Get out of the vehicle now. Step out of the vehicle. In Pensacola, Florida, at gunpoint, police have stopped Taran Black, a mental health counselor. Get on your knees. Get on your knees. Put your hands on top of your head. I'm at work. Put your hands together. You're going to get clapping. Officer Noah DeFore saw him driving without a seatbelt. When the cop turned on the flashing lights and siren, Mr. Black kept driving for 1 minute. Go ahead and sit up. 224 1 detain. I'm at work. 10-4 1 detain. Do you have any objection to me searching right now, man? Uh yes, sir. You do? Yeah. Okay. Do you have any identification on you? Um yes, in my car. Okay. I'm Officer DeFore of the Pensacola Police Department. Yes, sir. Reason I'm stopping you today is cuz your seatbelt was off. Okay? I gave you multiple chances to stop your vehicle. All right? >> Well, I was trying to get to a place that I felt comfortable. Trying to get to a place where he felt comfortable, he said. Okay. Yes, sir. Okay. I'm cuz I'm at work right now. This is your vehicle? Yes, sir. And I'm at work right now. You're at work? >> Yes, sir. Mr. Black was en route to see a mental health client. All right. For my safety and yours, I'm going to pat you down just to make sure you don't have any weapons on you, okay? Yes, sir. After the pat down, waiting till I got to a place that where I felt comfortable. I mean I'm at work right now. You know, I got to see a client right now. Who? Mr. Black tried to explain things again. >> work right now. I'm a counselor. You're a counselor? Yeah. But who's your Do you have a client nearby or what's going on? Yeah. Okay. Before we ask any questions, you must understand your rights. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask any questions and to have them with you during questioning. You cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you free of charge before any questioning if you wish. Should you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you'll still have the right to stop answering anytime until you talk to a lawyer. Do you understand your rights? Oh, he understands his constitutional rights because soon after the stop, Mr. Black filed a lawsuit against the police. More on that in a moment. So, you're cool talking to me? Yeah. Okay. Okay. So, you have no ID on you right now? Yes, in my car. It's in your car? Mhm. Okay. Do you have any I got my uh work my work ID on me. Do you have any objection to me searching your vehicle right now? Oh, yeah. You do? Yeah. Why? Because for one, um there's no smell of marijuana or alcohol or anything. >> I've never mentioned any drugs right now. >> two, um I think, you know, the stop is based on I don't even know why you stopped me right now. I I explained my stop to you, okay? >> I mean I I object to the search. I mean I'm I'm at work, you know, I was leaving Walgreens and I'm headed to see a client to a session. I'm I'm a counselor. >> Okay. And why why did you why did you flee from me? I didn't flee. You never stopped. >> I I was waiting till I got to a place where I felt comfortable. You never stopped. >> So, that's the only thing that I'm saying. I I didn't I'm I'm I'm literally at work right now. Like I I got work >> stopped at any moment. I got my work badge on me and everything. Florida's eluding statute is strict. Drivers are required to stop the moment police request that they do so. There are only a few exceptions, mostly for women in labor. And Officer DeFore dismisses Mr. Black's justifications. I'm at work right now. That gives you no excuse to stop when I'm trying to pull you over. You did not stop. What I was saying is I wasn't fleeing. I was just waiting till I got to >> from law enforcement. >> I did not increase That is fleeing from law enforcement. >> I did not increase my speed, officer. That does not matter. The only thing that I'm saying is this, I was not fleeing. I'm in I'm literally at work. >> The moment that I initiated my lights and sirens and told you to stop, you're required to stop for law enforcement. >> thing I'm saying, officer, is this, I did not flee. I was waiting till I got to a point where I felt comfortable to stop. Literally have no I need your license, your registration, your insurance. I have permission to enter your vehicle and grab those items. Can Can I get it? No, sir. You're detained right now. You fled from law enforcement. >> I I did not I'm literally at work. >> You fled from law enforcement. I'm not going to argue with you about that anymore. >> Can he grab your license, registration, and proof of insurance? Yes, sir. Where is it at? Uh my god, it's in in the in my front seat. Just in your front seat? No, I got my license in my wallet. Okay. And then I got my um the rest of it is in my uh glove compartment. I can grab it. Can he go grab it? Can I go grab it? No, ma'am. Legal experts say Mr. Black was within his rights to deny the police the search given the absence of probable cause. Officer DeFore then went to his patrol car and called a supervisor, Sergeant Bryerton, for guidance as to whether a fleeing charge was applicable and whether police could search Mr. Black's vehicle. To his credit, the sergeant advised Officer DeFore not to charge Mr. Black with fleeing. But in accordance with settled case law known as the Terry doctrine, the sergeant said officers could search Mr. Black's person and the immediate area where he had been sitting. There is a catch, though. The Terry doctrine requires police to reasonably suspect a defendant is dangerous and poses an immediate threat, say with weapons. And it's not clear what facts in this instance would justify concluding that Mr. Black was a threat. A person's skin color is not justification. Stay seated. Eventually, police released Mr. Black from handcuffs and issued a citation for not wearing a seatbelt. Moments later, Mr. Black left without further incident. Soon after this 2020 interaction, Taran Black retained a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against the Pensacola, Florida Police Department. As the headlines noted, he claimed the stop was an egregious act of racist and classist policing. Black's attorney, Alister McKenzie, said the video shows there's no way police could have been able to see whether his client did or did not have on a seatbelt. He claims Black was treated unjustly because of his race and the older car he is driving. Mr. Black is seeking $200,000 and alleges the officers violated his civil rights and inflicted lasting emotional damage. Recently, a Florida judge referred the case to mediation, which is now scheduled for the fall of 2023. An effort at mediation is often the last step before a dispute goes to trial. Legal experts say the city of Pensacola would be wise to settle this case given the strength of Mr. Black's claims. The experts also note that throughout the encounter, Mr. Black was calm and polite, complied with the officer's orders to get on the ground, and asserted rights against an unlawful search without being adversarial. In other words, Mr. Black handled this encounter well under difficult circumstances, something that would go far with a jury. Relatedly, while the officer's stop may have been absurd and his gun-drawn approach over the top and possibly based on racial profiling, at least the officer bothered to call a supervisor and seek guidance. Thankfully for everybody involved, the police body camera was on and recording. By the way, in Tempe, Arizona, a body camera recorded a police officer pointing a gun at an innocent black man even after the officer had been told the suspect was white. Is he a white male? A black male? Come on. White male, uh he's going to be wearing a uh Excuse me. black shirt, tan pants. I got my hands up, man. Take the gun off. For real, I got my hands up. Where's your ID at? No, you don't get to tell me what to do. Where's your ID at? >> Take the gun off me, man. No. >> Where your supervisor at? You going to shoot me? I'm going to be another person on the news. Get on your knees. >> do nothing to >> Shut the [ __ ] up with that [ __ ] Get on your knees. All right. I didn't do nothing to you. Remember this. I need your badge number and your name. >> You'll get everything you need. Put it Put everything on the ground. I didn't do nothing to you. I got my hands up and I work here. Go call the manager. After multiple internal reviews, the officer resigned and is banned from policing, and the city made a huge payout to that innocent bystander. Check out that video at the link below. I'm David Shuster. Thanks for joining us.