The "state newspaper" finally got around to covering a controversial video of a Mississippi Highway Patrol arrest. JJ posted the video on July 14 and the police report on July 25. The video is posted below. The "state newspaper" couldn't be bothered to report the video until Wednesday - after Carlos Moore announced he was going to sue MHP over the arrest. Suddenly the Clarion-Ledger and a State Representative jumped into action as they performed their roles of trained seals for Carlos the Clown.
A Mississippi lawmaker is calling for an investigation into a July traffic stop arrest after video of a highway patrol trooper slamming the head of a man against a car went viral on social media.Robert Morton was pulled over for speeding on a Clay County Road on July 12, according to a statement from the highway patrol, and video of his arrest racked up millions of views on Twitter and Facebook.
Hmmm..... no one would ever know by reading those opening paragraphs that Morton the Moron was speeding over 100 mph or that he refused to give the trooper his driver's license. Hell, no one would know those facts from just reading the front page section of the article. The only thing the newspaper was interested in was the "millions of views" on social media. See for yourself:
Let's continue.
A 4-minute video provided to the Clarion Ledger by Morton’s attorney shows a tense scene between Morton, the driver, and Brandon Berry, a white highway patrolman. Berry repeatedly attempts to handcuff Morton in the video, but Morton ignores his orders, pulls away or holds his hands away from the trooper.Trained seals, indeed. The video, and thus story, didn't exist until The Clown said it existed. Guess some things aren't news until certain attorneys say they are news. This website verified and posted the video over a month ago but the newspaper couldn't be bothered to do the same until Carlos came a'calling.
A 4-minute video provided to the Clarion Ledger by Morton’s attorney shows a tense scene between Morton, the driver, and Brandon Berry, a white highway patrolman. Berry repeatedly attempts to handcuff Morton in the video, but Morton ignores his orders, pulls away or holds his hands away from the trooper.“You wanna get tased? You better get on the f---ing ground,” Berry says in the video. “Get on the ground. Get on the ground. You are resisting right now.”After Berry tries to handcuff Morton again, Morton pushes away and the trooper pulls out what appears to be a stun gun.“I ain’t about to fight with you, sir,” Berry says.Then, a second trooper, James Scott, arrives.Video shows Scott walking up to Morton and grabbing him around the neck, causing Morton’s head to slam against the roof the car. The two troopers then wrestle Morton to the ground.
Still no mention of driving 101 mph or refusing to give the trooper a driver's license.
The person filming the arrest — Morton’s fiancee — yells at the troopers: “Oh my goodness. Y’all gotta do all that? ... Sir, you ain’t gotta do all that ... y’all supposed to be out here protecting us.”
Of course, it escapes the reporter's notice that the trooper was dealing with not one but two suspects. The woman could've had a weapon or simply attacked the trooper at any point in this confrontation. Did the reporter assume she wasn't a threat? Latent sexism?
Rep. Jeramey Anderson, D-Moss Point, sent a letter to Marshal Fisher, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Mississippi Highway Patrol, asking for the incident to be reviewed.“I am not assigning blame or innocence to anyone involved,” the letter read. “I support law enforcement. The majority of law enforcement officers honorably and capably serve and protect the public.”According to the letter, the video appeared to show excessive force by the officers and warrants an investigation.
“To do less only invites the spread of rumors and misinformation, which could damage the reputation of your department and further damage the reputation of this state,” the letter reads.
The other trained seal jumps into the the Clown's circus ring. Anderson thinks highly of himself as he has an entourage of a Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, and two legislative aides. Give him credit. He once had a staff of twelve although it is not known if he also has a ball washer - for those fund-raising golf tournaments, of course.
Not quite to the level of Muhammed Ali but not bad for a rookie, either.
Not quite to the level of Muhammed Ali but not bad for a rookie, either.
Anderson doesn't go far enough to slam the troopers but just wants a review of the video as he naturally supports law enforcement. Well, his "request" got the intended result, a headline on the front page.
Think I'm being too harsh on Baby-Face Anderson? Watch the video again. Picture that suspect. Now imagine he is white. Does anyone think that letter would have been written? However, let us not digress but continue with the article.
The video shows Berry explaining to Morton that he was initially pulled over for speeding. Morton repeatedly questions Berry.“You were speeding at 101 in a 65, then you would not give me your driver’s license, which is failure to identify, so you best give me your hands right now,” Berry says.Morton continues to ignore Berry’s orders to give the trooper his hands, the video shows.“Really?” Morton says. “You asked for my license before you even told me what you were pulling me over for ... Why am I being arrested?”“You’re being arrested for speeding,” Berry replies. “Now you’re getting resisting arrest.”According to records from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Morton was booked into jail shortly before 7 p.m. on July 12 on the following charges: speeding (more than 20 mph over limit), seat belt violation, child restraint law, disorderly conduct, possession and display of a license upon demand, resisting arrest and malicious mischief.The records say Morton was released later that night on a $1,754 bond.
