By Marc Schoder
In the end of 2013, a traffic stop made by the New Mexico State Police (NMSP) not only went viral; but was state and national headlines.
The stop of the minivan with Tennessee plates, was a little more than they bargain for.
However, as NMSP and everyone on the Internet found; normal didn’t come up in this situation. The video, which has long since gone viral; is the original dash camera footage from the state police. in the video you find the traffic stop starts as you would expect, but then the tides turn.
The female driver of the vehicle was asked to get out of car, she wasn’t happy about it; and officers knew it.
According to media accounts, the stop was about…you guessed it, speeding.
The officers and the female attempt to scuffle (the first time) and the driver gets back into the car and drives off.
They end up stopping her again, this time her older son gets in the mix. The end result being officers trying to gain access to the vehicle, but one decided to take out his sidearm and fire at the vehicle…full of young children.
Ok, time to pause.
Since one of the officers on scene did discharge his weapon, Did NMSP have to go on offense in order to regain public perception in the departments favor? The answer you will come to find is a yes.
It is plain and simple, police officers firing on a vehicle with kids inside. It goes back to how the public preceves the entire incident and how the department is looked at on a national stage.
The end result of the entire incident was the officer in question was fired.
It was later found the woman had a warrent.
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