Police in an Idaho town are investigating an August arrest after body camera footage was posted online last week. Attorney Shane Darrington represents Jacqueline Aldrich, who was arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and possession of narcotics. Aldrich and two other friends were driving in Weiser when they were pulled over, eventually arrested, and brought to the police station. Darrington posted five videos of the traffic encounter and its aftermath.
In the first video the officer berates Aldrich; she asks the officer why he is disrespecting her and the officer twists it around and says Aldrich is disrespecting him. In a video labeled “Video 4,” posted below the fold, the unidentified officer has brought the arrested Aldrich into the station for processing. He walks into a separate office where he begins talking to a woman at a desk about his arrest. His inner thoughts are revealed at the 1:15 mark:
"Mouthy little bitches, oh my fucking God," the officer says. "If I can get away with it I would have put a bullet in the center of each one of their heads."
According to local station KBOI, charges against Aldrich were dropped and she has since moved away from the area.
She didn't know about the last remarks made in the video until her attorney showed her.
"I was scared, that's why I left Weiser - he has the power to do that," Aldrich said.
Aldrich has had previous run-ins with the Weiser Police in the past, including an arrest for minor in possession and misdemeanor battery on two police officers.
When asked if her prior history could've influenced the encounter in the video, she said yes.
"Yeah, how they know my past, they think they can just treat me like that, you know?"
The Weiser Police Department issued a statement via their Facebook page that they were aware of the video and were investigating, but they shut down the page after numerous commenters shared their inner thoughts all over it. They say they’ll put their Facebook page up again at a later date.
Daily Kos readers are reminded that this happened prior to the (s)election of Donald Trump as president of the U.S. Once again, compelling proof that police accountability and transparency are necessary—now, more than ever.