NotHardUp1
What? Me? Really?
On July 4, John Sexton took his five-year-old son for a walk at 5:30 a.m. in Watonga, Oklahoma, a small town of under 3,000 but nonetheless, the county seat.
Crime in residential neighborhoods is statistically higher late at night and very early in the a.m. Cops on patrol watch for unusual behavior that might be a drug mule making a delivery, a thief prowling through cars or breaking and entering, and even peeping Toms and sexual predators that have more freedom under the cover of darkness.
In this instance, Sexton and his son walking appeared odd. Most residents of a small town would inded find taking a kid out at that hour as an odd behavior. So, the cops stopped Sexton to ask what they were doing. You can judge for yourself whether the cops were inordinately aggressive or not. From my experience, they seemed pretty restrained and almost apologetic.
Mr. Sexton clearly thought the police had no cause or right to detain him to ask. He immediately resisted cooperating with their questioning, which caused further suspicion. Cliche or not, guilty people have something to hide, and innocent ones do not. Most people, especially with a young child, would have tried to understand how it might look to be out at such an hour when theft is a big problem. But, he didn't. He began arguing.
He attempted to use his son as a shield, to shame the cops for the questioning. He became aggressive to the point they arrested him to identify him, or at least detain him in order to do so. The media focused on the fact he was "slammed" to the ground, but it wasn't huge, and cops generally do a little force when met with force to clarify that the encounter isn't a polite conversation at that point, which often works to alert the arrested person that he is subject to police control. It's not called a police force for no reason.
The whole thing blew up, mostly because the kid cried (understandably) and the father looked victimized, so social media ate it up and cries of police brutality and freedom abridged abounded. The cops involved are suspended pending investigation by the state.
But, sometimes a duck is a duck.
John Sexton had three separate sets of arrest warrants active at the time. From three separate counties. Three.
So, just as in any car stop for tags, or crossing the center line, or speeding, the criminal did something more out of fear he would be caught and taken to jail for his open warrants before the stop. This has many times led to chases, deadly crashes, or even dead cops.
Mr. Sexton knew the cops would find his warrants and probably was trying to bluff his way ouf the identification request to get away, yet again. After all, at some point, the county judge issues a bench warrant when you don't appear in court as you promised when they gave you the ticket, else you would have been arreest at the time. In my read, Mr. Sexton's birds had finally come home to roost.
Sadly, his little boy was traumatized, and he's made much of the alleged fact that his son is autistic, although being a private health point, we have no way of knowing if that's true, how severe it is or not, or if it is some mild learning disability rather than social and crippling disability. It appeared he used the child as an excuse and a shield and is now trying to wedge it into a premise for a lawsuit.
The problem with trial by social media is the community uses emotional bias to color the events, when the law is there for a reason. The news media being dismissive of Sexton's traffic violations plays a game that says crime is not crime, it's petty persecution by the state. His traffic offenses were not parking tickets in Oklahoma. Whether he had moving violations, DUIs, unlicensed driving, or uninsured motorist, all those things are threats to public safety and welfare, and repeated arrests indicate his general attitude to law is habitual, not incidental.
He appears to play the martyr while being the problem. This is a pattern in our social media era. Sometimes greater visibility perverts justice, not improves it.
Judge for yourself.
https://www.koco.com/article/watonga-body-camera-body-cam-video-walk-with-son/61667877
Crime in residential neighborhoods is statistically higher late at night and very early in the a.m. Cops on patrol watch for unusual behavior that might be a drug mule making a delivery, a thief prowling through cars or breaking and entering, and even peeping Toms and sexual predators that have more freedom under the cover of darkness.
In this instance, Sexton and his son walking appeared odd. Most residents of a small town would inded find taking a kid out at that hour as an odd behavior. So, the cops stopped Sexton to ask what they were doing. You can judge for yourself whether the cops were inordinately aggressive or not. From my experience, they seemed pretty restrained and almost apologetic.
Mr. Sexton clearly thought the police had no cause or right to detain him to ask. He immediately resisted cooperating with their questioning, which caused further suspicion. Cliche or not, guilty people have something to hide, and innocent ones do not. Most people, especially with a young child, would have tried to understand how it might look to be out at such an hour when theft is a big problem. But, he didn't. He began arguing.
He attempted to use his son as a shield, to shame the cops for the questioning. He became aggressive to the point they arrested him to identify him, or at least detain him in order to do so. The media focused on the fact he was "slammed" to the ground, but it wasn't huge, and cops generally do a little force when met with force to clarify that the encounter isn't a polite conversation at that point, which often works to alert the arrested person that he is subject to police control. It's not called a police force for no reason.
The whole thing blew up, mostly because the kid cried (understandably) and the father looked victimized, so social media ate it up and cries of police brutality and freedom abridged abounded. The cops involved are suspended pending investigation by the state.
But, sometimes a duck is a duck.
John Sexton had three separate sets of arrest warrants active at the time. From three separate counties. Three.
So, just as in any car stop for tags, or crossing the center line, or speeding, the criminal did something more out of fear he would be caught and taken to jail for his open warrants before the stop. This has many times led to chases, deadly crashes, or even dead cops.
Mr. Sexton knew the cops would find his warrants and probably was trying to bluff his way ouf the identification request to get away, yet again. After all, at some point, the county judge issues a bench warrant when you don't appear in court as you promised when they gave you the ticket, else you would have been arreest at the time. In my read, Mr. Sexton's birds had finally come home to roost.
Sadly, his little boy was traumatized, and he's made much of the alleged fact that his son is autistic, although being a private health point, we have no way of knowing if that's true, how severe it is or not, or if it is some mild learning disability rather than social and crippling disability. It appeared he used the child as an excuse and a shield and is now trying to wedge it into a premise for a lawsuit.
The problem with trial by social media is the community uses emotional bias to color the events, when the law is there for a reason. The news media being dismissive of Sexton's traffic violations plays a game that says crime is not crime, it's petty persecution by the state. His traffic offenses were not parking tickets in Oklahoma. Whether he had moving violations, DUIs, unlicensed driving, or uninsured motorist, all those things are threats to public safety and welfare, and repeated arrests indicate his general attitude to law is habitual, not incidental.
He appears to play the martyr while being the problem. This is a pattern in our social media era. Sometimes greater visibility perverts justice, not improves it.
Judge for yourself.
https://www.koco.com/article/watonga-body-camera-body-cam-video-walk-with-son/61667877
