Cop gets arrested at strip club.

That poor victim, not the way you want to get fucked OTC.

Uh, why was the police officer arrested again?

For assaulting the civilian who was trying to help.

I don't think that arrest is going to stand up, at least not as a criminal case. If, as the story says, Clennell did in fact identify himself as an officer, then he's probably going to be in the clear. Police out of uniform have traditionally been given some leeway in these types of situations. From Clennell's standpoint, in the heat of the moment, the "victim" could have been an accomplice.

A civil case is another matter, of course, but if the victim didn't ask for more positive identification before acting against the verbally identified officer, he might be out of luck there as well. He was certainly stupid to ask, with a gun in play. If Clennell were a private citizen *pretending* to be a cop, or something worse, he might have been shot.

Unless this isn't the whole story, of course. Then, all bets are off.

i wonder if that was fellow member policeman lol

GMD has some valid points. The cop will most likely have the charges dropped against him, but he'll get a week or two of suspension. Although cops fight for their life nearly every day, you can't justify butt stroking someone in the face with your gun-it is not in any Police manual.

Dudester, LEOs all over the country justify that very thing everyday in instances just like this one, where a potential attacker takes action against a police officer. To the officer, this may have appeared as an attack, and in the heat if *that* moment, if the officer honestly felt he was in danger, he *was* justified. The standards *may* be different when he's out of uniform, e.g. He may be required to have his badge out, he *did* identify himself verbally, which the victim acknowledged.

I'm provisionally on the cops side on this one, at least with regard to the benefit of the doubt. I think the "victim" here was monumentally stupid and in the wrong.

GMD, I'm on the cop's side too-I was a cop for ten years (quit because of stress). I estimate I was in over 5,000 fights. Never once did I punch someone in their face, but then again, my forte is martial arts. I can spin you in directions that you never thought of while I block or dodge punches.

Sometimes you have to face a grand jury to explain your use of force. More often than not you have to face a board selected by the department. An easily asked question is, "in your use of force classes, did anyone teach you to punch someone or use a firearm to pistol whip someone ?"

The only Officer I ever saw get a pass on that was one jumped by ten suspects. He laid them all out.

The samaritan in this case was way out of line, but a defense lawyer will easily get the charges reduced. All the defense lawyer has to do is subpoena the department's use of force instructor, and ask him if a pistol to the face is taught in any of the classes that he teaches. No PD wants that question asked in open court. Anyone with any experience with a handgun knows what can go wrong with that.

I could tell you lots of stories about fights I was in. The funniest was actually an arrest where no force at all was used. The suspect lied his ass off, to the IAD, his family, and the Judge. He didn't know that the entire event was caught on tape. Imagine his embarassment when the tape was played in court. His family, who were the only ones who hadn't seen the tape, were the most surprised. It was priceless watching him squirm.