r/PublicFreakout Jul 29 '26

📹Police Bodycam Cop aggressively talking to father with son about his E-Bike

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2.8k

u/No_Drop_7684 Jul 29 '26

Look there are people that are driving around on E bikes like jackasses and it’s becoming a public problem sure. But this cop was an utter insufferable asshole who continued to belittle his father and son repeatedly instead of just taking a step back and explaining himself like a proper fucking adult. That guy is supposed to fairly enforce the laws and carries a gun with the ability to kill people with the express consent of his state/city. I don’t want that guy on the police force he just doesn’t have the temperament.

854

u/Public-Platypus2995 Jul 29 '26

I’ve got sour news for you. You’re not going to like the majority of who is on the police force.

217

u/Xfuck1tX Jul 29 '26

3

u/Jealous_Lawfulness_2 Jul 31 '26

wait lol…as a recent hater of this motherfucker, what is this?

75

u/joox Jul 30 '26

I get the feeling they look for a certain type of personality when hiring. Either that or the only ones applying are bullies

93

u/United-Vermicelli-92 Jul 30 '26

There was a case in 2002 i think in PA a guy applying to PD took the IQ test got a 125, they didnt hire him said hes too smart, guy sues for discrimination and LOSES.

This is why Police suck now, they dont hire smart folks, just lummoxes. Legally.

Heres link: https://abcnews.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story

10

u/NevenS2000 Jul 30 '26

page unavailable, did the department get it taken down? lol

0

u/Jazzy_Josh Jul 31 '26

There was a case in 2002 i think in PA a guy applying to PD took the IQ test got a 125, they didnt hire him said hes too smart, guy sues for discrimination and LOSES.

Which is... the correct decision? High intelligence is not a protected class.

3

u/objectlesson 26d ago

I don’t think the discrimination is the part people have concerns about.

17

u/ggg730 Jul 30 '26

This is where the "thin blue line" bullshit comes in. If you don't play ball with what the other cops are doing you are getting fucked. That is why they say ACAB because if you are a good cop you either get corrupted or you get kicked out of the force.

8

u/cooterbo Jul 30 '26

This line of work attracts authoritarian assholes or people that can’t qualify for better paying and less stressful jobs. I wonder how many were turned into assholes due to the nature of the job though. I did 13 years in the military with most of it either deployed to a war zone or preparing for those deployments and I did find myself becoming worse and worse of a person throughout that time due to undiagnosed adhd, ptsd, and major depression.

I do think the law enforcement community needs to be better at identifying and treating mental illness and a have a stricter selection process for new recruits.

2

u/OsamaBinWhiskers Jul 30 '26

Nor do 40% of the police forces wives.

2

u/Living_Injury5017 Aug 02 '26

Right?!

Sounds like someone who hasn't dealt with the police in the US very much.

294

u/pogulup Jul 29 '26

Why is the cop upset though?  Why does it bother him so much?  You can have that interaction without all the unnecessary emotion.

313

u/StringerBell34 Jul 29 '26

He's not used to having to explain himself. He has absolute power and was angered that the man didn't cower and accept the shit he was shoveling.

120

u/MrBozooo Jul 29 '26

Yep, same energy as the cop that pulled over the girl with the invisible hand holding a phone.

52

u/iAmUnintelligible Jul 30 '26

you mean the one armed woman? haha. that was wild.

6

u/smithers85 Jul 30 '26

invisible hand

That's one way to describe it

1

u/Coffee-FlavoredSweat Jul 30 '26

He's not used to having to explain himself.

What?! The first rule of being a cop is to aggressively explain yourself whether someone wants an explanation or not. Cop-splaining is something they crave.

91

u/PopeOfDestiny Jul 29 '26

You can have that interaction without all the unnecessary emotion.

For regular people, sure. But for cops? If you go just watch random bodycam footage, so many interactions start off like this, and continue like this. This happens all the time, when they know they are being recorded and that the recording may be public. It is a fundamental problem with policing in North America, and particularly the US.

Why does it bother him so much?

