Navy Veteran drives 300 yards despite Police flashing lights and sounding horn
Braxton Smith apparently did not pull over when the police flashed their lights at him, and made associated sounds. Smith continued driving for 300 yards before stopping. When asked why continued driving, Smith said that he was looking for a safe spot for both the police and for him. Smith also stated that he was Black, and that he was terrified of the police.
From News 4 Jax:
On JSO body-worn video, police are heard saying they pulled Smith over because he traveled 300 yards with them behind him flashing their lights and sirens. That’s the length of three football fields and 45 seconds to a minute at a slow speed.
Smith, who is Black, said he didn’t pull over immediately because he wanted to find a well-lit, safe place to stop, and he believes he was racially profiled.
Lights and sirens were seen along Golfair Boulevard the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving during the traffic stop that started at Pearl Street and ended in a business parking lot.
?Turn the car off, turn it off,” officers can be heard saying in the video. “Get your hands out the window, get your hands out the window.”
Smith can be seen with his hands out the window. He’s holding his driver’s license and registration.
?Don’t move,” an officer says.
“I ain’t moving, what’s up?” Smith said.
“Don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it. You keep your hands out the freaking window and shut your mouth,” an officer says.
In the video, police ask Smith if he smokes hemp and then tells him he might be going to jail.
“Officer, I’m a law-abiding citizen,” Smith says.
“Well, right now you might be going to jail,” an officer says.
“For what?” Smith responds.
“We’ll talk about that in a second,” the officer says.
Smith told News4JAX he was pulled over after speaking with a man at a nearby convenience store.
In the video, Smith tells police he was trying to find a safe location to pull over for police and himself. He’s read his Miranda rights and then aggressively questioned by the officer.
“So, why didn’t you stop?” the officer says repeatedly.
“I just told you,” Smith says.
“You think you’re smarter than everyone else,” the officer says.
“Look at what you just did to me. You just snatched me out my car, I rolled the window down and gave you my license, my registration, you didn’t read me my rights, you snatched me out of the car,” Smith says.
“You’re damn right I did. Why did I do that?” the officer interrupts.
“I don’t know, I haven’t the slightest idea,” Smith said.
“Because for 300 yards I had my lights on,” the officer says while Smith repeatedly tells him to search his name in the system.
“I’m a Black man in America, I’m terrified of the police,” Smith says.
“Mr. Black man, I’m asking you a question, how many different sirens did I turn on, how many times did I lay on my horn?” the officer says.
He then tells Smith to get in the back of his police cruiser and shut his mouth.
While Smith is being questioned, police search his car for drugs but don’t find any. Then they move to the trunk where they locate the veteran’s holstered handgun. One of the officers can be heard alleging that while Smith was being pulled over, he somehow reached behind him and put the gun in the trunk through the back seat.
News 4 Jax has the rest of the interaction here.
Category: None
It’s 99% of po-po like him that give the remaining 1% a bad name.
OK, I’ll start…
The world is full assholes, and some of them have badges.
The worst cops in my experience:
Massachusetts State Police
Plainsboro, NJ
Note: My father, grandfather, and 9 friends from my childhood became cops, so it not like I’m a hater.
Chicago cops are the worst in my experience. Crooked as the day is long and constantly getting busted for selling guns and confiscated drugs to the gangs.
“On Friday, legal experts are weighing on the release of this video. Why they say the video can be a learning lesson for both the public and police.”
As far as I can tell, Mr Smith did everything right.
And also, as far as I can tell, the po-po did nothing right.
It sounds like Mr Smith was under suspicion for talking to someone, then pulled over and out of his car because he didn’t pull over fast enough to suit TPTB. Huh!?
Yeah. DWB (Driving While Black) sounds like a good excuse to pull over and harass a civilian.
I hope Mr Smith files charges and complaints against the two Orificers. Assholes under Color of Law.
What a fukin retard.
Police pull you over, turn on ALL the lights inside the car, stop immediately, and place both hands on the steering wheel.
I do this every single time, and never had a problem. Excuses is all I hear.
Yes, many cops are assholes, so I am. The meanest mothefucker in the valley.
Deal.With.It.
Do you stop in the middle of driving in traffic when the po-po flash their lights and sirens at you?
Or do you continue until you can find a SAFE place to pull over?
But that would be an idea…….pull immediately over just enough to where YOU’RE ok and out of traffic, but the Orificer is standing in traffic.
Use Alinsky’s Rules, #4, “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”
“Hey, why am I standing in traffic?”
“You wanted me to pull over immediately, so I did, immediately. I didn’t want to be arrested, or even shot because you might think that I’m running away.”
Yeah, it’s a dick move. So what? It’s called “malicious compliance”.
“Don’t start nuttin’, won’t be nuttin’.”
The law requires you to yield immediately. The police pick the location of the stop for a reason. Invariably, what happens when someone keeps going for a “safe” spot (there is no such thing), they continue on until it becomes awkward (such as in this case). Then they stop and it’s always in a worse location than the officer picked.
