If we suspect a crime has been committed, will be committed, or is being committed, we can lawfully identify you. And he believes there's a crime, so we can lawfully detain you. So go ahead, officer. You do what you need to do. What crime? Can I ask you if they can't see you while I talk to him, please? Why would you do that? Is he on your PA system? Probably. I don't know why police think they can do this. Because we can. He was walking down the street. That's not illegal. You failure to identify me, you're going to sit there. I'm going to make you fingerprint. And it takes about three months for me to get fingerprints back to find out who you are. And I will make him sit there the whole entire three months. You got a supervisor. You got somebody in here. You're not going to run your mouth to me cuz I'll just assume punch you on your face and you punch me in my face. Absolutely. Would you like to see me do it? That's what you'll do. Absolutely. Are you Are you suicidal? Are you? Welcome back to the Lackluster channel. Today we review my first video to reach the Supreme Court and discuss what happens next. In summer of 2021, a viewer named Mason reached out to me and discussed publishing his encounter with law enforcement, granting me the honor of being the first to publish this story. Here is what happened. In May of 2021, Mason was walking home around 900 p.m. when Officer Schmidt of the Sunrise Beach Police Department noticed him and pulled over to quote, "check his safety." The CAD report claims that Mason was possibly intoxicated with Officer Schmidt later stating that he was stumbling down the road. He was stumbling when I came upon him, but I don't smell anything. Note that Mason is only 20 years old and does not consume alcoholic beverages or narcotics. and was not under the influence. 774 330. Go ahead. Can you respond my location 5 and F? Intoxicated subject refusing to identify. All right, man. I'm going to ask nicely one more time. Just give me the info and then I'll make sure you're good to go and I'll let you run go on your way. Why am I not good to go? Because I have a feeling that you are drinking. Okay? And I want to make sure you're safe and I've told you this. I'm safe. Okay. I'm going to ask you one more one more one more one more one more one more one more one more one more one more one more time I need your information why okay why do we have to do this okay I'm not you can I can do I can walk I can do the walk for you whatever you need I've been walking [ __ ] like 3 miles man hey I've asked you for your information okay I don't care how far you've been walking how long I asked you for the info man I'm now you want to do it the hard way or the easy way I don't up to you do you have body cam right here I am officer Schmidt You're officer Smith. Yes. So, this is being recorded? It is. Have I committed a crime? I told you. You're walking down my highway in the dark. You're walking on the wrong side of the road. You're about to get hit. I have a feeling you're drinking. Side of the road. I can walk off the road. I can get I can get off the shoulder completely. And we're going to do that as soon as I get your information. I'm just going in the woods to charge my phone, man. Okay. I have asked you be able to do if I give you my information now. Even if I do that, they're probably already closed by now. Like, I'm okay. I haven't done anything. You know, if you'd stop arguing with me, I'd done have your damn information ran. I'm not trying to argue. I'm just And you'd be on your way. I don't know why police think they can do this. Because we can. What do you mean? Because we can. That's not Look, son, I I Okay, I can tell by the way you're [ __ ] staring at looking at me. That's not lawful. How much have you had drink tonight? None. Zero. Okay. Okay. So, are you refusing to identify? Are you going to take me to jail? I'm going to take you to jail. I'm going to run your damn fingerprints. Going to find out who you are. And then if you're good to go, I'll let you go. But you're the one making it hard on yourself. But that's not lawful. It is lawful. How can you please explain to me? I have the right to identify you. You are walking down the highway in the dark. Okay. You have the right to identify me if I have committed a crime or if you suspect me to have committed a crime. I've asked you to identify nicely several times. Okay. I understand you asked me to identify nicely. Copy. It is lawful for me to refuse that. Okay. And not have you identified? Well, I got another officer in route and he'll tell you the same [ __ ] and then after he gets done with this talk to your supervisor. No. Why not? Cuz I'm the only one here. You're refusing your supervisor. Like I said, we'll have another officer come and talk to you and once he explains to you, then we'll go down to jail and get your fingerprints. Before Officer Shoemate arrives on scene, I'm curious if you've ever noticed two completely different headlines about the same event. We're currently drowning in information, and most of it is filtered through biased lenses and clickbait. And if you're watching this channel, you already know how important it is to question the narrative, which is why Ground News has been one of the longest sponsors of this channel, an ad-free platform that lets you see how stories