St. Louis Police Allegedly Beat Suspect After Turning Off Dash Cam

In April Of 2014, Cortez Bufford?was pulled over by a St. Louis Police Officer for allegedly speeding and making a illegal U-turn. This is what happened next according to Mr. Bufford’s attorney Joel Schwartz:

“The officer “pulls Cortez to the side,” Schwartz said. “He pulls over, the officer tells him to get out. You can hear him refusing, asking the officer what he did. The officer … gets angry, at some point he says he smells marijuana, and drags [Cortez] out of the vehicle … the officer took him to the ground.”

Brian Millikan, a policing union lawyer representing one of the officers in the video had this to say:

“The use of force that was necessary in this case was a direct result of the defendant`s actions or the suspect`s actions,” Millikan said. “If you`ll notice, there was a passenger in that vehicle. He voluntarily removed himself. He complied with the officer`s requests and commands. There was no physical force necessary.”

According to Mr. Bufford’s attorney Joel Schwartz, his client was charged with a felony weapon offense and a misdemeanor, charge which were later dropped. Mr. Bufford was taken to the hospital before being taken to jail. Mr. Schwartz went on to say,

“People can draw their own conclusions” after watching the video, Schwartz said. “If we felt [the cops’ alleged action] was justified, we certainly wouldn’t have filed suit.”

In the Video one of the cops could clearly be heard saying

“Hold Up!”

Before the Camera goes dark.

Communication Director Maggie Crane said the following:

“Dash-cams from two police cars were rolling, and only one was shut off. The video shows everything described.”

?She stressed that Bufford was driving a car that matched the description of a vehicle tied to reports of shots fired, that officers saw him make the alleged illegal U-turn, and that after the officers pulled Bufford over they allegedly smelled and saw marijuana. He was “combative with officers,” she said.

Mr. Bufford’s lawsuit is seeking $500,000 in damages. Watch the video below.


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