Cop Pulls Gun on People Having Friendly Snowball Fight

[EmeraldCityGrl]

Source: Washington City Paper


Eyewitness Confirms: Cop Freaks Out Over Snowball Fight–Brandishes Gun
Posted by Jason Cherkis on Dec. 19, 2009, at 3:46 pm

According to an eyewitness, a D.C. Police detective went nuts after kids pelted his Hummer with snowballs at 14th and U Streets NW this afternoon. The veteran detective got out of his car and eventually grabbed for his gun, displaying it to the crowd. He did not immediately identify himself as a police officer. He calmed down once his fellow uniformed cop arrived. Apparently, someone called 911 to report a man with gun. The snowball fight had been well hyped on Twitter. The news of the incident first broke there. We caught up with an eyewitness moments ago.


Via Twitter:

"Detective Baylor(sp?) hummer get hits by snowballs and he waves a gun around. Cops on radio say Det is being 'blackmailed'"

And later:

Chant from 14 & U snowball fight: "You don't bring a gun to a snowball fight." Banner: "No war but snowball war."

Prince of Petworth reports similar cop scene:

"A reader writes in about the snowball fight at 14th and U. Word on the street is that apparently it started in good fun but then someone hit a Hummer driving by belonging to a police officer and then the reader says multiple patrol cars responded."

D.C. Police Officer at the 3rd District does confirm to City Desk that the police did respond to 14th and U, refused further comment.

Eyewitness Matthew Bradley tells City Desk:

"An hour ago, we showed up to see a snowball fight already in progress. Two factions along 14th Street along the intersection. It was pretty friendly, mostly OK. At one point, there was one interaction with the police that I saw. A cop got stuck in the snow. People stopped and helped him out. A couple moments later, at the intersection, heading west along U was this big maroon Hummer. A small faction of people decided to target it with snowballs. They're throwing snowballs at the Hummer. It turns out the driver of the Hummer is a detective. He gets out. He's waving a walkie talkie. It's not going well. Then he starts waving a gun. He hadn't identified himself at this point. There was a point where things cooled off a bit, more police showed up, and he identified himself at that point. The name was Det. Baylor. My guess was B-A-Y-L-O-R."

"There was a point where it got really tense. The experience for many people was snowball fight kind of fun...and then there's a guy with a gun."

Read more: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/12/19/did-d-c-cops-overreact-to-snowball-fight-14th-and-u/

---

Police are completely out of control. Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-q5UjjuOX0
confirms this was a friendly snowball fight yet the media and police reported otherwise.

[SpiralHawk]

1. I'd bet a mug of egg nog the cop was a republicon

Dude had the fear and hate thingy going on big time, a sure giveaway...

[kk3550]

22. brixton

[rd_kent]

2. Anyone driving a hummer deserves to be hit woth snowballs.

[kk3550]

23. bristol

[CreekDog]

3. Michael Moore says some police are "seeing things"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfFfUxBDMDY

:rofl:

[EmeraldCityGrl]

7. OK THAT was funny!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[kk3550]

25. india

[kk3550]

24. vienna

[arcadian]

4. What a prick, should be fired.

For brandishing his weapon. damn ass.

[kk3550]

26. northhampton

[chandler2]

5. Police: n, armed force for protection and participation nt

[kk3550]

27. torino

[HysteryDiagnosis]

6. He should be judged by a jury of his fears....

[enlightenment]

8. LOL. Very well done!

I love that photo - whoever did that should have gotten an award. It's positively Banksyian. Thank you for posting it!

[kk3550]

28. newark

[zonkers]

9. actual footage of the snowball fight... pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-q5UjjuOX0

[kk3550]

29. chelsea

[skoalyman]

10. if he's that scared of snowballs me thanks he in wrong line of work.

:shrug:

[MineralMan]

14. But they hit his Hummer. How horrible for him. He must have been

terribly frightened that a snowball might scratch his Hummer. Poor baby.

[kk3550]

30. melbourne

[Poll_Blind]

11. This dude should never, ever, be allowed to own or even touch a firearm again as far as I'm...

...concerned. And...he should be booted from the force. That's insane. Indefensible and insane.

PB

[EmeraldCityGrl]

12. The problem is, they are never booted.

A couple weeks of paid leave, the obligatory "investigation" and back to work.

[Poll_Blind]

13. Not always but I understand the sentiment and I believe he'll get off "lightly" as well. n/t

PB

[kk3550]

33. moldova

[kk3550]

32. latvia

[kk3550]

31. Prince Edward Island

[Robb]

15. Bullshit Photoshop on that page.

Story may be true, but the photo sure isn't.

This:


Utter nonsense. Radio Photoshopped to look like a gun. Observe the video here, where he waves his radio at people and puts his hand on his holster:
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1209/689050.html

...Figure it out? The radio he's waving around in the video is in his left hand. Where the blurry gun in the photo above is. His holster is on his right hip.

Annoying. Eyewitness reports seem good, and someone is messing around.

[mitchum]

16. That's like out of a 70s cop movie

maybe Charles Durning or someone...

[medeak]

17. dumb employee of mine is in jail for throwing snow balls

after our xmas party at the COPS. what a moron (inebriated)

[Heywood J]

18. Didn't identify himself as a cop before pulling the gun into view?

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000924----000-.html

(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term “brandish” means, with respect to a firearm, to display all or part of the firearm, or otherwise make the presence of the firearm known to another person, in order to intimidate that person, regardless of whether the firearm is directly visible to that person.

He's lucky that no one thought he was a terrorist...

[RavensChick]

19. As a native Washingtonian,

I am certainly embarrassed that someone who took an oath to protect and serve the citizens of DC to act like this. I've been reading posts at other sites since the video went on YouTube, and a lot of people are saying this idiot should be fired, among other things (thankfully here at DU, we're nice about it).

This is exactly why DC has so many problems with the cops now because they overreact way too much about things. Word to the wise: please try not to cough, sneeze, or even fart near any DC officer or detective 'cause they'll go apeshit and go Dirty Harry in a heartbeat!

As far as the snowball fight is concerned, it was all in good fun until this prick showed up and ruined it by pulling his gun out (moran!). Then again, they could have gone to the nearest park or something where it's bigger and much safer than at 14th & U Street.

As for this asshole, if anything he'll probably get a slap on the wrist because word is he's on desk duty while internal affairs investigates. I say it's better than having him out in the street in a Hummer no less. BTW, what kind of cop has the salary to afford a Hummer, anyway??

With seeing shit like this on the news, now I know why I moved to Maryland, but I'm still a DC native no matter where I am.

Happy Holidays!

[northzax]

20. overtime

I know DC cops pulling down over 100,000, they work all the time and moonlight.

[kk3550]

21. disgraceful

[Name removed]

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