#1 Nazario's temporary vehicle license was visible in the lower right hand corner of his rear window even in the body cam video, which wasn't even at a good angle to see it. The police may not have seen it in the dark, but once he pulled into a brightly lit gas station, proper procedure would have been to check for and run that tag. [italics mine] - Hang on a sec, doesn't the law state that a displayed vehicle license must be visible at all times? The cops had every right to stop the guy if they couldn't see that license.
#2 The imperatives shouted at Nazario were conflicting. He was simultaneously told to keep his hands visible and to get out of the vehicle which would have involved pulling a hand inside the vehicle which would very likely have gottem him shot. - yes, you're right here. The imperatives were conflicted when both cops started talking. But what about the commands given before that, when just one was talking? The army guy blatantly refused quite a few of these commands. Who escalated the situation, the cops or the army guy?
#3 Use of force by police must be justified by the level of threat. A suspect may be noncompliant for a whole spectrum of reasons ranging from impairment/confusion/fear on one end to open hostility on the other. It's one thing if a suspect is surely and combative, but it's quite another if he is holding his hands up and stating that he's afraid - yes, use of force must be justified by level of threat. However, cops don't know why a suspect would be non-compliant. Just try to put yourself in the cops' shoes here. They want to stop a guy who isn't displaying his tags so that they're visible. Then the suspect ignores them, driving a mile and a half with the cop car following him, lights and signs going. The cops must be wondering why the suspect is ignoring them. Then one cop gets out and shouts for the army guy to put his hands outside the window, multiple times. The army guy ignores all these commands. The army guy isn't complying here.
^^^ the army guy ain't making life easy for himself, is he? In fact, his non-compliance escalated the situation.
Proper procedure is to make that determination and not needlessly escalate a traffic stop. - The cop went from pointing a gun at the army guy to switching to his taser to switching to his pepper spray. <--- this is actually de-escalation. I'll say again. it was the army guy's non-compliance which escalated this particular situation.
None of this is my personal opinion. This is what use of force experts across the country have said after reviewing the recordings, which is why Gutierrez was fired - I'd rather hear your personal opinions than respond to your appeal to authority but I'll comment anyway. The cops certainly made a few mistakes, although I personally don't think the cop should've been fired. Disciplined and retrained - yes.
And all this happened just as the Chauvin trial is underway, with America on a knife edge, braced for rioting and looting, sorry, 'mostly peaceful protests'. Maybe that had something to do with the cop being fired?