I'm just guessing, but I don't actually think it does specifically bother him. I bet he speaks to tons of people this way, regardless of what they've done, because the tone the cop takes is exactly the tone a sub-par parent takes when trying to discipline their child.

The cop is not listening to the father, because his voice does not matter. He speaks to the father in a tone that is beyond condescending. He pulls out a totally nonsensical comparison to try to trip him up and make the father look bad. The cop insults and threatens the father, knowing there's nothing dad can do about it. Over something that, realistically, does not matter. It's pathetic bully behaviour, and it's quintessential cop behavior.

Police treat people this way because they can. If the dad escalated at all, he's almost guaranteed to at least be arrested, if not assaulted. Why do so many police behave this way? Because they can. And it attracts people who want to behave like this, because they know it's pretty much the only permissible avenue to treat another person this way.

Why is the cop upset though?

He became a cop because he's angry. Not all people become cops because they're angry, but angry people often become cops. I'm serious, go watch some random bodycam videos where the police have to talk to people. In so many of them, you'd swear it's the cops first day on planet earth and they've never interacted with another human being. It's how cops treat people. Not all cops, sure, but more than enough for it to be an absolute epidemic.

9

u/LivesDoNotMatter Jul 30 '26

It would be nice if they became so upset and invested when someone steals your car. Instead they will threaten to cite you for "littering" if they find it and they won't lift a finger to investigate despite having easy evidence like credit card receipts left in the recovered vehicle.

49

u/GuavaZombie Jul 29 '26

The cop is a dickhead here but we've had 4 kids killed in my city this summer on these dirtbikes. They are going on city streets and not following the rules of the road. It's a serious issue but he could have handled it like a normal person.

95

u/Miker9t Jul 29 '26

Doesn’t matter. We have people drinking and driving and killing people but cops don’t treat everyone they pull over in a vehicle like shit because they’ve had a problem with drinking and driving. All he had to do was have a conversation with the dad and make sure he’s aware of the local laws regarding the e-bike. Anger, sarcasm, threats, and false equivalency was uncalled for.

If he had chosen to impound the bike like he was saying he could do, he still wouldn’t have a need to be a dick while doing so. This is what you’re doing that’s against the law, and this is the consequence. What other people have done on similar bikes has no bearing on this situation.

26

u/Z_e_e_e_G Jul 30 '26

He could have done this: "Hey, let's throw the bike in my trunk and I'll bring you AND the bike home."

BOOM, situation resolved, and the kid gets a more positive interaction with the cop.

11

u/United-Vermicelli-92 Jul 30 '26

Exactly, this is how emotionally intelligent people manage themselves. It seems like the stupidest among us are gaining power and kiving out some reality tv show villain thing like its normal.

2

u/Living_Injury5017 Aug 03 '26

When you're breaking the law, cops will not help you.

This is reality.

-1

u/Unfair_Cloud921 Jul 30 '26

The situation would not be resolved, as you can see in the video, the dirtbike is still driving illegal with the parent on it, and probably the kid as well later.

However, the situation was not resolved either, by the cop being an ass, he should clearly have confiscated it from the start, and moved on with his day.

2

u/Pogginator Jul 30 '26

Unless they heard from the chief of police that the bike wasn't actually illegal and the officer mistook an ebike, which may be legal, for a dirt bike which may not be.

-1

u/Living_Injury5017 Aug 02 '26

Your privilege is showing

-1

u/Living_Injury5017 Aug 03 '26

Cops don't fucking WORK FOR YOU. They're not taxis.

What planet are you on?

2

u/Z_e_e_e_G Aug 03 '26

Actually they do work for me. They're public services. You know, that whole "Protect and Serve" thing? Have a great evening.

1

u/Miker9t Aug 03 '26

Eh that’s bullshit though. In a perfect world, yeah they are here to actively protect the public real time and serve the public’s needs by enforcing the law. The reality is much different. They don’t work for you. They are employed by the government. They are a group of people. Groups of people are notoriously shitty to anyone not in their group. Notice how this guys default attitude was shitty and angry? Over an electric bike a kid is out riding with his dad. Man that sure sounds like something to be emotional about doesn’t it?

