“You can’t keep doing this. You can’t keep violating us in our own communities,” said Deon Jones after filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Denver Police Department for nearly killing him.
From the body camera footage of the incident, the only information the police had, with respect to Mr. Jones, was that he was from Aurora. He’d done nothing wrong. The police were patrolling a suburb of Denver and simply ran his plates while patrolling the Capitol Hill area of Denver.
They can be heard saying on their radios, “He doesn’t belong here,” an admission which could be understood by some to mean he’s Black and from out of town.
After approaching Jones, who was seated in his vehicle, minding his own business, not committing any crimes, the police then did something the average citizen cannot do. They drew their weapons and pointed them at citizen Jones.
They began ordering Jones to get out of the vehicle, something he said he would not do because they had no probable cause and he also feared for his safety — rightfully so. One officer even threatened to shoot and possibly kill Jones.
He said, “If you put your hand down there, I will shoot you.” Police then kidnapped Jones and put him in a cage.
Without probable cause, there were not supposed to search his vehicle or his person. But search him they did, nonetheless.
Finding cocaine, they then charged the man with possession of narcotics and refusing to obey a lawful order by a law enforcement officer.
Those two charges were thrown out in court, as the arrest was made without any suspicion that he’d committed a crime, thereby making his stop an illegal one.
Jones secured an attorney and filed suit against the department for violating his civil rights. David Lane, Jones’ attorney said he’s lucky to be alive.
“My initial reaction, when I first saw the video is this guy is lucky he’s alive,” Lane told reporters.
Jones agreed, saying, “I was like, man, are they going to kill me just because I won’t get out of the vehicle?”
He told reporters he refused to get out of the vehicle because he said he’d done nothing wrong, nothing to warrant his search and seizure.
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of litigation which has cost the city of Denver millions of dollars.
Lane says the police have a pack mentality. “Once someone questions police authority, the chase is on…it’s like a pack dog mentality that the police have,” he said.
Read More- Source: The Free Thought Project