A Pearl man accused Pearl Police of police brutality after a Pearl police officer tased him in his home during a neighborhood disturbance on Father's Day. However, Pearl police said body cam videos tell the real story of what took place. Leon Seals (not the Constable) posted these two videos on Facebook:
The incident began when two young men got into a fight over what else but a girl. One pulled a gun on his opponent and hell broke loose as the neighbors flooded the street. Someone called the police and Pearl police swiftly arrived on scene.
The disturbance happened near Seals' house. Seals is a known anti-police activist in Pearl. He appeared at the Pearl Police Department carrying an AR-style rifle a few days prior to this incident. Seals allegedly interjected himself into the commotion. He went back into his house after a Pearl police officer told him not to do so. The officer tased Seals, who was promptly arrested. He is not currently in custody.
The Pearl Police Department issued the following statement: We’re aware of the video that has been posted to social media of an interaction we had Sunday night with Leon Seals, a resident of Pearl who was tased by one of our officers. We stand behind the actions of our officers, who tried to reason with Mr. Seals but were unsuccessful. When Mr. Seals refused to obey the lawful orders and turned to go into the house, an officer tased him to stop him. An important thing to note is that just a few days ago, Mr. Seals was on the doorstep of our police department with a AR style shotgun. We support both the first amendment and the Second Amendment, but when Mr. Seals turned from an argument with our officer and went into his home, there was a reasonable measure of concern that he could have been going in to retrieve a weapon. We’re committed to the safety of our community and our citizens, including Mr. Seals. We will be releasing more information on this incident.
There is also body cam footage of the incident. Although Pearl will not release the video, it did issue narratives on what the body cams recorded. The narratives of Lieutenant Tyler and Officer Greene are posted below and flesh out what took place.
51 comments:
He *might* have been going to get a weapon isn't a good reason to taze someone.
Being in Rankin county, I guess we should just be glad they didn't shoot him
The taser may very well be the best tool law enforcement has at its disposal.
While, they do not work in every deployment, the reduction in injury to officers and suspects is incalculable.
There is no telling how many officer involved shootings have been prevented by proper use of a taser.
It is not the fault of the police officers. Everybody knows if you get beaten, tasered, jailed, ticketed, etc., in Rankin county it is not law enforcement’s fault. It is your fault FOR GOING INTO RANKIN COUNTY in the first place.
When the police officer in the first video said “you see this? I run this”
Do you think he was talking about his badge or his skin color?
Asking for a friend
AR style shotgun? Come on Pearl PD, no such thing exist.
play STUPID games …win STUPID prizes
Why isn't Leon living in Jackson if he finds the Pearl police so corrupt?
June 26, 2024 at 12:35 PM
All 81 other counties thank you for staying in Hinds county.
The correct term is "excess force!" "Police brutality" is a leftist media term.
Showing up at the PD with a rifle is a crime.
If we still had the goon squad this would have never happened, or at least reported.
The fucknuts that Rankin County is hiring are a bunch of egotistical dumbasses. I can tell you from experience that there is a way to deescalate and then there's a way to throw fuel on a fire. The only way to establish and / or maintain respect for the badge is to fight your urges to come undone and stay calm and collected while you're behind it- and I mean every fucking time. How does this get left out of their training, and if it's not being left out, what kind of ignorant rednecks are they putting on the payroll?
12:44. You might want to try checking the ole Google machine before popping your gums.
https://palmettostatearmory.com/guns/shotguns/semi-auto-shotguns/ar-shotguns.html
Ole Leon gonna get that wolf ticket punched one day.
@12:44
They do exist, PSA had a .410 AR on sale for $199 a few months ago and sold a brazillion of them. There are others too but that is probably the most common right now.
How do you justify tasering a person backpedaling?
@12:44
there are LOTS and LOTS of different AR style shotguns
@12:57 - that is wrong. Police Brutality is the correct term.
I don't see police brutality! The officer was nice. The suspect was not acting like a thug! For citizens to be safe we have to support law enforcement. Let's get these thugs off the streets! We need more jails. Lock them up and make them work for their food.
