An Air National Guardsman named Anthony Graber caught the headcam footage embedded below. Graber, who was cited for speeding in excess of 100mph and popping wheelies on his bike, was pulled over by a plain clothes Maryland State Police officer. No big deal, right? Wrong. Check out the video. The cop jumps out of his car and pulls his gun on Graber without first identifying himself.
That’s a BIG no-no.
As if the situation weren’t ridiculous enough, Graber is now being threatened with jail for posting the video online because Maryland is a dual-consent state for recordings. Unfortunately for the police, however, that only works when there’s a reasonable expectation of privacy. Guess what? A fucking highway isn’t somewhere where you can expect privacy.
Below is the full video, sans sound.
And here is a 23 second excerpt… with sound. This douche of a cop is lucky that Graber wasn’t carrying a gun himself. He would’ve had ample time (and cause) to blow him away.
That fishbowl lens at 100mph is a bit of a trip
Considering the dangerous stuff the cyclist was doing, I think the officer performed well. He drew his sidearm, did NOT point it at the cyclist, and told him to get off the bike while identifying himself.
The big no-no was the cyclist endangering himself and others.
…what dangerous stuff? DRIVING FAST?
And why does the firearm need to be drawn at all
“…what dangerous stuff? DRIVING FAST?”
“Graber, who was cited for speeding in excess of 100mph and popping wheelies on his bike,”
Not sure which highways in the US are rated for traffic traveling at 100+ mph and stunts…oh wait: none of them. Why? Because it’s dangerous. Why else do you think there are speed limits?
“And why does the firearm need to be drawn at all”
Why does someone need to risk the safety of himself and other drivers for a YouTube video?
You still didn’t explain why the firearm was required
The only time it’s right to pull out a firearm after pulling over someone over is after a high speed chase. If you pull someone over for simple speeding and “reckless driving”, there is NO excuse to take out a gun, especially if the sucker is on a bike.
I think you’re missing the entire point of this.
If someone pulled in front of me, in plain clothes, and whipped out a gun? I would FLIP my SHIT
“You still didn’t explain why the firearm was required”
It should be obvious: extreme speeds; extreme reckless driving. Normal people in normal situations do not do this. The bike (or something else carried), could have been stolen; the driver could have been hopped up on something…possibly both. The officer was entering into a situation that was extremely abnormal and possibly life threatening so he drew his sidearm, kept it pointed at the ground, and re-holstered it in within 6 seconds. Certainly nowhere as reckless as the driver.
“I think you’re missing the entire point of this. If someone pulled in front of me, in plain clothes, and whipped out a gun? I would FLIP my SHIT”
So, I assume that you feel that it is in your rights to recklessly endanger fellow commuters with unsafe motorcycle driving and not have a police office act within his rights of self protection and making sure that you cease the dangerous behavior. I assume that you feel you have the right to “shit flip” when someone in authority stops your hazardous jollies in a way that is not to your liking. If this is “the point” I missed, I apologize, but it is a kind of a silly point.
A cop in plain clothes should not whip out his gun without first identifying himself, unless there really is obvious danger. What first comes to mind if some random guy with no markings on him pulls a gun on you? Certainly not OH SHIT THE COPS
Also, I really think you’re sensationalizing. Making it out to seem like the biker is a psychopath, and was actually dangerous when the bike isn’t moving.
What’s the point of taking the gun out anyway? Shock and awe?
“Making it out to seem like the biker is a psychopath, and was actually dangerous when the bike isn’t moving.”
No, I am just taking into account what the cyclist was doing before he stopped (the reason why the officer is there to begin with). You seem to be ignoring that.
“What’s the point of taking the gun out anyway? Shock and awe?”
See previous post.
I have no pity for that motorcyclist, he’s lucky at the end of the day he’s got a youtube video to show off his lame ass law breaking instead of residue from his balls laying 100 feet away from his mutilated body from crashing.
Idiot.
By the way, you can clearly see highway patrol is right behind the motorcyclist when he gets off the bike at the end of the video. Obviously the off duty cop called backup, you’re telling me the guy on the bike didn’t see that patrol car behind him. I’m call pffft on this whole thing. Like the above poster said, guy kept his gun pointed down the entire time and acted swiftly and calmly. Team cop on this one all the way!
Drawing a GUN for SPEEDING is fucking ridiculous.
When cops murder someone they all too often claim accidental, mistook it for my tazer, he was attacking, etc. Perhaps they shouldn’t be so quick to whip out a gun when they’re just making a traffic stop.
Speeding and hot-dogging or not, I can’t think of a single logical reason why the cop needed to pull his gun. Also, I own and ride a motorcycle. It’s amazing what you don’t see coming up behind you at times – largely because your focus is on shit in front of you as that’s a lot more likely to be dangerous.
He pulled out his gun. What was he expecting to do with it? Aside from expecting the perp to see it and freeze in place.
The gun pulling was ridiculous
Americans.
“He pulled out his gun. What was he expecting to do with it? Aside from expecting the perp to see it and freeze in place.”
That sounds like a “bingo” to me.
Stupidity met with stupidity. I only wish the cop stopped the guy after he crashed going 100+ and then accidentally shot himself. That would be perfect.
A few things here:
1st off: The guy deserved to get pulled over. I don’t agree that going 100+ is inherently dangerous, as long as you drive well, but pulling stunts like wheelies on a public road is stupid, and gives motorcycles a bad name. Plus, agree or disagree, the law is the law.
Secondly: The plainclothes officer should’ve known better. He was not wearing any identification, he wasn’t in a police car, he just nearly hit the guy with his car, then he comes at him with a drawn sidearm., and he expects there not to be backlash? You just don’t draw a gun on someone in the middle of the highway, unless you want a gun back in your face or for shit to get worse, the only exception being if you’re a uniformed cop. That situation doesn’t warrant a gun at all, I’ve been pulled over for excessive speeding and have never had a gun drawn on me.
Thirdly: The privacy thing. Why is it that the fucking pigs always spout off “You don’t need privacy if you aren’t doing anything wrong” unless it’s them getting taped doing shit that they shouldn’t be doing? They’re real quick to change their tunes then, aren’t they?
I live in the Washington DC Metro area (in Fairfax co, Virginia to be precise), and the cops around here are generally okay, but there’s definitely a bunch who give credence to the idea that cops are just a gang with government backing and a badges.
i didnt read through all the comments, but did anyone catch what bike he had?
“…cops are just a gang with government backing and a badges.” Comment by That Guy Over There^.
Oh glory be, how true of that statement for the world over, not just the U.S.
As for the video.
If the guy wants to go fast, let him.
The cops is the prick in this picture, Trigga happy twat.
I’m about as anti-cop as you can get, and I’ve had personal run-ins with Maryland cops, and even still I think the cop wasn’t that bad.
Probably wrong to draw the sidearm, and should probably face disciplinary action for it, but he seemed to realize his mistake and holster it. And he identified himself pretty quickly, I’ve been assaulted by cops for quite a bit longer before they identified.
The biker is a cock. Period. Should lose his license permanently.