Disabled Veteran Thumped by Walmart and Police is not OK

[XLFD]

The Ludington Torch rarely covers incidents that happen outside the state of Michigan but this one is an especially egregious one that shows both a corporate and police agency riding roughshod over the rights of an individual, a helpless individual who was in the right from the beginning.  Be prepared to see this individual treated like dirt because neither the corporate or the police forces involved had any intention on following their own policies and protocols, any intention to allow a veteran's lawful rights be observed, and escalated this encounter into a tragedy.  

Our locality has a Wal-Mart and we have our share of police officers.  Some of those store managers and police officers are well-trained, have experience, and would likely de-escalate the following situation if it happened here.  Some do not, which is why some avoid shopping at Wal-Mart and likewise we have seen our share of police brutality complaints in the federal courts.  Let's make two points perfectly clear before we see this vicious attack on a disabled veteran.

Some states allow the police to show ID on request, Oklahoma is not one of those states: Oklahoma is not a “stop and identify” state. In other words, you are not required to reveal your identity to anyone– including a police officer– merely to satisfy their curiosity.  Michigan is the same.

Corporate Walmart has been clear about their policy in other situations involving sales of alcohol.  Brian Nick, director of national media relations for the chain said in 2014:  The company's only policy — for booze and cigarettes — is to check the ID of the person making the purchase. In the case of alcohol, policy requires that workers card buyers who don't look at least 40 years old.  In a well-publicized case of the time, he debunked an Iowa Wal-Mart policy of refusing to sell beer to a 57year old man and his wife simply because his teenage daughter was with them.  Nick said store officials planned to clarify the policy in Ames and Des Moines, where readers reported similar experiences, and to reach out to Davis to apologize.  There has been no change in that policy since.

In the following video taken this last weekend you will see a disabled veteran attacked by the Muskogee Oklahoma Police Department for standing up for his rights. Jason was at Walmart trying to purchase champagne for New Year's Eve. His wife did not have her ID with her and Walmart wanted her identification as well. Jason said he was the one purchasing the alcohol and she did not need to identify.

Walmart ultimately refused to sell the champagne to him. Jason asked for a copy of the policy and they claimed they were going to get it. They actually called the police, and never provided the non-existent policy to be seen by the customer.  The inept, poorly-trained  Muskogee officers then ignored his rights to refuse their demand for his ID without any reason, used that as a basis to arrest him for resisting.  See them take this man off his wheelchair and throw him on the ground while he wails in pain, all just for trying to buy champagne for his wife and himself for New Years Eve.

The video (20 minutes, which switches away from a point-of-view to another perspective once the veteran gets accosted) effectively speaks for itself, with the veteran asking questions that should have been answered by the Wal-Mart manager and any of the four escalation-driven police that took part in the Bacchanalia of senseless violence.  If any of what you are about to see upsets you, all the contact info follows for the agencies and individuals present. Please, let them know how you feel so that this never happens again to a disabled veteran in Oklahoma or to anybody anywhere else in America.  

Walmart
1000 W. Shawnee st
Muskogee, OK 74401
918-687-0058
Walmart manager: Jennifer

Muskogee Police
112 S. 3rd St.
Muskogee, OK 74401
918-683-8000

Officers & Badge Numbers
Philpot #516
Wilkins #524
Rochel (??) #518
Schultz #515

[John Doe Jr]

This is exactly how things work in America. I blame the Good Ole Boys church club and the bootlickers! That mentality of, " do what you're told if you have nothing to hide, what's the problem?" The same with demanding your rights and a cop asks if you are an attorney. People have no clue what their rights are, why people other than criminals demand them, and they forget those who died for Our Rights! These tactics are not policy because they are unlawful. I hope this guys wins MILLIONS! Without body cams they could have added more bogus claims and end up with a felony. How can one legally be a Cop if they Swear to an Oath to the Constitution and have no idea what it even says to obey to follow it? These are ignorant people just following orders that compromise safety, and violate rights up to and including Excessive Force!

[AQUAMAN]

It's very hurting and shocking to view this video. Four able bodied officers against one disabled wheel chaired veteran isn't anything but crazy. Great reactions to get a full video of this. The Walmart Corp. and that county Police force are going to have a HUGE lawsuit against them, and lose $$Millions in court damages. I hope the man recovered okay in the hospital. I just can't see any reasonableness to this situation, no laws broken, and a man illegally arrested for simply not showing his ID, very sad.

[XLFD]

This incident happened six days ago, and what is remarkable is that the Muskogee Police have defended their officers' actions completely, and yet they haven't produced any body cams or Walmart security cams to aid in that defense.  Muskogee Police do wear body cams, as just the previous month there was an officer involved shooting and the public was shown an inconclusive look at what happened as recorded on one of the officer's body cam (the officer who took the shot, whose body cam footage should show that the decedent had a gun in the first place, was conveniently left out).  Take a look at that incident from the body cam released and tell me that the handcuffed suspect with a gun trained on him had pulled a gun as the police said he did.

