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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Its even worse for female veterans because people assume that we are not actually veterans because how could we be, we are women. This is a disturbing trend and this officer was unprofessional and in the wrong. How is this officer to know if a veteran has a traumatic brain injury that causes seizures or something worse. People have no respect for veterans as a whole.
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SGT (Join to see)
What? You just go ahead and stop it. Don't even try to start a gender-based discrepancy in how veterans are treated. Just stop it. The American people know damn well that females are veterans/soldiers/marines. Maybe you have had some friction due to being a female... I hear you, but just stop it.
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PO2 (Join to see)
Grow up. If you really want to diminish a persons comments and disrespect them the way you just did, pick another person because I am not the one. If you really believe that we don't have issues with getting recognized as what we are you have to be blind to the world. Maybe you are blind to the world and live in a bubble of your own ignorance of what it means to be a woman on active duty or a veteran.
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The DV plates are abused by some. The qualification is not the same for civilian and military. The laziness and comfort of parking up front is upsetting. I know some DV need it but not all.
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I'm curious as to the comments about how the veteran could have handled it better. He had no obligation to do anything differently. The officer was on duty and in uniform, he had the obligation to conduct himself professionally. If his presence was the result of a citizen complaint then the correct course of action would have been to verify the disability & move on. Placards are granted for different reason that are not always obvious to the uniformed & there are those select few who will use a relative's placard to their own benefit. Once the individual's right to use the placard is established it's time to move on.
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In my opinion this officer was out of order. This veteran had the necessary documentation to support his handicap claim. Plus touching the veterans belongings without permission is a violation.
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It is a sad sad case its the ol willie lynch syndrome. He's a black cop throwing his weight around on a blk vet mind you would this happen to a white vet whose legal as this brother is. It's sad we as Veterans get treated this way. The cop is obviously in the wrong but he doesn't care.
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This officer needs to be FIRED so he can pursue his other occupation, DDS Wilson (Doctor Dip Shit), WHO does he think he is? This is wrong on SO MANY levels!!
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I have disabled veterans license plates, but I rarely park in a handicapped spot. I figure someone who is actually in a wheel chair needs it more than me. I was not blown up 8 times in combat, however.
In this case, the cop was clearly wrong. The vet didn't do a lot to help de-escalate the situation, however.
In this case, the cop was clearly wrong. The vet didn't do a lot to help de-escalate the situation, however.
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This why I don't get disability tags. Even though I have an 80 percent and can't go out anywhere without wearing a knee brace on each knee and a brace on my left ankle; I really don't want to have to deal with that kind of crap because I can still walk. I just say screw it and deal with the pain.
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The problem with this video is that it does not show the entire encounter. There are a lot of people who will use someone else's handicap placard to park in a handicap space. That is illegal. If the officer felt that was the case, then he had the right and obligation to investigate. The video does not show the start of the encounter, only the end where things were already going down hill. The officer should not have knocked the camera out of the man's hand, but on the other hand, the veteran was extremely antagonistic and is lucky he did not wind up with a disorderly conduct charge for the foul language in a public place. I'm disappointed in both peoples actions in the short portion of the encounter that we got to see. It also disappoints me how many people have made disrespectful comments about the officer without having all the facts. As a military member we should support law enforcement. Many officers are former military and the vast majority have great respect for our service. We should respect their service.
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