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Police are supposed to protect citizens instead of attacking them. Even if they are arresting someone, if that person isn’t resisting, then there is no reason to use force. This didn’t happen with a California off-duty officer who was attacking a Purple Heart veteran because he was using his constitutionally protected right to public speech. The video taken of the interaction is quite disturbing, especially with how the California off-duty officer was behaving. He manipulated the narrative of what was happening so that the officers on duty would use force as well. When will such an event stop happening?
In the video, you can see the California off-duty officer arguing with the veteran. He starts telling him, “Get on the f**king ground, motherf**ker.” The veteran, along with a bystander, asked what he did to no response. The officer claims that the veteran is obstructing a public officer. Despite saying, “I didn’t do nothing,” the California off-duty officer keeps pushing the veteran. The same bystander starts defending him by saying that he didn’t do anything wrong except exercising his First Amendment right before this guy (the California off-duty officer) came and “assaulted him.” This is enough to describe the kind of force he was unjustifiably using.
The officer then claims that he has identified himself, which the veteran says didn’t happen. When an on-duty police officer arrives, he and the California off-duty officer use force to bring the veteran to the ground. He asks them, “Would you like me to get on the ground?” to which they don’t respond. To make matters worse, the off-duty officer proceeds to put his knee on top of the veteran’s head, whose response was to say, “You are hurting me.” He also says, “I can’t breathe.” They don’t stop their assault.
What Happens Next?
After being handcuffed, the veteran says that it is a public place. The California off-duty officer responds by saying, “It’s not a public place when you are screaming at young children.” The Redding police department, to which the officer belongs, released what could only be described as a pathetic news release. They claim that the officer tried to “defuse the situation,” which is clearly a lie. How is he defusing the situation by attacking the veteran? He didn’t even identify himself as claimed. Nor does the video show him asking the veteran to leave. The veteran is also not resisting, as was claimed.
The California off-duty officer proceeded to lie to the on-duty officer by saying that he asked the man to leave and that he refused. Another pathetic excuse was provided by the on-duty officer who claimed that public space speech rights have an exception when it comes to swearing in front of women and children. This was removed from the law around the 1970s. Plus, if they were that upset about the veteran saying profanities in the presence of women and children, why did the California off-duty officer also use profanities in the same place? The whole situation is maddening.
People Reacting to How the California Off-Duty Officer Behaved
People were left outraged by the entire situation and how unjust it was. One person wrote what many agreed with: “Crazy that an off-duty cop or any cop can just treat you like this.” Another replied by saying, “Agreed—who would believe that this was guy a cop? So some random person can come tell you to stop talking, because they are (maybe) a cop, and you have to comply or maybe be arrested?” Someone also added what should have happened, “Unless I see a badge, I’d had started swinging.” Another person wrote, “That off duty cop is a little man, spiritually and figuratively.”
The absurdity of the situation left some people in shock at the possibility of being treated in the same way. One said, quoting from the video, “‘ What did I do?!’ ‘You didn’t listen.’ Let that sink in for a second.” The hate toward the California off-duty officer kept going (as it should). Someone said, “Yeah uh f**k these guys. Cute how much braver officer off duty got once his friends showed up to back up his bullshit.”
Another called the police officers what they definitely are: “Fascist pigs.” People were so heated by the event that they found the California off-duty officer’s name. “The officer’s name is Jacob Ruiz. I tried to see if his department posted anything on Facebook, but they never did. Wasn’t hard to find him tho,” one person wrote. Well, I hope justice will end up happening this time around. Such treatment should never have taken place.