The shooter violated several normal protocols for handcuffing a suspect and this seems to have left him vulnerable to the man drawing a knife or gun (he claims both before firing the fatal shots)-- but who in their right mind would do that when three officers are around and they're in handcuffs?  You never see a gun or hear one drop.  Their untenable defenses used in the clear-cut Walmart unlawful use of force case will hopefully have others in the Muskogee area review this a lot more closely.  Release the unedited shooter's video.

[Willy]

Muskogee appears to be having police problems. Time to retrain or rehire competent law abiding officers. What fell to the floor was a key attached to what appears to be a  flash drive or something similar. That stupid cop almost shot the  cop behind the suspect. He had his hand on his back at the time the shots were fired. The bullet could have easily penetrated  through the suspect and hit the officer or anyone else in the restaurant. Who shoots someone your holding on to. Muskogee has some very bad police.

[Willy]

What a disgusting display of abuse of power. All the cops should be fired and their boss prosecuted for allowing this type of policing to exist in that county. Anyone who is training to be or is now a police officer must know the law, the Constitution and civil rights of those they are sworn to protect and serve. What I would like to see is some kind of educational reform of police agencies. Just like builders, architects, inspectors and other licensed trade groups who are required to re-certify every few years by studying new laws, codes, etc. and passing a certification test to prove proficiency in their trade, police and law enforcement must do the same. If an officer does not know the laws then that officer will no longer be allowed to be in law enforcement. Along with that, all officers must be screened as far as mental, emotional and psychological fitness to become an officer and continue to do the job as required.

[XLFD]

I think you have a great idea, Willy.  Michigan standards for law enforcement is set by MCOLES, but they really aren't a licensing agency-- they can't even prevent Michigan police agencies from hiring poorly-trained or untrained reserves and putting them out with a gun and a uniform but without a psychological evaluation or formal training.  Many agencies are out of control because the local politicos cannot reform them when they go bad, and will often be painted as police-bashers working against the smooth operation of the local municipality.  It's hard to fight that without a courageous show of unity against their well-armed peers.

[stump]

It looks like the police have nothing better to do except escalate a bull shit situation. Why would walmart ask for people in the family for their ID. I can see the purchaser as I have been asked before , of coarse that was many years ago. The police? they should all be retrained if they still have a job ,for the victim , hope he recovers and wins big. I guess after watching the other video the disabled veteran in the wheel chair is lucky he didn't have a gun in his waistband. After watching the restaurant video , at about 0.29 when the shots were fired what looks like a  gun falls to the floor and he is rolled over on it. 

[XLFD]

From what I've read, Wal-Mart has an overall objective to reduce selling alcohol to minors, and suggests that if there is a questionable purchase made where it appears one person may be buying alcohol for another minor, that they can use their discretion whether to sell the beverage.  Many Wal-Mart cashiers are not used to making discretionary decisions of any import, so some make the objective more important than the actual policy-- where only the purchaser is asked for ID.  This can become an unwritten rule or an established practice over time, and lead to what this silly cashier/manager did this time, which will hopefully get them strongly disciplined and give Wal-Mart a new directive to assert their actual policy as what needs to be practiced.

[Dave]

I guess I'm the resident expert on alcohol sales at Walmart here. I  watched part of the video, from what I saw/heard there is no reason why they should of denied the sale, if its quite obvious that the person trying to make the purchase is of legal age (hence the reason if the customer looks under 40 they are suppose to ask for ID) and that the person is not making what they call a 3rd party purchase (purchasing alcohol for a minor that has given a person money) which doesn't appear to be the case here, the sale should of went through. Plenty of people come in stores with family members that are under age, if we are going to start denying sales to those people, that would be very stupid too do.

[stump]

   If I recall correctly, I have seem a posting at a Walmart registers  mounted on the electric supply post about ID required when purchasing alcohol . It should be no big deal ,most have your wallet out anyway.  Any business can lose their liquor license selling to minors.  Back in the day we never came into the store to buy beer.

[AQUAMAN]

In this second video, with the asian guy in a restaurant, I didn't see anything that even remotely resembled a gun. Looked more like a knife that was half open, gold colored, not like any gun color I've ever seen. So where is the gun you guys said you see? In any event, the suspect appeared like he was going forward at the officer with his right hand, but I doubt shooting him was necessary. Pepper spray, a taser, or night stick could have well been used in this case, without any fatality at all. I don't even see why the LE gun was drawn at the point of the video being taken, esp. with two other officers for backup right on the scene. Police brutality is a pretty light excuse, more like police insanity and jumping the situation into full blown killing for no reason that fits the crime. Also, I've been is some grocery stores of recent that also require ID for any alcohol sales, and the 40 year old suspicion isn't coming into play at all, it's ALL persons, regardless of possible age. If you have grey hair and/or are bald, would that fit a person's looks at being under 21? Not even close, and if your ID doesn't have a bar code on the reverse side, it's also questioned as not being valid. Wth is this kind of policy that stores are using now? I'd call it unnecessary and just plain shitty.

[XLFD]

In researching the earlier Muskogee incident, the object that is on the floor is mostly agreed to be a keychain, and the three officers present act rather strange regarding the situation and its aftermath.  As noted, the original officer is on camera violating the protocols for securing the perp throughout, his lack of training (or inability to follow his training) led to the incident happening.