Posted on Aug 13, 2015
Florida police officer investigated after challenging US veteran over use of disabled parking space
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Cop Harasses Disabled Veteran for No Reason!
Officer Wilson is going to have some explaining to do.
[Warning: Video has explicit language!]
From: Fox News
A Florida police officer is under investigation after he allegedly ordered an Army veteran to remove his car from a handicapped-accessible parking spot despite the veteran’s vehicle displaying a disabled placard.
According to WPBF-TV, Riviera Beach Police Sgt. Gary Wilson is now on paid administrative leave while he is being investigated by internal affairs following an incident Sunday involving Isiah James, a U.S. Army combat veteran who served nearly 10 years.
The incident, caught on James’ cellphone video, shows an angry exchange between James and Wilson after the officer allegedly asked the veteran to move his Dodge Magnum out of the disabled parking spot outside a Walgreens because he did not look disabled.
Wilson is seen on the video challenging James, 29, saying the veteran is “in the wrong” because he “can walk.”
“What I’m saying is there are people in wheelchairs who can’t get out and you just get out of the car and float right into the store,” Wilson says to James.
“You are not the arbitrator of my disability; you don’t get to decide if I’m disabled or not,” says James, who reveals during the exchange that he served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. James also explains that he has screws in his leg and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Wilson, who asks for James’ license and calls in the plate number to check for outstanding warrants, also appears to knock James’ cellphone out of his hand as the veteran records the exchange.
“Move the camera out of my face,” Wilson says.
“You can’t do that, officer,” James says. “You broke my phone.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VkkOMMmQIg
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/12/florida-cop-investigated-after-challenging-veteran-over-use-disabled-parking/
From: Fox News
A Florida police officer is under investigation after he allegedly ordered an Army veteran to remove his car from a handicapped-accessible parking spot despite the veteran’s vehicle displaying a disabled placard.
According to WPBF-TV, Riviera Beach Police Sgt. Gary Wilson is now on paid administrative leave while he is being investigated by internal affairs following an incident Sunday involving Isiah James, a U.S. Army combat veteran who served nearly 10 years.
The incident, caught on James’ cellphone video, shows an angry exchange between James and Wilson after the officer allegedly asked the veteran to move his Dodge Magnum out of the disabled parking spot outside a Walgreens because he did not look disabled.
Wilson is seen on the video challenging James, 29, saying the veteran is “in the wrong” because he “can walk.”
“What I’m saying is there are people in wheelchairs who can’t get out and you just get out of the car and float right into the store,” Wilson says to James.
“You are not the arbitrator of my disability; you don’t get to decide if I’m disabled or not,” says James, who reveals during the exchange that he served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. James also explains that he has screws in his leg and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Wilson, who asks for James’ license and calls in the plate number to check for outstanding warrants, also appears to knock James’ cellphone out of his hand as the veteran records the exchange.
“Move the camera out of my face,” Wilson says.
“You can’t do that, officer,” James says. “You broke my phone.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VkkOMMmQIg
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/12/florida-cop-investigated-after-challenging-veteran-over-use-disabled-parking/
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Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 250
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I can't imagine this exchange started based on only the look of James, but if so this is outrageous. There are many reason that people qualify for handicapped tags, and as far as I know there are no differences in handicapped parking spaces. From the looks of the video and article the officer's actions look to be out of line in a big way.
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By the looks of this fat ass he has no clue what means to serve your country in combat. I stand behind this wounded warrior 100%.
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Seeing as everyone has posted something about this and said pretty much everything that needs to be said, I want to say (hopefully to James directly) that James needs to now get some Identity Theft protection. He just gave out his social, DOB, Full name, relative living location, and a number of other PII data that now puts him at massive risk.
Also, kudos to the second police officer for changing the direction of the argument and defusing the situation as best as possible. THATS how Officer Wilson should have behaved.
Also, kudos to the second police officer for changing the direction of the argument and defusing the situation as best as possible. THATS how Officer Wilson should have behaved.
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Guy is a tool, however in Michigan a DV plate alone does not warrant a handicap spot.
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Best line in this video: Vet says, "...Just because I don't look handicapped. You don't look well enough to be a f'n officer with your gut hanging over your stomach."
My take on this is that the cop was perfectly fine to check credentials to verify someone wasn't wrongfully using another's placard, but should have done it respectfully. In a perfect world, the vet should have maintained his bearing a bit better, but I can understand why he would be upset, and I don't think he did anything wrong. Also, TBI can make it physiologically more difficult to remain calm. The cop should have never gotten into an argument with the vet about whether or not his disability is serious enough to merit the parking spot, and certainly should not have slapped his phone out of his hand.
Bottom line: Officer Wilson is not the authority over who is/is not disabled, and should have just checked, then moved along... Maybe this is just another overweight cop who needs to find a new line of work because he's making his profession look bad. It's good that dispatch sent another cop out there to act impartially and calm the situation. I believe most cops across the country act more like that second one, but the ones who act the fool like the first one get much more media attention, misrepresenting an honorable profession.
My take on this is that the cop was perfectly fine to check credentials to verify someone wasn't wrongfully using another's placard, but should have done it respectfully. In a perfect world, the vet should have maintained his bearing a bit better, but I can understand why he would be upset, and I don't think he did anything wrong. Also, TBI can make it physiologically more difficult to remain calm. The cop should have never gotten into an argument with the vet about whether or not his disability is serious enough to merit the parking spot, and certainly should not have slapped his phone out of his hand.
Bottom line: Officer Wilson is not the authority over who is/is not disabled, and should have just checked, then moved along... Maybe this is just another overweight cop who needs to find a new line of work because he's making his profession look bad. It's good that dispatch sent another cop out there to act impartially and calm the situation. I believe most cops across the country act more like that second one, but the ones who act the fool like the first one get much more media attention, misrepresenting an honorable profession.
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Cops with little man syndrome. Cops have too much authority and need to be held at a higher standard.
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