Virginia teen was detained and prosecuted for saying 'OINK OINK' to cop
We must remember that there is another part to a system in need of reform, prosecutors that proceed with a case despite the facts showing otherwise are a big problem. Body cameras are meaningless if you ignore what actually happens in them, especially if you ignore police misconduct (i.e., false testimony).
In May 2016, James (not his real name), then 17, was sitting outside a mall in Arlington, Virginia, when police officers approached him. They picked him up, slammed him to the ground, dragged him aggressively to their car, and brought him to the police station. All those details are documented by a bystander's cellphone.
But what preceded it is a matter of debate. James remembers sitting on the sidewalk, smoking a cigarette, and saying "oink oink" to a police officer, but the police had a different version of events. They claimed James provoked violence, refused to give his name, and resisted arrest.
Despite the discrepancy between the two accounts, Commonwealth Attorney Theo Stamos's office accepted the officers' narrative during a hearing on whether to detain him. Stamos, who handled the detention hearing herself, never mentioned the video, which had been made public the day before, and charged James with several misdemeanors, including disorderly conduct, failure to comply, and obstruction of justice.
We must remember that there is another part to a system in need of reform, prosecutors that proceed with a case despite the facts showing otherwise are a big problem. Body cameras are meaningless if you ignore what actually happens in them, especially if you ignore police misconduct (i.e., false testimony).