Foolish Cop Thinks He's An Expert On Psychology

by Ryan Scott
Cop Block
Jul. 25, 2015



A man was recording a police investigation from his own back yard when he was approached by an officer of the Chicago Police Department. One of the officers notices the man filming and claims that the video may contain evidence. It is important to note that as defined by the Fourth Amendment, an officer may not confiscate a cell phone without permission or a warrant, regardless of any video that it may contain.

In a horrible Spanish accent, the approaching officer attempts to talk to the man recording; when the man exercises his right to remain silent, the officer begins to use intimidation.

“Why are you recording?”  “Sir, can I see the evidence that you have?”  The man announces that he’d like to be left alone but the officer continues.  “Sir, sir…Excuse me, sir.”

The officer suddenly becomes distracted and gives up his interrogation. Minutes later, the man is approached by a second officer.  “Why are you filming?” is of course the first question asked. When the man points out that the officers have cameras in their cars, the officer openly and unsurprisingly admits, “I don’t like those cameras; the department puts them in there. Why are you recording?”

The officer continues to barrage the man with irrelevant and insignificant questions. “Why do you have a problem?” he says. As if recording police and holding public officials accountable should be interpreted as having a problem.

At around 7:40 in the video, the officer begins to go into a rant about whether he is or isn’t being recorded.  At this point, the situation is no longer about “evidence” possibly being on the phone, but the fact that the man was recording at all.

The rest of the conversation quickly becomes nonsensical rambling from the officer:  “Now whether you answer if you are or aren’t, I don’t care. You have a right to film me. All I’m saying is you chose to talk to me. You could have said you don’t feel like talking to me but you didn’t.”  Without missing a beat, the man responds, “I don’t feel like talking to you.”  Losing his grip on the situation, the officer proclaims, “Last time I checked this is a free country; nobody is coercing you to speak, right? Stop talking to me, and we won’t have a problem.” This being said to a man standing on his own property, behind an iron gate. 

At 8:33 in the video, the following conversation becomes comical. “Look at your demeanor,” the officer says. “I’ve taken classes in psychology.” When the man recording begins to question the officer’s life choices, he becomes ironically defensive. “I don’t have enough psychology stuff to go and do something, ” he says–yet just a moment ago he was an expert on demeanor and body stance.

In a moment of epiphany, the officer asks, “Why am I talking to you?” while looking down at his hand, seemingly baffled by his own question.

After another completely unproductive, irrelevant rant from the officer, the man asks for the officer’s name. “None of your business,” he replies, as he rails on further about how he is there to help the man change his views of police.

The dialogue closes with the officer calling the man a bigot, explaining that his prejudice and his closed mind have led him down a road of mistrust for the police, the same police who have been standing there harassing him about doing something he is legally within his rights to do.

After having wasted everyone’s time, including his colleagues’, the officer asks the man recording if he’d like to shake his hand.

“Definitely not!” the man replies.  “I understand:  MRSA and SARS and that” is the officer’s response.  No handshake today, officer.  We wouldn’t want you to catch MRSA or SARS from any minorities.

One might say this officer taught us an important lesson. Not of life, liberty, or even psychology, but that sometimes filming the police can be absolutely hilarious.













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