Get a good look at the police state up close with this one as a Vallejo, California PD officer is being investigated for using excessive force against a man on his own property.
The incident happened on January 31st when Vallejo resident Adrian Burrell stepped out on is front porch to witness his cousin having a gun pointed at him by Officer David McLaughlin. McLaughlin then proceeded to tell Burrell to go back inside his house – while on his own property albeit – however Burrell instead opted to take out his cell phone and start recording the incident.
It was then that McLaughlin went off even further and proceeded to apparently assault Burrell for simply videoing him arresting a man in his own driveway from his own front porch.
Via ABC7:
Adrian Burrell told ABC7 News he walked out of his home last Tuesday afternoon to a Vallejo police officer pointing a gun at his cousin in the driveway. His cousin can be seen in a cellphone video with his hands up sitting on his motorcycle.
“I had both hands up kind of like this and said, ‘He can’t hear you. He has his helmet on,'” Burrell said. “Kind of like chill out. He (officer) tells me to go back inside of my house.”
Eventually, the recording stops, but Burrell explained to ABC7 News his account of what happened next.
“He handcuffed me and threw me into this wall here,” Burrell said. “Swung my body into that pole there, where I knocked my head. He took me to the car and detained me and told me I was going to jail.”
It was only when Burrell informed McLaughlin that he was a Marine veteran that he let him go.
McLaughlin however seems to have an aggressive past which can be confirmed with further incidents on video. According to KTVU, an off-duty McLaughlin pulled out his gun back on August 11 of last year at a busy shopping center. The man who he pointed his gun at was Santiago Hutchins who was arriving at a pizza restaurant to celebrate his son’s 14th birthday.
So what set McLaughlin off this time? He apparently didn’t like the way Hutchins looked at him when they passed each other.
Via KTVU:
“We made eye contact,” Hutchins said. “He asked me what I was looking at and I asked him what he wanted. We got into a verbal altercation. At that point, he pulled out his gun.” Hutchins is now being represented by attorney Sanjay Schmidt.
At the time, McLaughlin was dressed in shorts and a white T-shirt. Hutchins and several witnesses told 2 Investigates they had no idea he was a police officer. It was surprising that a man in the plaza would pull out a gun over a verbal confrontation, some said.
“I think he shouldn’t have had his gun out so quickly,” said one witness who works nearby.
Walnut Creek police responded to the scene and took down Hutchins with the help of an off-duty deputy who happened to be in the area. Video shows McLaughlin join in and throw punches and elbows repeatedly.
“He kept grabbing my head and slamming it into the concrete,” said Hutchins.
The blows left Hutchins’ face bloodied and in need of stitches. A pool of blood was left in the parking lot. Hutchins was arrested, but later all charges were dropped.
So why was McLaughlin still on part of the Vallejo police force after something like this? Well he concocted some bullshit story on how Hutchins was the aggressor and justified his use of a gun in a verbal spat because Hutchins followed him yelling profanities. However further investigation into this, including the review of surveillance footage from the Mall couldn’t corroborate McLaughlin’s story.
Meanwhile, the Vallejo Police Department further covered for their officer by denying request for internal documents on the August 11, 2018 incident.
As far as the Burrell incident goes, the Department is once again opening an internal affairs investigation into the matter and will probably find another bullshit story to peddle.
They also released this statement:
On January 31, 2019, the Vallejo Police Department became aware of a video circulating on social media involving a traffic stop by a Vallejo Police Officer. After viewing the video, Chief Andrew Bidou ordered an internal affairs investigation of the incident even though we have not received any citizen’s complaint regarding the traffic stop. Chief Bidou has ordered that this investigation be conducted in an expeditious manner.
Internal Affairs Investigators have already contacted one of the subjects in the video to gather further information. The entire incident was captured on the Police Officer’s body camera and will be reviewed in connection with this investigation. Upon completion of the investigation, Chief Bidou will thoroughly review all of the facts and make the final determination.
In the meantime, Burrell has hired a civil rights attorney to represent him.
