The chair Of Baltimore Police Oversight Panel was recorded on police camera refusing to obey officers’ commands during a traffic stop.
Bodycam video shows how the Civilian Oversight Task Force Chair Marvin McKenstry refused numerous times to provide his driver’s license and registration to the police officer who stopped him on the afternoon of April 13.
The incident began when Police Sgt.Terrence McGowan pulled up behind a car that was double-parked in the middle of the road.
Sgt. Terrence McGowan sounded his air horn several times and waved at the driver to move, but the driver of the vehicle, McKenstry, gestured for the police officer to go around.
‘He was stopped in the middle of the roadway with his flashers on … That’s why I pulled him over. I actually hit the air horn several times,’ Sgt. McGowan was heard explaining to the other police officer in the video.
‘Impeding?’ the other policeman asked.
‘Yeah,’ Sgt. McGowan replied. ‘And [I] waved for him to move forward, and he shook his head no and waved his hand out the window and told me to go around him. So I hit the horn again. He wouldn’t go. Then she got out of the car, and I pulled him over, and it went downhill from there.’
The Bodycam video showed Sgt. McGowan approached McKenstry’s car and said to him that their interaction was being recorded. And then McGowan asked for the driver’s license and registration.
‘All citizens, regardless of rank, office or status have an obligation to cooperate with our law enforcement officers. This was an unfortunate occurrence that could easily have been avoided,’ Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh said in a release.
According to Baltimore Sun, this traffic stop happened after Marvin McKenstry left a downtown hearing on the consent decree in U.S. District Court.
‘The Sergeant did a good job in a tough situation. He didn’t want to make an arrest and he was very patient. This is a situation that officers encounter on a regular basis,’ Baltimore Police Commissioner De Sousa said in a release. ‘We are working with Mr. McKenstry to continue to improve upon police and community relations. We hope that this encounter can be used as a positive training tool to help build relationships.’