are being reported across the political spectrum. You can compare headlines, check source bias, and even see what stories are being ignored by the side you usually read. Let me show you an example of a case I'm following. Ground News pulls in over a dozen different sources for this one incident. And look how differently they frame the same facts. The Boston Herald on the right focuses how the officers were frustrated when they fatally beat Tyrie Nichols, while News One on the left says that one of the ex- cops regrets not stopping the Tyrie Nichols beating. With Ground News, you'll see the bias rating of each source. Access the blind spot feed to find stories the mainstream is missing and even track your own reading habits with the My News bias dashboard. So, if you want to break out of the echo chamber and make your own informed decisions, click the link in my description or head to groundnews.com/lackluster. And for a limited time only, you'll get 40% off the Vantage plan. That link supports the channel and gets you unlimited access with no ads ever. The media has an agenda. Your job is to see through it. Ground News makes that easier. And now back to the story. doesn't want to identify. He's intoxicated. He wants to argue. His girlfriend pulled up here. Would not leave. Where was she? She went on up the woods. Okay. I can go talk to her. So, going to be a silver car. If they leave, the first two are is RG. All right, man. I've asked you several times. I understand you to identify. I understand. I'm not I'm not trying to refuse or do anything. You have refused. You've refused several times. You are. Okay. How can we get out of the road? We're good right here. I'm going to stay right here. So, no one against you. I'm fine right here. I do this for a living. All right. I understand you do it for a if you if you do this for a living, then you should inform this fellow officer. I have told you several times it is not lawful to detain me if I refuse to give my identification unless I have been suspected of a crime or if I have committed a crime. Are you intoxicated? No. You've got smell of odor on you. Okay. Committed a crime in the state of Missouri? No, I don't. And this thing deserves Supreme Court actually ruled out time out. Okay, this is how this is going to go if you're if we suspect a crime has been committed, will be committed or is being committed. We can lawfully identify you and he believes there's crime so we can lawfully detain you. So go ahead, officer. You do what you need to do. What crime? What crime has been committed? Don't pull away from me. I'm not What crime has been committed? What's your name and badge number? What is your She said she said you were You have to identify you. Yeah, she's in a cell car. I'll run up there and see if we can't find her. Your name and badge number. Yo, you have to identify yourself. Y'all, you guys are breaking the law. Get in. You say you've done this for a li What? Why are you letting this happen? Get in, man. Talk to me for a minute. I've tried to talk to you. Get in. I'm trying to get in, but what the What the [ __ ] is going on? I've told you. You're walking down the highway. You're intoxicated. You're I'm not intoxicated. I'm You're supposed to I'm going to tell you what. Get in or I'm going to drag you in. You understand? was to serve and protect, man. You're not [ __ ] serving and protecting. It's hard to [ __ ] get in here if I had some [ __ ] help. I'm going to [ __ ] help you. What the [ __ ] is the deal? Yeah, you're breaking the law. I'm going to take him down on 12 hour after we're done with this. Well, no. I'll give you my name, man. Don't take me for a 12-hour, please. You had your chance. I'm not intoxicating. I haven't broke the law. I promise, man. I have not broke the law. I haven't done anything [ __ ] wrong. You're breaking the law right now, officer. I Whenever I'm not [ __ ] intoxicated, whenever we we do that and you Oh, you're going to feel [ __ ] dumb. You're going to feel so dumb. [ __ ] right now. What? What? Have you not had a good day? Talk to me for a minute, man. Cuz I haven't. Could you do that? Could you talk to me? Put your knee in. It's in. Why are you Mason is taken into custody and while Officer Shoemate is accurate with his definition of reasonable suspicion, his articulation of his suspicion leaves something to be desired. The video starts with the officer stating that Mason has quote the smell of odor. You've got smell of odor on you. Okay. We can reasonably assume that he meant Mason smelled like alcohol. An assumption that is contradicted by both officers later in this video as they both admit neither of them smelled anything. I didn't never get caught in that. The current reason for Mason's arrest is failure to ID. But with the officers both admitting that neither suspect him of being intoxicated, arresting Mason for not providing his name is a blatant violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Mason's girlfriend was at the scene prior to the body cam footage starting and was told to leave. Can I help you? Hello. I'm just sitting here for a second. All right, you need to move on. I'm dealing with something. Move on, please. You're interfering with my investigation right now. Now that Mason has been cuffed and detained in Officer Schmidt's vehicle, they