Some do not buy an official assertion after the video exhibits a police officer throwing a plastic bag right into a automobile that he stopped

Botsch said in the statement:

“On 07/21/21 at around 3:22 pm, the officers carried out a traffic check for a vehicle that was driving 100 km / h in a 45 mph zone. The vehicle was occupied by a driver along with front and rear passengers. The driver was identified by her driver’s license. The passenger lawfully refused to provide identification. The rear passengers were not wearing seat belts and were asked to identify themselves.

The driver and rear passengers were later removed from the vehicle. A subsequent search of one of the rear passengers revealed an empty corner tear (corner of a plastic bag) from a passenger’s pocket. The empty corner crack contained NO illegal substance; However, this type of packaging is a common method of storing illicit drugs.

The searching officer handed the empty corner crack to another officer who was on site. This officer gave it to the officer shown on the video. Since there were NO DRUGS in the corner crack, the officers dispose of the empty packaging material in the vehicle. This was observed in the video.

The passenger tells the officer that his actions will be videotaped and the officer replies that he is also taping the incident. The officer confirms to the passenger that he (officer) has placed the item there and explains that it was removed from one of the passengers and that the officer did not want to “hold” him. In essence, he seems to be throwing away the empty bag. Although we would prevent officers from dumping items in a citizen’s vehicle, the video makes it clear that the officer is NOT planting evidence or doing anything illegal. In addition, the empty corner crack itself is not illegal.

No arrests were made as a result of this incident. The only arrest / charge that arose from this incident was a speeding charge issued to the driver.

While this is just a summary of what happened, the origin of the blank corner crack and the circumstances under which it was placed in the vehicle are supported by body-worn camera videos.

Here are two video clips (see comments on the second video).

There are two separate clips as they are worn on the body by different cameras.

Since four officers were present on site, the camera recordings worn on the body and the recordings from the operational cameras totaled more than 6 hours of video material. We are still in the process of reviewing the videos. All videos will be published in their entirety shortly. “

In a previous statement, the police chief urged the public to “please be patient” and said “there is a lot of information to check”. It’s a tough question after the videotaped murder of George Floyd, who for many was an eye-opening look at how police officers brutally treat people of color.

The reactions to the video of the Caledonia Police Chief cannot tell how much suspicion there is of the police in communities across the country. “What was the likely reason they were searched in the first place?” Facebook user Lena Williams asked in the comments on the police chief’s Facebook post: “You’re not searching someone’s car because they’re driving too fast !!! This video is a couple of Bs and the statement! Show the alleged 6 hours of footage , we “have time !!!!” Jessica Carter, a white Facebook user, wrote: “I was stopped for speeding, neither the passenger nor I was asked to leave the vehicle to be searched.”

Justin Davis, another Facebook user, wrote, “If you had taken the bag from the guy, he wouldn’t have thrown it back in the car, it would be on the hood of the police as evidence. Definitely a dirty department. “

Early cell phone recordings of the incident in Caledonia:

Botsch’s first statement in full:

“Today the Caledonia police became aware of a cell phone video circulating on social media platforms showing the actions of a Caledonian police officer. We were able to localize the service call in connection with the cell phone video. The Caledonia Police are conducting a comprehensive internal review of the incident.

All police officers assigned to patrol duties are equipped with body-worn cameras, and preliminary information suggests that the officers on site activated all of their body-worn cameras. In addition, marked Caledonia Police patrol cars are equipped with dash-mounted cameras. We will review these videos as part of the internal investigation. We also need to get information from all officials present.

It will take some time to complete the review, but I have reviewed portions of the body-worn camera video. Please keep in mind that the mobile phone video only shows a small section of the entire encounter; while all of the videos available may provide more context.

The Caledonia Police are a firm believer in transparency; Therefore, all body-worn camera videos will be made available in the coming days.

Please be patient as there is a lot of information to review. Please note that we take this matter very seriously.

Christopher Botsch

Police chief “