, he should face the charges a mere "consumer" or "small person" would face if they managed to survive doing the same shit to him.

[indepat]

64. May the public rebuke the criminal antics of militarized police in loud, ringing unison

[woo me with science]

63. kick