COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A dramatic piece of video from Cobb County circulating on Facebook is sparking conversation after being viewed more than 5 million times.
In the video, a police officer is confronting a young man over a traffic stop and demanding he comply with his demands. The man's offense? Allegedly running a stop sign and refusing to comply with orders.
"Get on your knees," the officer can be heard shouting.
"Why the f*** does he need to get down on his knees," the voice of a woman, apparently that man's fiance who is recording the interaction, can be heard asking.
The video shows the officer pointing what appears to be a weapon at the man. The Cobb County officer calls for back up, and a canine officer arrives, along with a flood of other officers.
"Why you got your taser out and why you being super extra," the woman asks.
It gets extra heated because the officer wants the driver back in the car.
"'What the f*** he needs to get back in the car for," she asks the officer.
"Ma'am, I asked him to get back in," the officer replies.
"For what? For what," the woman questions. "For a stop sign, for a stop sign."
This is the second time in several weeks a metro Atlanta police officer stop has escalated into a confrontation.
Last week, Rose Campbell refused to sign her traffic ticket in Alpharetta thinking it would be admitting guilt. The stop escalated from there and ended up with her being violently pulled from her car by police.
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This most recent video sums up frustrations seen on both sides of a traffic stop: African-Americans feeling they're being targeted, and officers' frustration that their orders aren't being followed.
So what rights does a driver have in a situation like this? Every situation is different, but the ACLU and the National Black Police Officer's Associate both say the best thing to do is to follow the officer's directions when they ask to see your driver's license, registration and/or proof of insurance. And if you're given a ticket, drivers should sign it, or they could face arrest.
Cobb County Police told 11Alive the incident is still under investigation. The department has not yet released the driver's name or the charges he is possibly facing.
