Thank God for Surveillance Video!
This was an unfortunate incident all around and although I feel the cop was not justified in his actions and should be fired, this is what I take away from it: Anytime you have a Legally Armed Civilian who is irresponsible with his firearm, either intentionally or unintentionally, (as in this case) combined with a VERY NERVOUS/IMMORAL cop, bad things can happen.
Bottom line, if you are going to carry a firearm in your vehicle, SECURE IT AT ALL TIMES, AS IN A HOLSTER. KEEPING IT IN THE DOOR POCKET IS NEVER A GOOD IDEAL FOR MANY REASONS, THIS BEING ONE OF THEM! Why the firearm was not secured with Kids in the car is a bigger concern IMO, but as the video goes on to tell, there are several things with the man in question and the cop that are troubling to say the least.
Watch the video at the link at the bottom of the page and You be the Judge. -SF
Houston, TX — On April 1st, Julian Carmona pulled up to a Houston gas station to use the bathroom. In under a minute, however, he would be face down in the parking lot, looking up at the barrel of a police issued 9mm, arrested and charged aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a Houston police officer.
According to Officer William Wright, Carmona “got out of the car holding a gun and pointed it directly at him, then dropped it, picked it up and pointed it again.” Wright then claimed that he ‘feared for his life’ and drew his own gun.
Wright made the arrest, and the citizens of Houston were saved by this heroic cop from a dangerous gun-toting gangster who tried to kill him. At least that’s the version of the story Wright told.
However, thanks to the surveillance camera attached to the front of the convenience store, Wright has just been exposed as a bold-faced liar.
“There are two sides to every story, and in this case,” Carmona’s attorney Jed Silverman says, “it’s night and day.”
What actually happened was entirely the opposite of Wright’s ‘official’ account.
As Carmona, a licensed concealed carry permit holder, hurriedly pulled into the gas station parking lot to use the bathroom, he accidentally knocked his gun loose, causing it to fall on the ground — an honest, and completely legal mistake.
“I don’t know if I hit it when I opened the door, or hit it with my foot—everything just happened so fast,” said Carmona.
After Carmona picked it up and put it back into his truck, the heroic Wright pulled his gun to save the day.
“I said, ‘Sir, I never pointed a gun at you. I promise, I never pointed a gun, check the videos,” Carmona said.
“I put my hands up like, ‘Sir,’ I apologized right away,” Carmona said. “’Sir, I apologize,’ because the first thing that comes to my mind, I dropped a gun in front of an officer, without even knowing.”
From inside Carmona’s truck, his children watched in horror as their dad was being assaulted with a deadly weapon by someone who’s supposed to protect them.
“He comes behind me, he starts handcuffing me, and my son comes out of the truck. That was the last thing I wanted,” Carmona said.
Now Carmona is facing jail time for a crime he clearly did not commit — all because an easily frightened, and delusional officer saw something that did not happen.
Also caught on surveillance video, just prior to Wright nearly killing an innocent man, was this cop purchasing booze in uniform inside the store — a violation of the department policy. The Free Thought Project called the HPD to inquire about Wright’s standing, and we were told that they are investigating the matter.
What the video below shows is that a cop needs no evidence of a crime to deprive someone of their rights and charge them. Had this surveillance video never existed, Carmona could have been killed by this officer, and no one would have batted an eye.
The Original Article and the Surveillance Video Can be Found at The Free Thought Project