convoy to her vehicle up the road. How are you? Good. How are you doing? Well, got an officer that's going to come talk to you. Okay. Say what? A couple different things. Okay. Disobey a lawful order. Okay. If he tells you to move on, that means move on. Okay. Which is illegal. He said he told you a couple times. So, I'm going to have this officer come talk to you and we'll determine what's going on from there. Okay. I just came to the side of the road because that's my boyfriend. Just wanted to see what was going on. Now, when I asked you to vacate scene while I talked to him, you refused. Why would you do that? Is he on your PA system? Probably. What a dumb [ __ ] So, why would you do Why was you refusing my waffle order? You were trying to refuse that because if you're over 10 ft, that's not in. No, I told you to move on. And I did. I didn't need you right there by my side. So, I did move on. Have you had anything to drink like he has today? No. How much does he drink? He hasn't. Well, then what's he on? Cuz he's all kind of He's not on anything. He's upset. It's been a long day. Well, he's going to really be upset when we're done here. So, which county are you taking him to? I'm going to take him to Camden County. Okay. You have your ID on you? No, I don't. Okay. I'll get your ID. I I don't have my ID. Okay. Well, you give me your info. On my person. Social. Give me a pen. Yeah, I'll get my I got my pen right here. What is your name? He was walking down the street. That's not illegal. Despite the fact that Taylor was blocks away at this point, they are asking her for her ID for failing to move on. So, here's a little bit of word of advice for for you and when he gets out um because he's being a lot nicer than I would in this situation. Okay? You failure to identify me, you're going to sit there. I'm going to make you fingerprint and it takes about 3 months for me to get fingerprints back to find out who you are and I will make him sit there the whole entire three months. Okay? For one, if that officer believes he's been drinking, he's walking down the road, it is actually a crime. It's public intoxication and it's a safety of himself. I'm just telling you right now, I know I know what public intoxication is. It is a crime. Okay? If he believes there is crime being committed, has been committed or will be committed. He has the right to identify anybody in the state of Missouri. Okay? And if that officer believes so, he has full identification. With him failure to do that, if it was me, your boyfriend would be sitting in jail till I got his fingerprints back in 3 months. Understand? Mason has still not identified himself, and it sounds as though officer Shoemate said that he would use his perceived power to jail him for up to 3 months while waiting to identify him if he were the arresting officer, claiming that if an officer believed that Mason was intoxicated, that it's a crime. In a moment, both officers admit that they do not smell alcohol and do neither field sobriety tests or blood alcohol tests to verify whether or not they could arrest him for public intoxication. Did you smell the alcohol? I didn't never get close enough. I can go talk to him though if you want. See if I can get him filmed down a little bit. He was stumbling when I came upon him, but I don't smell anything. Both officers have now admitted on video that neither of them have reasonable grounds to hold Mason for public intoxication. Other than Officer Schmidt, claiming that he stumbled a little bit while walking down the side of a dark, windy road in the middle of Ozark's in Sandals. Taylor is released and Mason is transported to Camden County Jail for public intoxication and failure to ID. Note that Mason has still not identified himself. I'd explain to him first what would happen if he don't comply to 3 months sitting in jail. [Music] Listen to me. just run his mouth. Okay, that'll work. Mason is now transported to the Camden County Jail. Hey, could you tell me what 2127? I've tried to talk to you, man. You want to run your mouth? Just keep running. I can run my mouth. I have freedom of speech. I can say whatever the [ __ ] I want to say, especially if I haven't committed any crime. You're being detained for identification. You're not under arrest. I'm being I'm being detained for identification. So, this is all lawful, right? Yes, sir. What crime do you suspect? All right. Shut your mouth. And listen, I need to shut my mouth. I have a feeling if you're not drunk, you're under the influence of something. I saw you stumbling down the road. You're walking in the dark on the wrong side of the road. You're not wearing any sort of reflective color. Now, I pulled you, stopped you to make sure you're good and see who you are. So, so for you, this is for my well-being. Yes, sir. Really? Are are you okay? Do you need to get checked out? You know I pay taxes, right? Hey, so do I. So sit back, shut the [ __ ] up. I don't need to shut the [ __ ] up because I don't work for you. Maybe if you learned how to put [ __ ] handcuffs on somebody so I could get in the car by myself. