A San Francisco public defender released video on Wednesday that showed her being handcuffed by police after she tried to stop an officer from questioning one of her clients.
Jami Tillotson told televison station KPIX that she ended up cuffed to a wall for about an hour.
The confrontation began after a man identified as Police Inspector Brian Stansbury in the video attempted to take photos of one of Tillotson’s clients. The defense attorney objected and stood in front of her client, despite the officer’s protests.
“I’m pretty sure we’re OK here,” Tillotson said on the video.
“No you’re not pretty sure,” Stansbury said. “If you continue with this I will arrest you for resisting arrest.”
Within a few seconds the cops followed through on the threat and placed Tillotson’s hands behind her back and place her in handcuffs.
“There is no 148 here, I am not resisting arrest,” she said before she was led out of the camera’s field of vision.
Tillotson was eventually released because the officer was due on the witness stand in another case, a police spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. The spokesperson said the department was investigating the incident.
Watch the video below:
h/t Gawker
Hence the term “police state.”
I’m sure the cop felt threatened as if by a demon and a thorough internal investigation will prove that.
The same police inspector, Brian Stansbury, is one of the officers currently being sued by a black San Francisco police officer. That police officer claims he was racially profiled during a traffic stop and then allegedly choked and tackled to the ground by officers in May 2013.
Unless the Judge that reviews this, and one will, is an absolute Cop sycophant, this isn’t going to go well. It’s a false arrest in the conduct of obstruction of justice. Any Judge that allows this to stand is putting a serious screwing on justice in America.
The old argument used to be…" which came first…the chicken or the egg". Now its " what came first…the arrest or resisting arrest".
“If you continue with this I will arrest you for resisting arrest.”
Chicken and egg question.