Comments by "L.W. Paradis" (@l.w.paradis2108) on "" video.

If the driver is cooperating, and relinquishes control of the car immediately, you seize the car and impound it. I don't see the reason for taking the person into custody by force every time -- and least of all during a declared national emergency, because of a pandemic. That is what you advocate. Think about why. I don't want a police state. I don't want police to approach me, or anyone, as if they were an occupying army in a hostile country.
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@Ness817 Who said to "let" anyone "off?" Impounding an impaired driver's car protects the public, and will be costly to the driver. Nor should anyone be let off for shooting a fleeing person in the back who posed no threat to them or anyone else. You do not use lethal force in defense of property. Remember, they had already searched Brooks. They knew he was unarmed and that the taser could no longer be operated. There was a larger question here, about how policing should be approached in general. Nina Turner was right.
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When police arrived, he was not driving. He did not attempt to retain control of his car and he cooperated with the police. There was therefore ABSOLUTELY no reason to arrest him. Impound the car, issue a ticket and summons. (N.B. This is not cheap to get out of.) Have him call someone to come get him -- only him, not the car. Make that clear. The threat to anyone's life is over. Force is not the answer. His blood alcohol level tested at barely above the legal limit, and he fell asleep. That tells me he didn't get "drunk" much. He wasn't used to it.
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@jesstiss222 Great post. I've been saying, "impound the car," which I consider harsh. (It is, but I appreciate why the public demands it, and it makes sense.) The fact that Brooks was asleep on so little alcohol makes me think he was NOT a habitual drinker, or someone who slept in late and stayed out late.
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@tannerlawrence3462 "It happens all the time" -- and it shouldn't. Impound the car. (Note that getting it back is not cheap.) Using force against a cooperative person is wrong. He relinquished the car without argument. What possible reason is there to escalate?
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@dameinoferrall2400 So impound the car. He was asleep and tested at a blood alcohol level barely above the legal limit. Sounds to me like he wasn't used to drinking a lot, huh? The knee-jerk resort to force and demand that police use force needs to end. That is the point.
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@dianelipartito6654 Thank you! Take care.
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@EchoJ Thanks so much. Hope you're well. (And if someone like that ultimately loses their car, well, that is harsh, but so be it. On balance, probably better for everyone.)
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@mikeburke7053 And if a man is unresponsive behind the wheel of a car, how do the bystanders know why? If it were someone you care about, wouldn't you want an ambulance to be summoned first, and paramedics to see what was wrong, rather than armed officers? He may have had his drink spiked with something he is sensitive to, for all you know. He may have had some other health issue. You presume he went and got drunk, and then knowingly and deliberately drove his car in an impaired state. (Diabetics, for example, are very concerned about being written off as drunk. Someone seeking food and passing out in the process should not be presumed to be committing a crime.) Your suggestion is to move toward force as a "solution." That's the whole point. And in any event, I repeatedly said to impound the car. That protects the public, both that night and probably for the next few days. The people with the guns were the only threat to life in this picture, and I believe one of the shots fired hit another vehicle in the area. How is that not clear to you? The only time in my life I had too much to drink was when I was unknowingly served a double, on an empty stomach and little sleep. The bar started happy hour early because it was the end of finals, and apparently they intended to do "something nice" for us. It passed quickly, and I was planning to walk home in any event, but I'll never forget how awful it felt. What would you have assumed about me if you had only seen me that one time, and didn't know what happened?
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When you were born, a few people who were born into slavery were still living, and plenty of people had had parents who were slaves.
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@bdean9593 They did not observe him driving. So impound his car, issue a citation, problem solved. No one says he should have been allowed to retain control over the car. I hope.
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