Officer Handcuffs Woman for Not Sharing Ring Cam Footage : Steve Lehto

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Officer Handcuffs Woman for Not Sharing Ring Cam Footage
Steve Lehto




This video from Lehto's Law discusses an incident in Greenville, North Carolina, where police officers investigating a shooting at an apartment complex (0:26) handcuffed a woman who refused to let them search her phone for Ring camera footage (1:10).

Key takeaways from the incident:

• The Situation: After being called to an apartment for a report of shots fired (0:31), officers attempted to get footage from the woman's Ring camera (0:54). The woman stated the camera was not recording (1:26).
• The Interaction: An officer threatened to write a search warrant, "rip it off the wall," and keep the woman up all night (2:30). Despite not being a suspect or even a formal witness, she was handcuffed (2:59).
• The Search: According to the woman, an officer went into her bedroom while she was in handcuffs, retrieved her phone, and used her face to unlock it (3:11).
• Officer's Admission: The officer was recorded telling the woman, "Instead, you wound up in handcuffs over nothing" (3:38).

Current Status:

• The Greenville Police Department has initiated an internal review and placed the primary officer involved on administrative leave (5:42).
• Steve Lehto highlights the legal concerns regarding this interaction, noting that while police can seek a search warrant for evidence, the tactics used—specifically against a non-suspect—are highly questionable (6:56).
• He concludes that while he would likely cooperate if asked to provide footage of a crime, the manner in which the police handled this situation was not appropriate (10:12).

 

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[TonyR]

More and more each day I believe armed law enforcement officers should be required to take, and pass, a psychological and mental fitness examination before being hired and placed on duty. I'll even go so far as to say those exams should be repeated periodically, although I'm not sure of the interval I'd recommend since I am not a medical professional. That said, I'm seeing more and more of this from not just rookie cops but also 10 year veterans. I'll admit that part of that is because of smartphones, social media videos, etc.

I support LEO and thank the Lord we have them but we do NOT need rogue, armed cops that run roughshod over the Constitutional rights of the citizenry and routinely get away with it. They don't need to be lawyers but they DO need to be versed heavily on their limits and strictly conform to the rules of what those limits are and what they can and cannot do and say when dealing with people.....and especially non-suspects, witnesses, victims, etc.