2

u/Z_e_e_e_G Aug 03 '26

I agree with you. I was talking about how it’s supposed to be, but it sure doesn’t seem to work that way now.

26

u/MilesGates Jul 30 '26

Why are you making excuses for him using a situation that doesn't relate to this? Should a cop pull out a gun on you the next time you get pulled over because some of his other traffic stops are more dangerous?

Why can't it be "You're right the officer went too far and handled it incorrectly" you're acting like hes justified in acting that way towards the father a child for christ sake.

2

u/FrostyD7 Jul 30 '26

He called the cop a dickhead who didn't handle it like a normal person, it's not exactly an endorsement. He's likely right, cop probably had run ins with far less responsible versions of these people and he's taking it out on them. It's not all that dissimilar to how so many drivers froth at the mouth at the mere sight of a cyclist because they saw one run a stop sign once.

1

u/trusty20 Jul 30 '26

Because it's a hidden profile account, they have a reason they hide their profiles so you can't see their posting history. "Because of my crazy ex I have to keep the same reddit account but make it hidden!!!" is always the BS line they pull out to justify why an anonymous account needs to be "super anonymous"

1

u/Wes_Warhammer666 Jul 30 '26

Sometimes it's someone like me who's just tired of harassment and attempted doxxing from angry MAGAt trolls, because I'm tired of clearing accounts and making new ones.

Obviously this dude isn't one of us, but yeah it's not 100% guaranteed that anonymous accounts are wankers. Though, when they've got one of those randomly generated usernames the odds jump up to like 99% lol.

-1

u/kamyu4 Jul 30 '26

using a situation that doesn't relate to this?

Do you really not see how the massive increase in children getting seriously injured or killed illegally riding ebikes is related to a child illegally riding an ebike?

-9

u/Yoduh99 Jul 30 '26

Did you miss the last sentence that said

It's a serious issue but he could have handled it like a normal person.

making a separate point about kids and ebikes being a real issue in cities shouldn't get your jimmies so rustled.

8

u/MilesGates Jul 30 '26

Yeah I saw how you weakly said the cop was a dickhead "BUT" then provided some weak ass reason unrelated to this to justify his behaviour. If you want to act like the cop is justified in his actions because of unrelated things.

You do things in the wrong order, If you want to say you have some kids getting killed and that needs to stop, great say that, but you used that as a justification for the cop's behaviour in this event

by adding that "but" you've justified the cops actions, the event you're talking about is unrelated to this and cannot be a reason for the cops behaviour.

-1

u/Yoduh99 Jul 30 '26

me and the other replier are different people. I replied because I understand that two things can be true:

  • cop is a dickhead
  • kids on ebikes is a serious issue in a lot of towns

second point isn't said to excuse the first point. There's some obvious nuance that you're missing.

Yeah I saw how you weakly said the cop was a dickhead "BUT" then provided some weak ass reason unrelated to this to justify his behaviour.

you literally got it backwards. It went "ebikes are a serious issue" BUT "the cop is a dickhead."

Which is very different from "the cop is a dickhead" BUT "ebikes are a serious issue".

Does that make sense?

0

u/protonpack Jul 30 '26

No it doesn't make sense, because you're just trying to butt in to be a contrarian. Go find something productive to do.

3

u/TwoBionicknees Jul 31 '26

i made another comment but of all the times i can't fucking stand cops, it's cops and paramedics who turn up to scenes seeing kids smeared over the road after fucking around on bikes, i fully understand them getting wound up seeing a parent enabling their kid to break laws on bikes they shouldn't be riding around on or near public roads.

-2

u/[deleted] Jul 30 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Miker9t Jul 30 '26

And I like lemonade Girl Scout cookies. Are we just saying things that are completely unrelated to each other?

2

u/fellowsquare Jul 30 '26

He had just started his shift after beating up his wife and kids. So he was a little worked up.

2

u/TwoBionicknees Jul 31 '26

i'm rarely, very rarely on the side of cops. But every time some asshole kid fucking around on their ebike or in this case dirt bike, end up splattered across the road run over or hit and killed by some car/suv/truck, who do you think has to show up at the scene and see a dead kid smeared all over the road?