WOW! Finally on PAGE 7-A does the reporter finally mention the speed. See for yourself:
It's mentioned not in the first paragraph, not on page one, but way over on page seven. Nope, no slanting there, not at all. Very irresponsible.
A 2-minute video posted to Twitter in July (which misidentified the incident as taking place in Texas) was viewed more than 12 million times. A 3-minute video posted to Facebook has been viewed more than 74,000 times. NBC News, the Huffington Post and the Atlanta Black Star have written about Morton’s arrest. But the highway patrol says the real story has not been told.The statement from the highway patrol called the videos “selective” and said there is a 12-minute long video that will eventually be shown in court.According to the statement, that video shows Morton ignoring Berry’s orders 60 times.“When any officer simply asks for a driver’s license, the law requires the driver display that license,” the statement said. “The Mississippi Highway Patrol will continue to work to keep the highways and roads of Mississippi safe for all drivers.”The Clarion Ledger has requested the incident report from the arrest.
Uh-huh. This website requested and posted the incident report on July 25. The newspaper could have simply asked me for permission to use it and it would have been granted. Other media outlets do it all the time and the Kingfish cooperates with them. It could've simply ripped it off (as some of its reporters have done in the past) and used it.
Then there is the matter of sloppy reporting on the "two-minute" video. The reporter was more concerned with how popular the video was than what was actually on the video. The shorter video is the one that first went viral on social media. It was manipulated to provide sympathy for the suspect because it left out the crucial part where the trooper states Morton was driving 101 mph and that he wouldn't provide his driver's license. However, facts and honest journalism be damned when the narrative sought is one of white cops abusing a black suspect in Mississippi - and THAT is what the Clarion-Ledger's story is all about.
Morton is represented by attorney Carlos Moore, who said his client was afraid and trying to understand why he was being detained.Moore said he intends to file a lawsuit on behalf of Morton.“It’s not unlawful to ask questions,” Moore said. “This is America.”What stood out to Moore, he said, were the actions of the second trooper, Scott, who grabbed Morton by the neck. “(Scott) seemed to have escalated the situation instead of deescalating,” Moore said.He said Morton has been replaying the arrest over and over in his head.“He is not doing well at all,” Moore said.Kenneth Holloway, chief of staff to Anderson, said the Department of Public Safety responded to the state lawmaker with the same statement provided to the Clarion Ledger.Holloway reiterated that Anderson supports law enforcement and said that a review of the troopers’ actions would help relations between the Mississippians and the highway patrol. “We just feel an investigation is warranted,” Holloway said.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Another one of the attorney's "rhetorical device" 's? This is not hard. A driver is going to get stopped if he is driving over 100 mph. It's a pretty safe bet Morton the Moron knew he was going over 100 mph.
MHP says there is a twelve minute video that provides more information. It will not be shown until trial.
Kingfish note: The headline refers to a "viral arrest." What is a viral arrest? Is it contagious? Is there a vaccine for it?
28 comments:
My biggest pet peeve of all time is when a newspaper (Clarion Ledger, etc.) feels the need to tell me that something is going viral.
1) I probably already know about the story if it is actually "going viral"
2) I know about said story and in spite of its viral accolades, I still do not care
3) It's not going viral at all, it's just another person crying "Woof"
Let's give Moss Point to Alabama.
Wow! It is refusal to obey an officer's clear directions! No doubt in my mind. When they say stop, you stop. When they say lay down you lay down! When they say put your hands behind you, you don't argue. Your rights stopped the moment you refused to show your license when asked. This applies equally to all races. I am impressed with how fast the officer drew his gun. I am also impressed with how fast the back up officer forced compliance. He didn't need to ask questions when he saw the other LEO with a drawn gun. What and how the girl in the car did or said is totally irrelevant to me. Some may see this as macho "standing for your rights", I certainly do not.
Morton is not doing well....
Translation: He now drives 20 below the posted speed limit.
Nothing controversial about this arrest. BTW, it's a stun gun he pulled not a pistol.
Does the Cochran firm ever make any money off of Carlos Moore's cases? Why do they still keep him on the payroll? Is he even on the payroll, or just an associate in name only?
Law firms are businesses, and I don't see how any of this makes business-sense. Maybe they're just dangling Carlos out there, fishing for that once-in-a-career client who gets run over in a crosswalk by a Walmart truck that ran a red light, and then brings the case to Carlos because of his notoriety.
12:49, BTW its a TASER, not a stun gun - big difference.
So, over the last few years, I've tried to figure out what the final objective of all of this is. Examples: Openly refusing to obey police commands. Picking and choosing which laws you want to obey (illegal immigration). Picking and choosing which laws you will enforce (offering sanctuary to said illegal immigrants). Lowering sentencing guidelines. Letting "non-violent" offenders out of jail prematurely (non-violent. Yeah, right). Renaming convicted felons to people with judicial involvement, etc.