Looks like Leon got the attention he was seeking. Next
Next indeed.
Good work Pearl PD.
In reading the transcriptions from the body cameras it appears this could be a case study understanding why police officers have lost respect. The police were called because participant 1 threatened participant 2 with a gun. Any reasonable person would agree this is the time to call the police. However once the police determined participant 1 had left the area and no arrests based on the call for service it was time for the police to disengage and leave. The videos and transcriptions indicate several of the citizens were loud, abrasive, and obnoxious none of which are inherently illegal. If the arrestee's Leon Seals or Morgan Seals were contributing to the delinquency of minors, impeding the investigation or obstructing justice they should have been arrested and charged accordingly. However the question here is what is a lawful order. As there were no arrests other than the Seals what made the order to go in side the house a lawful order? It appears Lt Tyler lost his temper at the obnoxious behavior by the Seals and arrested them.
If police agencies want the respect they deserve they have to avoid looking petty and arresting people for being assholes.
The synopsis for an outsider is:
police called for a suspected fire arm threat
suspect fled the area
citizens upset, possibly drunk, being obnoxious assholes
suspect got away
shit talking couple arrested on a weak charge for pissing off the police
I am a supported of law and order and do not condone poor behavior of the citizens to the authorities. However I think many police agencies harm their own image by not avoiding the appearance of arresting people for inappropriate but legal behavior.
On what basis is Pearl PD refusing to release body camera footage?
Describing the footage without releasing it reminds me of the state agency that created a memo detailing an otherwise exempt document. As I recall, that memo was the subject of an embarrassing (for the agency) Ethics Commission ruling.
I
Don’t see how LEO put up with this every day. I would be in parchman within 6 months.
No wonder I am having trouble selling that house in Rankin county.
Have you ever noticed that the same people that raise hell and call the police are always the same people that complain about the police.
I couldn't understand a word spoken... you can't reason with people like that.
Being in Rankin County, the judge WILL NOT favor Mr. Seals. He needs to move to Hinds County if he wants to live within a criminal friendly judicial district.
"...known anti-police activist in Pearl."
Among the many identities to which one could aspire, this has to be one of the most inadvisable.
And thanks, Kingfish, for the written descriptions of the action - both yours and the Scribd version. Not everybody "does Facebook".
I can see some validity to all sides.
No cop is paid enough to put up with this endless BS and harassment. I could not do it.
But they don't get to taze or arrest people for being assholes. If criminal are breaking the law, arrest them. If not, then leave and let them kill each other if they want to.
And yes, it does seem to be the ones that hate the cops sure do call them more than most.
If that was Leon yelling throughout the video, I'm surprised it took him that long to get himself tased.
Seems like he was trying his best to escalate this into something it didn't have to be. He was so crazy, I'd be afraid to let him back in the house too, especially if I had prior knowledge he had a firearm in there.
Good job Pearl PD. I don't know what some people expect, but I hope you have a good day.
2:56 - That is SO true.
I wonder what the opinions would be if the police just didn't respond to this area? Just wait till all the bullets quit flying and then clean up afterwards.
This dude sounds like one of those Meal Team 6, Constitutional "Auditors", I gots muhhh rights rednecks. He should get Edward's FAFO Champion Award. I am all for the police, constitutional rights, and very pro 2nd amendment. I will probably never show up to a police station with a firearm "just because I can". Just because you may can, doesn't always mean you should.
From an old-school police officer position, I see this overall outcome will largely depend on the thoroughness of the investigation, the legal proceedings that follow, and the community's response to the incident. IMO, this is a case that the state or higher needs to review. It will be crucial for the authorities to handle the situation transparently and fairly to maintain public trust and ensure justice is served.
With all the bad publicity that has gone on in Rankin County, it's imperative that each police officer obey the legal standards set out in the framework for handling public disturbances, use of force, and police authority. They need to ensure they (police) are not escalating the event in future disturbances.
Seals could be faulted for not complying with police orders and contributing to the disturbance, while the police might be faulted for potentially excessive use of force.
IMO, Pearl needs to review:
1. Use of Force: The officers used a taser on Seals. The justification for this use of force depends on whether Seals' actions posed a reasonable threat or risk.
