Another day, another video surfaces online depicting cops threatening black men during a traffic stop, sparking yet another debate on police tactics and how citizens behave.

This encounter was filmed in Boynton Beach more than a year ago in February of 2013, but it gained attention this week after someone posted the video on YouTube in July.

It shows two Boynton Beach police officers pulling over a car with four black men and asking them for identification. One of the men refuses and says “I’m not intimidated, I have rights” while another one is heard saying, “What’s wrong with you; stupid a…-cracker”.

The driver asks for the cops badge number and name, but before he knows it, the cop tells him to come out of the car and he throws him down on the ground.

At the same time, the other officer runs with his gun pointed towards the men and tells them to put their hands “on the thing” and “keep them right there or I’ll f…ing put a round in your a… so quick”.

After the video went viral, Boynton Police Chief Jeffery Katz responded on YouTube with a lengthy post in which he says he knew about the incident and justifies the actions of the officers.

He said that the car was pulled over because it was inside a 2-mile perimeter “established in response to a violent home invasion robbery in which the suspects were armed with a machete” and that the officer felt threatened by the driver’s gesture to reach out of the window “with a black object in his hands”.

You can read Chief Katz’ response in full below.

Meanwhile, according to the Sun-Sentinel, an attorney representing the driver, who has since been identified as Jack Noubert, notified the Boynton Beach Police on Thursday of his client’s intent to sue the department.

Dennis Kenney, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York, told the Sun Sentinel that the officers had a right to pull the vehicle over but they crossed a line when they pulled out their guns.

“You should never pull your weapon unless you’re ready to use it,” he told the news daily. “It’s not used for compliance. Unless it is a circumstance where you are justified to shoot, if there’s any additional aggressive moves, than pulling that gun out is stupid. It should stay in its holster.”

PS – We added an interesting video-commentary about the incident from YouTube user SmurfVlogs, which is worth a listen.

Boynton Beach Police Chief Katz’s Message:

“I’ve seen this video before – probably about a year ago. It continues to surface despite the fact nobody has made a complaint or provided helpful information from which we could put this incident in context or take corrective action if applicable. Despite this fact, my staff and I did an exhaustive search of our records in order to try to identify this incident, which occurred on February 4, 2013. What we learned is:

• The persons within this car were within a 2 mile perimeter officers established in response to a violent home invasion robbery in which the suspects were armed with a machete (BBPD Case number 13-5715).

• The persons within the vehicle were – as you can see on the video – less than cooperative and, in some cases antagonistic toward the officers.
• The driver reached out of his window with a black object in his hand. The sergeant immediately felt threatened by this gesture and took actions to protect himself and others on the scene.

People these days seem to like to draw strong and definitive conclusions based upon clips of video and information. That’s not how this complex world works, folks. The driver and occupants of a vehicle have far more to do with the outcome of a traffic stop than does the initiating officer. Respect begets respect.

Antagonism and hostility are met with defensiveness and it escalates the officers’ stress response – this never leads to a more productive and civil engagement. When I watch this video, I don’t see a car full of young men who are behaving in a manner consistent with fear of the police.

These young men are escalating this incident, being uncooperative with officers who are investigating a violent crime, and recording their interaction – presumably with the hopes of catching a “gotcha” moment on the part of our personnel.

I hate to disappoint them, but no gotcha moment exists here…which is why I suspect nobody ever came forward to make a complaint about this. Rest assured, absent a complaint we still looked into this incident and found the officers’ actions to be appropriate and justifiable given the totality of the circumstances. To those who are attempting to use this video to stoke racial tension and fear – I’d encourage you to work toward a solution and engage productive behaviors. For example:

• Report what you perceive to be police misconduct – and let us know when we are doing something right as well!

• Participate in our citizen’s police academy, and learn more about why and how we do the things we do… Ignorance is a terrible catalyst to judgment.
• Make an appointment to come chat with me about the direction of the department and offer your suggestions for improved service.

If you didn’t know the information I shared with in about the broader context and circumstances of this incident and drew a conclusion, reconsider with these facts in mind. Facts are a stubborn thing.

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