Is the goal anarchy, and if so, why? Of what benefit would that be to anyone but the criminals and the Democrat party who so strongly supports them?
If we ARE headed towards a lawless society, when do I get to start picking which laws I will and will not obey? I got an extension on my 2018 taxes, so if the time is now, please let me know. If it's now ok for me to reject paying those, I'm gonna get one of those tax refunds I hear so many people talking about!
By the time something has millions of views, why does the Clarion Ledger bother putting up an article? They missed the boat again.
Does the CL have any local writers? Or do they just publish AP feeds and have some interns in Chicago writing local articles based on what they see on tweeter?
Sun Herald paper had a link to the Clarion Ledger for local election results. Guess that is the future of reporting. Papers let go of their staff so they have to rely on other sister companies to do the legwork.
You deserve to have your head slammed into something if you are going 100 plus miles an hour then refuse to obey instructions.
LEO are in a no win situation due to the idiots out there and their scumbag lawyers. If they don't manhandle this guy how do they get him to obey their orders? When they do manhandle him he acts like a bitch claiming brutality. And heaven forbid they don't even try to stop him and he hits a car full of teenagers head on at 100 plus mile an hour.
Excessive force has been used in a number of publicized instances (Baltimore, Baton Rouge, NY), but this was an instance of excessive disrespect by the perp. I felt sorry for the solo trooper, especially for having to endure the stupid woman, and I was more than happy when back-up arrived and used appropriate force on the excessively uncooperative driver.
Good parents, whatever their skin color, drill it into their children's heads that you have to be respectful when pulled over. You may even avoid a ticket just by being nice.
The thing I find interesting is that most stories in the CL about lawsuits or other things of that nature seldom if ever name the lawyers. However, when Carlos is involved, it always names him. Wonder why...?
4:42- Because Carlos is co-author.
My wife just pointed out something that I think maybe most fail to see. The longer this continues, the longer both officer and suspect stand on the shoulder of the highway, the longer all three are exposed to the danger of being struck by a passing vehicle. That’s true.
https://youtu.be/XzZYv8_3EKA
I want to buy Officer Scott a tall cold beer !!!
My hero!
Wait up who says The Clarion Ledger has to be in a rush. If it takes them a little longer to get the facts, it doesn't bother me or the 10s of 1000s of folks who don't waste their time reading blogs.
Setting aside this latest lawsuit, the fact that this dangerous buffoon still has a license might suggest all one needs to know about the Mississippi Bar as well as the Supreme Court that bears the ultimate responsibility for the membership thereof.
Shit, can't this State - as opposed to its citizens who are often at its mercy - get a fucking thing right? Aren't enough of us sick and damned tired of being last at nearly everything that is good and first at everything that screams, "ignorant people (of all colors) doing stupid things - don't go there?"
Social Justice Warrior Sam Hall has allowed the liberal left to run his paper. He’s a little bend-over b*tch. He thinks he’s smarter than his readers and sit at the feet of the democrats.
Charged under "child restraint law?" So, he was going over 100 mph with a kid in the car who wasn't even in a car seat?
I've seen so many videos like this where the trooper ends up dead. The second that guy spun around to avoid getting cuffed, he deserved whatever was coming to him.
New Police Protocol
Hello excuse me I noticed you were traveling at 105 miles per hour and I have been behind you for fifteen minutes with my blue lights flashing , but I was wondering perhaps if you car (which has the same make and Model and tag number as a car that was involved in a robbery less than 30 minutes ago) if you saw anything that might assist us with locating this robber. Oh No have a nice day by the way heads up its tax free weekend coming up for firearms and ammunition. I couldn't help but notice the fifteen guns and rifles in your back seat and realized you must a gun enthusiast like myself. Have a nice day
What is so "controversial" about the video? A guy decided he didn't want to be arrested for a crime he committed and argued with one police officer so much that backup was called. He was still resisting arrest and arguing when that backup arrived. He refused to be peacefully and lawfully arrested and was arrested using physical force. The exact same thing happens, unfortunately, 100s of times a day across the US to people of all skin colors and by officers of all skin colors and in every such case (i.e., a lawful and peaceful arrest is attempted and resisted), it is wholly and solely the fault of the person resisting arrest.
Carlos Moore is a disgrace to the Bar and a civil society. Worse, he sets very real issues involving race back every time he runs his fool mouth.
Our Mississippi State Troopers already don’t make enough money now this trooper put his life on the line, he was obviously to nice of a trooper to listen to all of the bull$&@t of this “guy” was says, he should have been tased, and she should have been arrest!!! PERIOD!
Disobeyed over 60 lawful commands and then complains about being mistreated. Do stupid things, win stupid prizes.
wow, this "article" is absolutely horrible. Try a ghostwriter next time hun <3
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