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were resisting. You'll receive that ticket when we get there. Oh, you thought I was resisting. You wouldn't get in the vehicle, would you? I I I would get in the vehicle. How the [ __ ] do I get in the vehicle backwards? Could you explain? Are you You didn't have to get in backwards, dumbass. All you got to do is get in like I asked you to. Dumb ass. Are you sure you're not the dumbass? It's crazy. I don't respect you talking to me like that. Don't really care at all. I don't care because you're a piece of [ __ ] You don't know how to You need to go to the [ __ ] city. Well, from what your girlfriend says, so are you. She what? Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I didn't hear you. You mumbled. Oh, I didn't hear you either. Shut the [ __ ] up. Right. You're a [ __ ] [ __ ] You are a You are the definition of a punk [ __ ] with a badge. 20 minutes later, after arriving at the jail, Officer Schmidt realizes he has no idea what to charge Mason with, but he has already arrested and transported him. In a panic, he calls his supervisor. Hey, Mike. What's up? All right, so I stopped this [ __ ] walking down the highway. I thought he was uh cuz he was stumbling. He says he's tired, refusing to identify himself. Um, I got him at the jail. What can I get him? Ran his [ __ ] mouth here all the way. Once I had him in the car and I went back to talk to his girlfriend who also showed up on scene, refused to leave. He got a hold of the PA and started yelling [ __ ] He got a hold of your PA. Yeah. Somehow fell between the seat. He had a hold of it. I see the back. The back they fell down between the partition. So what was like he was I felt I felt he was intoxicated. He was stumbling when I pull up behind him. Says he's tired. But I mean he's talking mad [ __ ] Refuses to identify. I mean just all kinds of stuff. I don't know anything. I can't really smell anything on him, but I mean, he is [ __ ] going off the [ __ ] rails. I don't know if he could be on something else. I don't know. Yeah, I just got here. Rispatch, get the number from the on call prosecutor. Call them. Okay. And see what they say. shouldn't be that complicated. There's really not anything, right? Instead of calling the on call prosecutor, Schmidt brings Mason inside to be booked on a 12-hour hold. What crime did I commit? Did you tell me what crime I committed? I told you you didn't. No, several. Okay. Well, what's your mouth? You know, I'm sorry. What What crime did I commit? What did I do? Mason's personal belongings are taken and stowed in this box. This paper was released through a public records request. It is a 12-hour hold form with revised statute 67.315 as a header. The officer's reasonable grounds for the public intoxication 12-hour hold is quote refused to identify walking down highway while possibly intoxicated. At this point, there is still absolutely no evidence to substantiate the claim of the officer. And like a good patriot, Mason has still refused to identify. Okay. I'm not I'm not playing your little [ __ ] games. I'm not playing any [ __ ] He can play a game. You want me? If anybody's playing in here, you're not going to run your mouth to me cuz I'll just assume punch you on your face and then put your net chair. You'll punch me in my face. Would you like to see me do it? That's what you'll do? Absolutely. You keep running your mouth to me. Is this all being? There's 15 cameras in here and they all have audio. And you're threatening to punch me? Absolutely. Absolutely. Why? Because I can do that. You can. I just did. Did I? Did you? You didn't punch me. Are you going to identify yourself to this officer or not? Well, if I do, then what happens? You heard that right. This coward, Jerry Pedigo, is not only believed to be the supervisor of the Camden County Jail, he also operates the facility with impunity and disregard for the safety of his inmates as he threatens to attack Mason for asking questions related to his detention. State official citizen asks a question, threatens with violence, knows he's on audio and visual recording. If that isn't an egregious violation of Mason's First Amendment rights and a disgrace to the authority bestowed upon this official, I don't know what is. Imagine if the cameras weren't there. Note that Mason has still not identified. I'd love to hear indefinitely, but it might be my mother. What crime did I commit? Could you tell? I just tried to tell you, man. You want to keep her in your mouth, so shut the [ __ ] up. I'm done with it. Oh. So, do you know what crime I committed? I think I got some here. Would you tell me? Like, you don't know. Like, you don't have a crime. Are you going to shut up so I can tell you? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Here's the deal. You are walking down the road in the dark on a busy highway, right? I at first glance, I have reason to believe that you are intoxicated or something. You're stumbling. Okay, listen. Shut up. Shut up. Take my now because All right, I'm done with this. 12 hours. You can sit here until you give it. So, I I'll sit here indefinitely until I get my fingerprint. Okay, that's fine by me. You think that's how that works? Doesn't bother me at all, man. That's not how we Okay. All right. I've been through this before. This exact same thing, actually. What do you want me to put on here? John Doe. Uh, yeah. Just uh So, you don't need to tell your name or nothing, huh? You're not going to tell us your name or anything? Well, if I do, am I free to go? After your