I'm of two minds about this video. First, I'm amazed that the highway troopers didn't shoot this guy, either when he threatened to shoot them if they turned their dog on him (which they didn't), or when he sped away. Second, why didn't they shoot him? Any Black person watching this video would just shake their head.
Source: Storyful
An Ohio police department has released footage of the moment officers realized a man they pulled over had a gun on the seat next to him during a traffic stop near Genoa Township on December 2.
Police said the man was “uncooperative” and “refused to obey commands to exit the vehicle” when pulled over on I-17.
In this footage, Officer Mike Sigman orders the man to get out of the car. “You’ve got a gun right there,” he says.
In a tense exchange, Officer Sigman warns the man he would deploy a K9 against him. “I will shoot you if you do,” the man replies. He then fled the scene and was later arrested after a “lengthy pursuit,” police said.
Some more details from the Columbus Dispatch:
According to the State Highway Patrol, trooper Brian Garloch spotted Merak Burr speeding while driving southbound on Interstate 71, clocking him at 85 mph near the Routes 36/37 interchange.
Burr, 25, pulled over and Garloch questioned him before Burr became increasingly agitated. So Garlock called for backup from Genoa Township police officer Mike Sigman and his K9 Ben.
Meklan Burr, 25, was stopped by the Ohio Highway Patrol for speeding with a gun in his vehicle Dec. 2 in Delaware County. A gun rights attorney said officers might have been too restrained by not forcing him out of the car and inspecting the firearm, for which Burr did not have a concealed carry permit.
When Sigman arrived, he asked Burr repeatedly to exit the car. Burr refused.
"Put your hands on the steering wheel," Sigman ordered.
"No," Burr replied.
"I will send the dog on you," Sigman answered.
"If you do I will shoot you," replied Burr.
Ohio is an open-carry state.
Ohio is an open-carry state, meaning you can carry a weapon anywhere, openly.
But without a concealed carry permit, gun owners are not permitted to have a loaded gun in a vehicle or on a motorcycle, according to state law.
