Utica Police Respond to Viral Video of Traffic Stop that Led to Weapons Arrest

The Utica Police Department is responding to video that has gone viral of a traffic stop that led to an arrest of an 18-year-old man on weapons charges.

Lieutenants Steve Hauck and Bryan Coromato answered questions about the video of the arrest of Trevon Brown on WIBX First News with Keeler in the Morning today.

Hauck also took the opportunity to introduce Lt. Coromato since Lt. Hauck's last official day on the job is March 29, 2016.

The video was posted on social media and then re-posted by several news outlets.  During the show Bill Keeler addressed the competition between reputable news organizations and blogs, saying that some outlets represent themselves as members of the news media when, in fact, they are biased and have a definite political or social agenda.

Hauck spoke about a video that had been edited and released by a purported news organization in the Utica-Rome area that has inaccurately portrayed that the UPD was "planting" drugs on someone.

In the latest incident a video was released by a witness who saw a suspect being "strip searched."  Hauck takes issue with the description, stating that the suspect's clothing was not completely removed but rather that officers were pulling back several layers of clothing after determining that the suspect had a hard object in the back of his pants.

Original Story:

Hauck says that he does not have a problem with the original video that was posted, or with the people who made the recording.  He does, however, have a problem with the characterization that it showed a man whose civil rights were being violated by the UPD.  The suspect's rights were not being violated, Hauck says, and the officers involved acted in a professional manner.

Keeler and Hauck discuss the fact that even those "behind the camera" questioned what the suspect was doing with a "hammer" (slang for gun) in his pants.

For the complete audio from today's broadcast visit the "7am Hour" portion of Show Notes for March 25, 2016.

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