By far one of the most sickening police use of force cases I have seen is the brutal attack of Justin Wilkens by Oregon State Trooper Rob Edwards. A recently released dash cam video clearly shows multiple violations of policy, statute and civil rights by Trooper Edwards, yet shortly after this incident, he was promoted instead of punished. Despite being found to have committed no such violations by his superiors, a federal civil jury found otherwise.
The dash cam shows Wilkens committing multiple traffic infractions, up to and including reckless driving. Wilkens doesn’t deny this. Once he realized he was being pulled over, he anticipated a ticket. Edwards, who by this point appears to be heavily personally invested in this traffic infraction, rams into the back of Wilkens’ motorcycle, knocking him off. Let’s stop right here. When a vehicle accidentally crashes into another vehicle, a traffic crash report must be completed. If an officer is involved in a crash, a secondary officer involved traffic incident report must be completed. A detailed written statement by the officer must be completed and photographs of the scene must be taken before the officer’s vehicle is removed. That is what should have happened if this was a genuine traffic accident. If any of this documentation is missing, there is an obvious attempt to cover it up. There is no other alternative. Edwards then kicks a compliant Wilkens, breaking his collarbone.
The video does not appear to show a traffic crash. It shows an intentional ramming of one vehicle with another. This is a crime. If a person intentionally crashes a vehicle into another vehicle which is occupied at the time, that person has committed a felony offense of aggravated battery. That opens up a whole other realm of questions about this incident and how it was handled. Based on the video evidence, there can be no argument made that Wilkens was attempting to flee once he realized he was being pulled over. Once that is established, the fact that Edwards claims to have been acting in an official capacity goes right out the window. In this case, Edwards should have been terminated and charged with aggravated battery. Luckily for Wilkens, a federal jury agreed.
The kick delivered to Wilkens upper chest was clearly without cause. Referring back to the Use of Force Matrix, Wilkens’ level of resistant was virtually non-existent thus falls under at most passive resistance. A defensive tactics kick like that in this situation should have landed a much bigger payday than what Wilkens ended up receiving. Wilkens was awarded $180,000. While this may be a small consolation, the real insult comes when Edwards was promoted to Captain. The blatant violations in this video are still not powerful enough to break the police good ole boy system, which still governs many police departments out there to this very day.
Give Captain Edwards a call and let him know how you feel about his service to the community!
Captain Edwards Direct Line 541-726-2536 Ext. 269 /
Email – [email protected]
OSP Southwest Region Headquarters
3620 Gateway Street
Springfield, OR 97477
http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/pages/offices.aspx
I agree with everyone’s comments with regard to excessive and needless use of brutal force. The officer clearly overstepped his authority and overreacted by delivering a vicious kick to the motorcyclist’s chest, which resulted in a broken clavicle, a fractured rib and other injures. No justification whatsoever. To be completely unbiased however, the article below entitled “Oregon Trooper Promoted After Acts of Brutality,” reports the following: “The dash cam shows Wilkens (i.e. the motorcyclist) committing multiple traffic infractions, up to and including reckless driving. Wilkens doesn’t deny this.” So, it is entirely plausible, in the officer’s perception, that Wilkens was endangering the lives of innocent citizens, including possibly young children or defenseless and vulnerable elderly people. He’s no hero or victim given the foregoing comments. Wilkens sues the police department I presume and a federal jury awards him $180,000 for an “excessive force claim”? What charges, if any, were laid against Wilkens for his thoughtless, careless, lawless and potentially lethal actions that day? I see none mentioned. If he wasn’t charged with any violations, and then awarded $180,000, something is definitely wrong in this case. There are, as always, two sides to every story. What if Wilkens had seriously injured or even killed an innocent bystander during his reckless driving spree? I’m sure we wouldn’t be so quick to judge the officer.
He took a cheap shot at the man as he was kneeling to the ground. Not that shocking really. The trooper probably watched Roadhouse one too many times.
Agreed he also showed disrespect to the officer by committing these traffic infractions right in front of him. That’s just straight out saying fuck you to his face……
Doesn’t justify what the officer did. Police are suppose to uphold the law, not break it and then hide behind it.
well… he doesnt break any rules but the speed limit wich the officer also breaks when chasing him. he could have left that police officer if he wanted to on that bike
and driving over the double lines.. my bad 😛
A 4 door Sedan does alot more damage than a motorcycle. Anyone who has driven a bike knows how immensely safer they are with maneuvering and stopping than that of a car.the only infraction he committed beforehand was to pass when the lines said he couldnt.was that worth a car that’s bigger,heavier and way more dangerous to do the same knowing how much more deadly his vehicle is?no.the cops a prickly who puts everyone’s life in danger every time he provokes a chase.unless ppl are actually dangerously don’t interfere.start hiring professionals,not competitive bullies that cares more about how they look vs safety.he has a plate,meet them at home with a ticket.but that wouldn’t feed his ego or pockets.if he kicked at me like that I’d feed him his tazer,if u don’t respect the law urself then don’t expect me to respect u trying to enforce it.
Amen
The fk i s wrong with you pricks, did any of you watched that fkn video of fkn chase and behaviour of the motorcyclist on road, in 3-4 ocasions he endangered other lane where could be car full of kids or any other forms of life to say so, if i was policeman here i would beat the crap out of him, yet this policeman was selfcontroling himself not to kill the guy on motor. P.S. Use your brains and put yourself in both positions then make judgements cos God gave you brains not only for FB app He gave it to us with reason 😉 peace
I agree fully with the other david. That guy was driving like an asshole and should expect to be reprimanded in such a manner for carelessly speeding and endangering other lives.
Give me a break. This asshole biker put innocent lives in danger and was arrogantly reckless. Not only does he give all bikers a bad name with this kind of asinine riding, but he doesn’t deserve a damned penny. The officer did nothing more than what he would have done to “PIT” a car who was endangering innocent lives–he disabled his vehicle by force. NO FOUL. I have absolutely NO problem with the policeman’s actions and I would have beaten the tar out of that arrogant little asshole.
The REAL injustice is that that stupid prick just got rewarded for irresponsible driving to the tune of six figures. What a fucking travesty of justice!
A lot of crotch rocket bikers now think they’re entitled to drive like assholes.
Another stupid pig.
This kind of behaviour makes me sick, I would want that so-called “Cpt” Edwards to kneel before me and let me kick him in the chest.. Disgusting!!
Just hang him from a tree while hitting him like a pinata
Really??? Act of violence?
The guy was driving like an asshole! As far as I can say – too fast! You can tell now, that bikes do not cause same injuries as cars…. with that speed he would leave minced meat if his bike would meet a living creature!
The policeman did RIGHT to drive on the bycicle, to prevent this asshole from escaping, because:
1. We may assume that he was IGNORING the police, the sirens and probably the loudspeaker…. then he did wrong in first place…
2. We may assume, that he was not ignoring the police, but he did not notice them because of loud music, alcohol, drugs, …. which is even worse then first case.
In both cases you can assume, that the biker WILL TRY TO ESCAPE (again)…. or come up with brutal resistance…
We cannot see it on the video, but I assume that the first thing the policeman told to the biker was something like: “To the ground!”
If a policeman tells you to fall to the ground, aiming a gun at your head…. probably you should fall to the ground? One wrong move and he could get shot down… Instead, after several repetitions the policeman HAD TO ENFORCE.
Yes, the enforcement was violent, but TOTALLY NECESSARY!!!
I was hopping to see the biker get clobbered with a night stick, deserved it. Being angry at the Cop for doing what was needed is the reason why the US of A are in the state its in. Paying the biker after the fact enforces what I just said.