According to 7News Miami, Kerley was concerned about his car, which was parked near the scene of a police investigation, and refused to leave when asked by officers.
Police said he became increasingly aggressive and refused to leave when asked by officers. Despite attempts to de-escalate the situation, Kerley assumed a fighting stance and ignored lawful commands, leading to his resistance during the arrest, according to police. Emergency backup was called, and a dart-firing stun gun was deployed to subdue Kerley, who was subsequently taken into custody without further incident. Kerley faces charges of battery on a police officer, corrections officer, or firefighter, resisting an officer without violence and disorderly conduct.
So he disobeys the direction of law enforcement and he is the victim? My thoughts if a police officer tells you too move shut up and move there is probably a reason. This is not because of race or anything it is because Kerley is a punk who needs to learn to follow direction and not create problems. I will bet everyone on this site including Wejo will try and portray Kerley as a victim which he is not!
Exactley...They have a script written in their heads and nothing will change them. They live in an alternate reality.
That’s a shame. It sounds like Kerley wanted to go home after late night out, but car was in an unrelated crime scene zone and cops wouldn’t let him interrupt to get home. Wonder if he pulled the “I’m an Olympian” card.
Love rooting for Kerley but I’ve always thought he had an attitude problem.
He should have just got in his car intoxicated and drove home right?
Nothing in the piece of video we’ve seen or the description in the article shows Kerley doing anything wrong. At this point the violent conduct of the police officers seems completely unjustified.
Here's the problem. Police have complete authority to control a situation where anyone POTENTIALLY involved is present, not even a suspect. Full stop. They have the ability to detain (not arrest) anyone they see fit. Now if someone resists that detainment, that has by definition escalated the situation. At that point, they have the right (whether you like it or not) to use reasonable force to control that person. And if that person continues to resist, yes, a taser is legally justified. What excessive force ALWAYS involves is using force at a level that is unnecessary to detain those individuals. That is usually overtly violent punches, kicks, baton strikes, and of course, their firearm being discharged.
What this will come down to was anything those cops did excessive in a situation where they have every right to detain someone that is uncooperative? Right now we have ZERO evidence that's actually the case, that video included. You and I may not like the optics of what we've seen thus far, but that has nothing to do with the legal thresholds involved.
So the officer pushed him and he in self defense protected his castle (since this is Florida) because they were threatening his life without a warrant or crime he had committed. If a longer video comes out it may change opinion but if he is tried for battery he should take a civil suit against the officer that pushed him first
I held my opinion until I could see a video of the whole incident. Kerley is screwed. He walked up into the face of the officer and the officer simply put him hand "knife-edge" style into his chest to make some space between them. Kerley tried to grab his hand and the officer grabbed Kerley's hand and gave him a small push to make some distance. Kerley then attacked the officer and it was game on.
You don't touch a police officer let alone attack one and expect to not be arrested. He got what he deserved and I have lost respect for him. He should have just walked away when they told him to and waited until the area was cleared to get his car.
Fred could’ve handled it better but unnecessary escalation from the cops. They tasered him after like 15 seconds
That is not really true if you watch the whole TMZ video. Four officers (at least) were trying to get cuffs on him and he refused. One of the cops was black and one was a woman, so we don't have to rely on the assumption that this was "motivated" by anything other than wanting to clear the area around the crime scene (already in progress).
The idea that if anyone touches anyone it is automatically "assault" is also insane. The officer had his hand up and directed Kerley to go the other way. Kerley is the one who amped it up 1000x and started the conflict. Watch the first little touch (from the cop) and then look at who escalated it.
I'm also not sure if you can see how close Kerley got to the officer's body cam. If Kerley was going the right direction, this would not have been an issue. Watch the video's first 90 seconds.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Fred could’ve handled it better but unnecessary escalation from the cops. They tasered him after like 15 seconds
This !
A black guy speaking up to American police officers is lucky he didn't get shot.
Hell, I'm a white bloke from Western Europe and I would piss my pants if American cops asked me something. They often are not very bright but they compensate for it by always being trigger-happy.
Fred could’ve handled it better but unnecessary escalation from the cops. They tasered him after like 15 seconds
That is not really true if you watch the whole TMZ video. Four officers (at least) were trying to get cuffs on him and he refused. One of the cops was black and one was a woman, so we don't have to rely on the assumption that this was "motivated" by anything other than wanting to clear the area around the crime scene (already in progress).
The idea that if anyone touches anyone it is automatically "assault" is also insane. The officer had his hand up and directed Kerley to go the other way. Kerley is the one who amped it up 1000x and started the conflict. Watch the first little touch (from the cop) and then look at who escalated it.
I'm also not sure if you can see how close Kerley got to the officer's body cam. If Kerley was going the right direction, this would not have been an issue. Watch the video's first 90 seconds.
Also, you can clearly see that road was barricaded due to some type of potential crime scene. What the hell was he thinking? Hey guys, will you let me through so I can get my car and drive away? It doesn't work that way and I don't know what to say if he doesn't understand that.