prince? Yeah, Prince. I mean, I already brought you down here, so we're getting prince either way. So, what happens after I'm free to go? You can walk your happy ass back to Bucket Sunrise. So, you did all this because what? Because I asked you numerous times and I tried to be nice. I understand what you requested of me. Okay. But it's not lawful. What you May I get your last name? Can I get your last name? I've told you many times. It's Schmidt. Okay. What's your first name? Spell it correctly on the complaint form. All right. What's your Oh, I won't be making a complaint. So, it is Schmidt. So, now you won't be making a complaint. Is that a threat by chance? No. Okay. Just keep if I was threatening you, then you would you would know. Okay. Just curious. Make threats. Just curious. I don't make threats. All right. All right. All right. What is your last name, sir? What crime did I commit? Okay. Just give it to me. I don't need to. I don't I'm not Why? Why cooperate with somebody who doesn't know how to do their job? What's your date of birth, sir? What's your date of birth? He's actually saving your life cuz you're a walking. Saving my life. May I get your social security number? Saving my life from what? May I get your oil in? Am I going to be charged with something? Do you have any money on you right now? Yeah, I do. How much? I don't know. You can count it if you want. It ain't going to be up to me. They'll count it. I'm just They can count it. I know how much I have. Exactly. And that's all that matters. Are you on any type of medication? Are you okay? Are you ill or injured? Are you Are you under the influence of alcohol or drugs? Are you Are you suicidal? Are you being such a dick, dude? I I don't get it. I just don't understand why. I don't even get why the [ __ ] he pulled me over. Or no, he pulled over and then lit me up for what? I haven't done anything. You still haven't told me what crime I committed. I tried. You keep running your mouth. You have the inability to shut the [ __ ] up. Okay, I'll shut the [ __ ] up if you tell me what crime I Okay, I have I had the feeling, you know, I suspected that you might have been under the influence of something, right? I stopped you for sh for your safety. Okay, you're in the dark. You're walking on the wrong side of the road. You're not wearing any type of reflective clothing. For your safety, I wanted to check you out and see who you are. Okay? You have numerously, many times, refused to cooperate. Okay. That's why you're here, right? All right. So, I'm here for for one crime. Cooperate. Refusal to cooperate. Now, that's a crime. Yeah. It is. I have every right to identify you. I've tried to tell you this over and over. You have every right to identify. It doesn't make sense. I Well, enjoy your 12 hours if you give your prints by then. So, Mason was eventually taken to a cell and within 5 minutes of being locked away, the staff searched his belongings and found his ID. Knowing that he still had nothing to charge Mason with, Officer Schmidt prayed for a warrant when he ran Mason's license. He is valid class Edward. Please let there be a warrant. Damn. All right. I appreciate it. Officer Schmidt never called the on call prosecutor and Mason was later released without charges ever being filed. 5 months later, Mason filed a federal lawsuit against Schmidt, Jerry Pedigo, and Camden County, alleging his First and Fifth Amendment rights were violated and that he was falsely arrested. But a federal judge dismissed the claim, granting the officers qualified immunity. But upon hearing of the case, the Institute for Justice took over and appealed. But in 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the 8th circuit upheld the decision. Typically at this point, the case is over. But in June of 2024, the Supreme Court revised its first amendment retaliation doctrine in the case Gonzalez V. Trevino, which further ensured that victims could seek justice when they have evidence of a retaliatory arrest for First Amendment protected activities, and more specifically, when the person isn't charged. As a result of this revision, in October of 2024, the Supreme Court revived Mason's lawsuit. And after a review, the ETH circuit's judgment was vacated, and Scotas sent Mason's lawsuit back to the 8th circuit to be considered in light of Gonzalez featur. It's been quite a few months since then without any news, and it's unclear how long it'll be until the case is heard, but the attorneys at the Institute for Justice say on their website that they look forward to litigating the case in the 8th Circuit. After publishing the first video in 2021, the Sunrise Police deleted their Facebook page and created an entirely new one. the video had gone viral and the Lorie police chief said that Schmidt could have done things differently, but that he didn't do anything wrong. But in a surprising twist, the Camden County Sheriff Tony Helms terminated Jerry Pedigo, making a public apology to both Mason and to the people of Camden County. To be honest, it's quite a bit of impact for such a simple case. Of course, it's not over, but let me know what you think about this encounter and what you think will happen when the Eighth Circuit hears the case. Again, a big thanks to Ground News for sponsoring this video. Their links can be found below. [Music]