In this video two men, one a car sales man, were switching license plates on a vehicle the other had just purchased. They met in a neutral location for whatever reasons and that’s where two police officers witnessed their activity. The police then approached the men to ask them why they were switching plates around. So far there is nothing to get worked up over other than the fact that the police hadn’t witnessed illegal activity. It’s actually the exact opposite as it’s illegal to drive a car with another person’s plates on it. Therefore you could say that the cops could have avoided the following actions by never approaching these men.
So while the driver was being questioned the passenger decided to get out of the car. Maybe to get into his own car or to stretch his legs, I don’t know. When he did this the second officer, David Tatom, immediately got behind him and put his hands on the man. The passenger, Shomari Staten, quickly stated that he has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. After hearing that officer Tatom threw Shomari to the ground causing him to strike his head on the car next to them and took possession of the gun. A little while later a supervising officer can be heard on the dash cam saying to Tatom that letting this man go might not make it so bad for him in the future. I’m assuming that’s because the supervisor knows that Tatom did wrong here. In fact that’s exactly what happened at the scene, Shomari and his client were released with gun, ammo and all and not a single ticket.
The story continues a few weeks later when Shomari went to get the footage from the dash cam and to file a complaint. That’s when he says threats and unwarranted police presence around him increased. They also arrested and charged Shomari with resisting arrest and other bogus charges. Its been a nightmare year for Shomari so much that he’s in the process of selling is house and moving out of Carrollton.
The video doesn’t state what discipline, if any, the officer has faced but it does show how police treat people who file complaints against them. Consistent harassment in the form of police presence, tickets, threats and more are how police deal with people attempting to hold them accountable. It’s the reason Cop Block was created to allow people to post videos, stories and more here. Then as a united front, known to the police only as Cop Block, demand accountability from these departments. To remove from the police the ability to breakdown one person and go unpunished. Together we can make that happen and make police brutality a thing of the past.
Send us pics, videos, links and anything else you can think of. Stop making complaints against police as individuals but as a united group of people. You should never have to give up your personal information to hold someone with a badge accountable. You’re not the one who has done wrong, they are.
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I wish that I was surprised by this.