2. Escalation of Situation: The officers’ methods of handling the crowd and Seals might be scrutinized to determine if their actions unnecessarily escalated the situation.
3. Following Protocols: The officers' adherence to police protocols and training in dealing with such disturbances will be evaluated. If they followed standard procedures, they might be found to have acted appropriately. An after action review is needed.
Two weeks ago, the subject shows up at a police precinct carrying a long gun.
This date he is uncontrollably angry, shouting, not responding to attempts to deescalate.
He is told to not turn and go into the residence where he undoubtedly has one or more firearms.
He ignores that lawful command.
He is tased.
He is still alive.
Lawful commands are lawful commands. Ignore them at your own peril.
Call whichever in hell black plaintiff's lawyer you think will take your case to the bank.
June 26, 2024 at 2:46 PM
>I am a supported of law and order
Press X to doubt.
What an absolute shit show. The LEOs aren't paid to the scale that these situations warrant. Severely outnumbered with drunk hostiles barking at them, trying to sort out who is who while looking over their shoulders. God bless them.
I would have shot all them with MTG’s space lasers! Just don’t call the police, shoot each other and the strongest survives!
Unfortunately, Mississippi does not require police officers to wear body cameras, although some departments might. Also unfortunately, Mississippi law does not make footage from body cams accessible to the general public or subject to FOIA requests. So much for transparency.
The men and women of LEO have a difficult job, and we should be respectful of their position.
Nonetheless a great many (not all, and certainly not a majority) are as petty as the state.
So don’t mess with them, they will f you up legally with only you and them as a witness (goon squad excluded). But this significant subgroup is dangerously petty.
Most leaders in LEO are courageous leaders of men and women in difficult circumstances. Just don’t f with them.
“You in Mississippi now”.
"Seals could be faulted for not complying with police orders and contributing to the disturbance"
Did you watch the videos? He WAS the disturbance.
I remember when the taser was just coming out. There were hearings in the District of Corruption about whether police — remember police? Back before there was “law enforcement”? — whether police should use them. Some big city police chiefs testified the taser would only be used where previously lethal force would be used.
So I always ask myself when I see the taser being used, “Would the cop be justified in shooting this person?”
And usually the answer is no. The taser has become the “Do what I tell you to do because respect my authoruh-tie” tool of choice.
I am a 58 year old, law abiding, white guy. I have NEVER had to call the police. Why, because I know how to act, my wife knows how to act and my kids know how to act. And so do my neighbors. Trash gets treated like trash.
One of the officers appears to have some tact while the other, believed to be a Lt, needs to check his ego. All that yelling did nothing to bring the situation down. Yeah yeah, sometimes you have to yell but that tactic was obviously not working.
I blame the candy-assed neighbors
Whatever happened to mutual combat between adults
From watching the multitude of cop shows, tasers seem to be used for punishment for "contempt of cop" by a bunch of badge-heavy small dick bullies.
Retired old school LEO
The entire incident is the fault of Leon Seals, just as the majority of the crowd said. He stirred the whole thing up. When the police tell you to do something, do it. They were not there to render justice. They were there to restore peace. And, you can't argue your case with them and expect adjudication. They are peace officers first. After peace has been restored the courts can figure out what is just.
The police departments statement says he was tased because they thought he could be getting a gun...yet, the whole time they're telling him to go inside. So when he finally goes inside...he's tased?
June 27, 2024 at 2:55 PM, you need to come into the 21st century. They haven't been peace officers in a long time. They are law enforcement, plain, and simple.
Back in the early 70s when our coaches were doing driver ed for us kids they gave us lessons on how to conduct yourself with LEO. They pointed out that LEOs had these cool tools called "Night Sticks", and they were used to Knock the Teeth outta Mouthy peoples mouths. They took us to the SO jail on Sat morning so we could see the inmates laying on the floor of the "Drunk Tank", pissing & Puking on each other. Yes Sir & No Sir were the 1st thing outta our mouths back then. Maybe it should still be...Or maybe bring back Night Sticks?
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