As the possibility of Coronavirus checkpoints looms larger, it’s worth considering who’ll be manning them. It’ll be armed government workers like the ones in this video, who beat a man named Christopher Butler nearly to death in the course of a penny ante traffic stop.
According to news reports, Butler was driving below the posted speed limit, which attracted the attention of the AGWs. They pulled him over – and then pulled him out of his vehicle, applying fists, kicks and Tazers. A bystander video’d the assault.
The AGWs claim their ultraviolent Hut! Hut! Hutting! was justified because Butler was “uncooperative” and “not responding to commands.” There is no allegation that he was armed or in any way a “threat” to the “safety” of the AGWs who put him in the hospital.
And who lathered him with several charges on top of that.
Butler’s mother says “They kneed Christopher in the face and punched him in the face inside the car . . . (the) video shows once they had him on the ground they started kicking him in the face. They beat him so many times with the baton. They kept punching and my kid ended up at the hospital in critical care.”
Drug test taken at the hospital supposedly indicate that Butler was under the influence of drugs – and news coverage indicates that he had a criminal record – but nothing Butler did prior to or during the stop warranted the beatdown. Driving slow is supposed to be the apotheosis of saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafe driving, isn’t it?
And regardless, Butler wasn’t violent – either to others on the road or to the AGWs. Who are now all on “paid administrative leave.”
You know – the same punishment any of us would get for beating a man half to death who hadn’t done a thing to justify it, either legally or morally.
. . .
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The guy was driving 15 MPH on I-95! That’s not just a few mph below the limit, which no one in FL observes anyway. Plus, the guy was on probation for robbery-hardly an angel. When the goons ran his plate, that no doubt came up. Also, the driver’s medication affected him to the point where he couldn’t drive safely; driving 15 mph on I-95 in FL is not safe, Folks. He shouldn’t have ben on the road. He was driving in a manner that would’ve gotten one pulled over in the days before DUI checkpoints.
That said, the AGWs were way over the line. If they thought the guy was on something and blitzed, they should’ve realized that that might have impaired his ability to understand what they’re saying to him. There have been numerous incidents where they did the same thing to people with obvious mental issues.
Hi Mark,
I’m not defending the guy; I was criticizing the way he was treated. Which, as you say, was way over the line.
“Uncooperative” and “not responding to commands”. Think about that for a moment. If you are stopped for no apparent reason, neither of these is a criminal act, and one has to assume driving under the speed limit is no apparent reason. Under the influence of drugs? You mean like a lot of the drivers out there who are taking psychoactive prescription drugs? In fact, I’ve concluded that since there seems to be a lot more of them lately, many Clovers are actually victims of the opiod epidemic.
Hi JWK,
Yup. You’re pulled over for no apparent reason and ask why. This is “being uncooperative.” Does the law require one to be “cooperative” with an AGW’s illegal actions? Same goes for “not responding to commands.” Well, what if the “commands” were not lawful? Are we obligated to just obey because we are commanded to?
Yes, exactly.
Keep it up AGW’s. Blow-back is a bravo romeo india tango charlie hotel!
Britch? I think you need to lose the Romeo.
Romeo, Romeo! What art thou doing with that bitch?
Whatever he can Anon.