When we grow up we think the world of police officers. We see them as heroes. Heroes who uphold and enforce the law so that we can live in a world that is safe.
We may even see them as angels with badges.
People who are a step above the rest of us because they live by a code of honor that has them watching over and protecting society.
Lots of police officers live up to these childhood expectations of we have of them.
Others, sadly, do not.
While they are entrusted to serve and protect, they act in ways unbecoming of an officer and betray the trust of the communities they are supposed to serve.
Officers are trained to follow a certain code, set of procedures, and laws.
But that doesn’t always happen as you’ll see in the case of Wilmington Police Sergeant Kenneth Becker.
Becker became a viral sensation after lying to an Uber-driver and telling him that it is illegal to film law enforcement officers and threatening to arrest him.
Becker pulled over Uber driver Jesse Bright in North Carolina after Bright dropped an individual off at a drug house that was under investigation, The Washington Post reports.
Bright turned his cell phone camera on after being pulled over.
Becker told him to turn it off.
Bright then told the officer that he will keep recording and that it was his right to do so.
Becker argued with Bright again saying “Don’t record me. You got me?”
Bright told the officer that since he was on duty, he had a right to film him.
“Be careful because there is a new law,” Becker said. “Turn it off or I’ll take you to jail.”
Bright, who just happened to also be a criminal defense attorney, knew that this was a lie. He also asked the officer to reference the law.
Becker did not, but he did call “Bright” a jerk and said it was a law that “just passed.”
“I know my rights,” Bright said.
“I hope so,” said Becker. “I know what the law is.”
“I know the law,” Bright said. “I’m an attorney, so I would hope I know what the law is.”
Becker, however, didn’t seem to believe Bright. Bright says he drives an Uber to help pay off his law-school loans.
“They said I should have known it was a drug house, and I tried to tell them I was an Uber driver,” Bright told The Washington Post. “They thought it was some sort of cover.”
Though Bright refused to consent to a search of his car, the police searched his car anyway which they are allowed to do if they think it contains evidence of a crime.
Eventually, the tension between Bright and the officers subsided after they realized he was probably just doing his job.
Being a police officer is NOT an easy job by any means. However, there are procedures and rules that need to be followed so this very important job can be done correctly.
Lying to people and denying them of their rights gets in the way of that. It leads to an unnecessary escalation of incidents and people distrusting law enforcement.
Bright and his passenger were allowed to go free without being charged.
The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office said they would start an investigation into the incident after Bright’s video went viral on the internet.
Becker was subsequently demoted and reassigned.
The unnamed deputy who was with him was “counseled.”
Becker was later reinstated as a sergeant and then left the department. While Becker and his fellow officers were doing their job in trying to keep drugs off the streets, lying wasn’t helpful to the situation.
Especially when it comes to denying one’s rights.
Even Becker’s superiors agreed with the importance of allowing videotaping of police.
“I cannot stress enough, that photographing and videotaping the police keeps us accountable. We believe that public videos help to protect the police as well as our citizens and provide critical information during police and citizen interaction,” Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous said in a statement.
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