A Georgia man said he was pulled over for an alleged seatbelt violation Friday, only for the state trooper to order him out of the car and attempt to place him under arrest without explaining why.
Marcus Gipson Sr. said the state trooper first grabbed him, then took a swing at him, which was when he told his passenger to begin recording.
It was not until the cop, identified as B.C Parker badge # 0154, had his arm around Gipson’s neck that he said, “You’re under arrest for driving with a suspended license.”
“You didn’t say that until you started putting your hands on me,” Gipson responded.
The cop struggled to handcuff him for more than a minute, ordering him to get down on the ground and place his hands behind his back, but Gipson held on to the back of his truck, making it difficult.
“Gimme your hands,” the cop demanded.
“No sir, you did not let me know before you grabbed me,” Gipson said. “I’m telling your supervisor.”
The cop continued struggling with him while Gipson says, “I did not do nothing wrong.”
That was when a second cop, identified as Cpl. J. McMillan, shows up and tases him, which is when the video ends.
In an interview with Photography is Not a Crime today, Gipson said he spent about four hours in jail, accused of driving with a suspended license, not wearing a seatbelt, obstruction and misdemeanor possession of marijuana before he was released with citations for all the charges.
He said he ended up with bruised ribs, burned flesh, nerve damage and holes in his back after the taser prongs were pulled out.
However, he maintains that he was wearing a seatbelt when he was pulled over, which he believes should invalidate the rest of the charges.
And that is exactly why he did not willingly allow himself to be arrested.
This is how he explained it in a Facebook message:
Innocent people don’t have to comply with police. They stopped my vehicle illegally. I never committed a traffic violation therefore everything after that was invalid.
I ask your readers…if a man was beating you…a man you never caused harm or gave a reason to use lethal force…would you comply? I’m not saying I’m completely innocent, but I didn’t deserve that.
Under Georgia law, police need to be able prove they had a “clear and unobstructed view of a person not restrained” in order to have enough probable cause to pull a driver over for a seatbelt violation.
Gipson said he had just pulled out of a parking lot when the trooper drove past him going in the other direction, but quickly making a u-turn to pull him over.
Here is how he explained it on his Facebook page where he first posted the video:
“I was pulled over by Georgia state troopers on Friday for allegedly not wearing a seatbelt, when the officer approached my vehicle I informed him I was, as did my passenger. We gave him our information, he checked out our stories and proceeded back to my truck, right after he took off his hat, cellphone, and glasses.
He asked me to step out of the vehicle, I complied. Without warning he grabbed me, tried to throw a punch that a dodged. I instructed my passenger to pull out his cell phone and record.
I asked “was I under arrest?”
He replied, “you’re driving under a suspended license!” while trying to throw me to the ground.
He pulled me to the back of the truck and began to hit me, knee me, and kick me, he used his handcuffs and a choke hold as a weapon — I never threatened the officer in anyway nor did I try to escape or flee.
After about a minute his supervisor arrived, without assessing the situation or giving me warning, he pulled out his taser and fired. I lost consciousness only to regain it with me still being tased and beaten.
Upon arriving at the jail, the doctor on the shift instructed the officers that they would not book me in without me receiving immediate medical attention. I was transported to the hospital, only to have the officer who had just beaten me moments before, to continually interfere with the nurses taken pictures and documenting my injuries.
After my X-Rays and treatment, I was turned over to the custody of Carroll County Jail.
Gipson said his passenger was not arrested. He also said he was not sure if the trooper was wearing a body cam, but believes there was a dashcam in the car, which we will try to obtain.