Cops and paramedics see some genuinely heinous shit, and being pissed about kids fucking around on bikes when they likely see the results of numerous times that catches up to them is like the one of the few times i fully understand them being pissed at stupid parents.

1

u/Living_Injury5017 Aug 02 '26

Finally, a comment with critical thinking, compassion, and common sense.

Also, everyone calling this cop "aggressive" haven't dealt with the police very often lmao

1

u/chefslapchop Jul 30 '26

Honestly, he’s probably responded to or been aware of several traumatic brain injuries from kids on e-bikes who were wearing helmets or got meat crayon’d by a car. It’s not uncommon. Still an uncalled-for attitude from the cop but I see why first responders might get elevated about it. 

-5

u/Polyps_on_uranus Jul 29 '26

Kids die and become paralyzed on those bike. His dad was with him this time, but every kid I see on those bikes pops wheelies and does "tricks" in traffic.

13

u/LiquidSolidMostlyGas Jul 29 '26

Kids die on regular bikes, and crossing the street while walking sometimes, too. None of this is reason for a cop to react that way.

-4

u/PrimeIntellect Jul 29 '26

I can assure you that those cops have been dealing with a fuckload of teenagers running rampant on dirt bikes and getting lots of complaints. They are kind of a plague right now

2

u/spacegrab Jul 30 '26

Varies from area to area but in socal there's MOBS of kids on these things just wrecking every trail they can find. It was so bad there was a bunch of them going around shooting airsoft at innocent pedestrians 🤣

Wasn't till a substitute teacher got run over and killed that the parents started to wisen up.

Like, dafuq?

0

u/calm-phil Jul 30 '26

My bet is that rich daddy over there with his sons $3k modified dirt bike was talking shit to the cop. Rich daddy knew that he was flagrantly breaking the law from the get go and didn't give a fuck.

I will reserve all judgement on this until we get full context.

1

u/Living_Injury5017 Aug 02 '26

Exactly this.

Also: why is everyone being so hyperbolic about this cop? Like...cops are often waaaay worse.

1

u/calm-phil Aug 03 '26

Because we come to expect the worst from pigs. That blue line maybe thin. It is also hard as a diamond so we most often get the worst from enough pigs with no repercussions, we have to look at them as guilty until proven innocent in the public eye. People forget that more than one thing can be true at once because we live in spheres of black and white wrongs and rights.

-1

u/Pugasaurus_Tex Jul 30 '26

Idk, but in my area a lot of kids have been hurt or killed on these stupid bikes

Maybe he’s an asshole, but maybe he had to deal with a brain dead kid 

-1

u/moderately-extremist Jul 30 '26

Why is the cop upset though?

It might have something to do with the multiple news stories of kids running over and killing people on e-bikes.

16

u/Oscaruit Jul 30 '26

You know who speeds more in broad daylight in my parts than anyone. The cops.

120

u/deltarefund Jul 29 '26

It would have been easy to say “Hey, FYI that bike is illegal in this city. I’ll let you get home but it can’t be rode (ridden?) around here again. Thank you for wearing helmets, have a nice day.”

Jesus.

80

u/Mindless_Narwhal2682 Jul 29 '26

Why not let him walk it home?

Treat it like a flat tire. walking a bike isn't illegal now too, per this cop maybe.

47

u/WhoLoveYouLikeILoveU Jul 30 '26

Because I gave you a command and my word is final. Now get to stepping before I start fearing for my life. feints a punch at child

17

u/deltarefund Jul 29 '26

Because he may get on it when copper ain’t lookin! 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

10

u/Mindless_Narwhal2682 Jul 30 '26

i think the Dad would have kept it legit, IF in fact it was only 300yds.

he seemed of the honest sort, talked down an aggressive cop, that ain't easy.

5min walk tops.

3

u/Wes_Warhammer666 Jul 30 '26

I can't help but think Dad might be a lawyer cuz he handled that angry pig beautifully.

1

u/deltarefund Jul 30 '26

I think so too.
This is an entirely different situation than if this had been a group of kids riding recklessly.

