I have had a little interaction with Darrows, this kids story is solid!
He was assaulted by an off duty cop - has been illegally harassed several times, and that and only that is the reason he placed the DV in his vehicle.
The following link is to the video of he and the "officer"
WARNING: the officer’s language is pretty "ADULT" and there is a annoying ticking coming from the Radar Detector in Darrows vehicle.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2715792117793977759
Pretty odd that the "officer's" dash cam video was destroyed or lost - if this young man had not had his tape running we would not be hearing about this incident. The cop would have called him a liar and nothing would have been done. Notice how the mood changes when the second cop on the scene notifies Sgt. James Kuehnlein that Darrows had a video camera running.
Here is the first encounter Darrows filmed with his "in car set up"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2585482423715017278
This is just another reason for every officer to have a personal DVR and it go to a third party... And before any LEO's says oh he was baiting the cop - well if that is the case then why did the officer’s video disappear.
St. George Police Chief Scott Uhrig, is one of those gypsy cops we all hear about. Seems he attempted to solicit sex from a 17 year old girl while on the force at another PD here is his response to that:
QUOTE:
I attempted to be completely honest with the public regarding the incident with an officer from this department. I contacted the media first, because the St. George Police Department has nothing to hide and is going to do the right thing with the investigation according with all Missouri State guidelines and rules.
Now the media wants to attack me for an incident that I was accused of seven years ago, that I did not do. Seven Years ago, it was a very political time at the Arnold Police Department. I was wrongfully accused and reprimanded for something that I never did. In conclusion with that, Missouri’s Peace Officers Standard Training also reprimanded me for the same thing I did not do.
I paid my dues for an alleged allegation I never did. My family had to suffer the consequences by the media posting it all over the television and newspapers. My family had to live through it once, and now you making my family live through it again.
This incident that I was accused of seven years ago does not anything to do with the current situation.
So I will not be speaking to the media, and will only contact the media by email to advise them of the findings of the investigation.
If any media attempts to contact me, it will be “No Comment”.
Respectfully,
Chief Scott Uhrig
It is important to remember here that, if not for the video camera that Darrow installed in his car, nothing would have happened and St. Kuehnlein would have gotten away with his actions. He would do the very thing he expressed a willingness to do -- lie. Darrow could complain. Kuehnlein would go in and lie about the situation claiming that this "smart mouth kid" had tried to push him but that he was the paragon of patience and refused to rise to the bait. And Darrow would have been ignored. If others can afford to install video surveillance into their cars it wouldn't be a bad thing. And if you don't have the funds to install one it wouldn't hurt to put up a dummy camera.
The reality is that private citizens need to keep the police under surveillance, as this case proved. It is one way of keeping them under control.
And don't get the wrong impression about Uhrig -- he still is suspicious of anyone who makes cops look bad -- there has to be something wrong with them. Fox News reported that "the chief... also questions Darrow's motives." They quote the Uhrig saying: "Most people commuting back and forth to work don't keep their car outfitted with video recording devices and audio devices." So obviously Darrow is suspicious because he does. Darrow says he outfitted his car with the camera after he received a traffic ticket which he said was bogus but he couldn't prove it. And while a traffic cop can't prove his claims, in most cases, his word is taken above that of the accused -- the reality is that many courts assume you are guilty until proven innocent and a cop's word is sufficient to prove guilt.
Another thing that is not said in this article is that a few days after this incident Darrows recorded an officer stakeing out his house - retaliation for the "trouble he caused"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5591813350444656353
They towed his legally parked car and no one at the PD could tell him why, he stopped the tow truck driver and paid him $55 to drop the car... Darrows believes they were trying to get to his Video Set-up!
I have a DVR in both my vehicles with 360 degree coverage - I will not post my set up online for the simple reason I want no LEO to know how it is set up. I did this after my incident, I also do not go outside my home without a personal DVR, my home & property is covered with digital video. My system is covert and would take a seasoned investigator the better part of the day to find and another couple of days to figure out.
Now why in this day and age should the GP be required to do this just to protect his/her rights and protection against the very people that are sworn to uphold the law? We pay taxes for LEO's services and then we are required to go to these extremes to protect ourselves - and LE wonders why they have lost the publics trust? If after reading this post and looking at the information you don't realize there is a problem then the GP & LE are at an impasse that will break the trust down even more!
Oh I almost forgot to mention the Mayor of this fine jurisdiction:
St. George — The mayor of this tiny but recently infamous community resigned Tuesday, a day after he was arrested for misdemeanor drug possession, a city official said.
Mayor Harold Goodman, elected last year, was arrested Monday night by St. Louis County authorities, Alderman Carmen Wilkerson said.
Board president Heather Hediger is serving as acting mayor, Wilkerson said.
"I think she'll do a good job representing the city," Wilkerson said of Hediger. "That's why we selected her (as board president)."
Goodman and Hediger could not be reached for comment. St. Louis County authorities, who reportedly made the arrest, also could not be reached.
Aldermen will hold a special public meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday for residents of the community of about 1,500 to discuss the situation, Wilkerson said. Advertisement
Several aldermen said they learned about the arrest from reporters.
"I didn't know a thing about it," before a neighbor saw it on television, said Alderman Paul Keene. "I haven't been able to find out anything."
He said Goodman was a former police officer who had taken early retirement because of illness. Goodman won election in a three-way race in which the incumbent mayor was challenged by his wife while the two were in the process of getting a divorce.
St. George, a one-fifth square mile hamlet at Interstate 55 and Reavis Barracks Road in south St. Louis County, landed in the national spotlight recently after a video of a police sergeant yelling at a motorist went public. The officer was fired.
Wilkerson said she's tired of seeing her town in the news.
"It's a charming little community," she said
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