The cop knows the road ahead. There’s a reason he wanted you to stop where he signaled. The road ahead curves, there’s no shoulder, etc.
That’s even if the cop is pulling you over. Maybe they’re on their way to a baby choking to death and instead of getting out of the way, you’re looking for a safe spot instead of just moving over and yielding like you’re supposed to.
You read an awful lot into the article there to support your bias. I fail to see any mention of “traffic” being an issue in the article. Same for anything like an intersection, not that there would be any intersection 300 yards wide. What I did see was another perpetual victim making yet another “I was stopped cuz I was black” claim.
You also saw only one side of the situation but for many folks that’s all they want to see any how.
Turning on all the interior loghts makes good sense but pulling completely off the road into a parking lot makes good sense too. You don’t impede traffic, you lessen the risk to both yourself and the LEO.from traffic.
As I’m of the fish belly white complexion I don’t have the added concern of DWB so I slow down, put my blinker on and if it takes me a while to get to a suitable spot so be it.
I was pulled over a couple of times for going a little too fast and going througha a red light or stop sign, I forgot which one. When I got pulled over, I turned off the engine, put on the 4 ways and put the car keys on top of the car roof and both hands on the wheel and the first thing the LEO asks me is what agency do I work for. Never received a ticket. My friend who was an NYPD Officer told me to never argue with the cop. Got stopped like 2 in the morning when I was working nights and on the way to the Atlantic Beach bridge to Long Beach and it was to late when I saw the County car parked on the grass. I started to slow down and pulled over, put the keys on the roof, hands on the wheel and gave him my drivers license and Brink’s ID card. He sees the blue light on the dash and asks me what Fire Dept I belong to. He tells me to slow down in the future and tells me he’s a Volly Fireman next town over. Former USMC Viet Vet also..
When I was pulled over for running the light, I told the LEO that I was going over the speed limit and I braked to try and slow down. When they see the brakes lights, it’s usually a sign that the driver is not trying to run the light.
Not simply lack of people skills but also a jerk. My state went to Constitutional carry so that is another big nothing. If he thinks the guy at the store was selling drugs, why not go after him instead?
This cop should be disciplined for this conduct. The claim this driver managed to push his holstered pistol through the back seat into the trunk while driving is patently absurd.
This cop should have his nuts cut off and shoved up his nose.
I am certain the courts would say that is punishment barred by the 8th Amendment of the US Constitution.
Doh!
In my lawerly opinion, the driver is going to have a nice payday from the city of Jacksonville. If his lawer knows what he is doing, J-ville will be writing a check that will include the attorneys’ fees and four or five figures for our abused driver. The driver will have the last laugh on his way to the bank.
What? Cruel and unusual punishment? To whom? The po-po’s nuts?
What nuts? He’s a cop, ergo…. 😜
/no twig, no berries.
//*runs*
In almost every single case like this over the last several years, it has behooved one to wait for the complete story to come to light before passing judgment on either party.
I wish that video hadn’t been edited quite so much. Even as it is, the argumentative high-pitched whining of Mr. Smith makes me sympathetic to the police.
Hey, Mr. Smith. If you are as afraid of the police because you are black as you claim, learn to behave in a cooperative, non-threatening, and quiet (i.e. keep your damn mouth shut) manner as suggested by several people here. I do.
You know some of the dummies that lived for high school, didn’t join the military, didn’t go to college, never left town, and still think they’re the talk of the town?
Unfortunately, a lot of them are now local law enforcement.
It’s a stereotype for a reason…
If only coach had put him in…they could have won State…
Hey Napoleon…. how much you want to bet I can’t throw this football over them mountains…..
I know you could do it, because back in 82 you could throw a pigskin a quarter mile.
300 yards? That’s like a block and a half. I don’t see the problem.
Around here many two lane roads are 70mph, 300 yards to find a safe spot is nothing. A lighted spot can take 5-10 miles.
I bet that Cop is a real hoot at parties.
Seems like there was plenty of teh stoopid going on here.
Yes Sir, No Sir, No Excuse Sir. (driver)
I will treat you with common respect and courtesy. (LEO)
Although this looks pretty weak on the surface, we know what they say about first reports…. My opinion is that the truth is somewhere between what has been said.
As some of my previous comments on this site indicate, I am not at all averse to criticizing the police. In this case, however, after some further thought and research I am betting the police were justified in this case.
After looking at Google maps it appears that the relevant section of Golfair Blvd. has streetlights, so the driver didn’t need to travel to find lighting. It also appears to be at least a partially residential area, so flashing lights would attract at least some attention.
There were at least two police cars involved in the stop, which would seem to indicate (to me, anyway) something other than a routine DWB roust.
Were I a suspicious person (and I am) I would consider the possibility that the driver was delaying pulling over in order to dispose of incriminating evidence. I would love to know what a check of the license plate (they always check the license plates on Youtube videos) showed and if that convenience store was a known drug stop.