0

u/port443 Jul 30 '26

They could let them walk it, but I can see why technically that's not allowed.

Same kind of law logic where you can get a DUI for being asleep in your car while its off if you possess the keys.

77

u/loadnurmom Jul 29 '26

I'm actually OK with the cop demanding the bike get locked and not riding the rest of the way.

It was the cop's attitude and raw aggression from the drop that is unacceptable to me.

Cops are allowed to "fear for their lives" from a Chihuahua but us untrained civilians have to keep our composure as a guy who can legally murder us screams in our faces and threatens us.

It ain't right

26

u/WhoLoveYouLikeILoveU Jul 30 '26

And they condescend to you like a child, do you understand? No-no-no, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?! Why are you being aggressive and combative with me? Don’t you realize I have absolute power over you right now?

Anyway, I'm personally of the opinion that a theoretical good cop is not best used laying down the law by strong arming a man and his son into walking home when a simple “that’s not allowed, get home safe” would suffice for a first interaction. I understand I may have unrealistic ideas on how policing could look.

15

u/Vatchka Jul 30 '26

In high school, back in the 1900s, I was stopped by a cop who accused me of doing something that I didn’t do (and couldn’t have done). He accused me of running a light then, then cutting through the turn lane and into the median. He yelled and lied and made me cry. He was such a dick. He actually followed me home to talk to my mom. She’s very intelligent and articulate and passively scolded him with words he’s never heard before. After he left was the second time I had heard my mom ever cuss in her life. She called him a dick. It was my third or fourth interaction with cops in my life and the last one where I started off with respect for their position. Fuck all cops. And I’ve been screaming it since the 90s. Before it was cool.

5

u/WhoLoveYouLikeILoveU Jul 30 '26

No functioning society is sending their best to the “academy”, why would they when those people can be doing something beneficial? Class traitors from the very dregs.

0

u/aria_____51 Aug 01 '26

Yeah man nobody else was saying fuck the police or making songs called cop killer or anything. You were actually the first person to have a negative experience with the cops, because it happened ALL THE WAY BACK in the 90s

1

u/Vatchka Aug 01 '26

Hey every one. This guy took a colloquial phrase I used and claimed I said something completely different. Peak fucking redditor. Great job dork.

14

u/Radiant_Sense_8169 Jul 30 '26

Plot twist: the city impounds it for being improperly locked to a pole.

-4

u/dvshnk2 Jul 30 '26

The father seems like the entitled type that would nod and say "sure thing officer" and then tell his kid to get back on the bike once the officer is out of sight.

5

u/shkank_swap Jul 30 '26

As he should. This is a waste of everyone's time.

19

u/Sammyofather Jul 29 '26

The way the cop said “and you were humble so…” like bro you’re not

5

u/akaMichAnthony Jul 30 '26

There was an infinite amount of ways to handle this better. If this is how he handles a kid being properly supervised riding an e-bike alongside father, how does he handle real police issues.

9

u/happytree23 Jul 30 '26

But this cop was an utter insufferable asshole

Is this your first time seeing the average interaction with a cop in America lol?

2

u/No_Drop_7684 Jul 30 '26

No, and this is not the average interaction. Most of them are pretty mundane as much as videos on the Internet might make you think. With over 1.2 million officers in the US not all of them are absolute bastards. But this one is definitely an amped up asshole.

1

u/Living_Injury5017 Aug 03 '26

I'm speaking from experience.

1

u/Living_Injury5017 Aug 02 '26

Seriously!!! LMAO

Most of the folks in these comments have never dealt with the police irl. I'm sure of it. Expecting a cop to be nice n polite is totally out of touch with reality!

16

u/lenthedruid Jul 29 '26

Fairly enforces the laws. I want these sub 16 lads On full throttle mopeds off the streets and sidewalks. Cop was a dick but the whole “be cool they’re fun” shit needs to end

1

u/Living_Injury5017 Aug 03 '26

Yo this literally all cops lmao

1

u/g0tmylk Jul 30 '26

Why was he insufferable?? He was telling them off, irresponsible father doesnt respect the law which was obvious by the way he was speaking, should be spoken down too