re: Indiana cop fired after body slamming teenage girl

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I don't know what happened because we can't hear the conversation. But if he told her to step out of the car (and I suspect he did), she was obstructing by not doing so. When Police order you out, you have to get out. This is not speculation, it is clearly written in law.

Here you go:

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An officer's authority to order a driver out of a vehicle at the officer's discretion comes from the US Supreme Court's ruling in Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106 (1977). That authority was extended to include ordering a passenger out of a vehicle in Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408 (1997).

Note that the officer is not required to have probable cause or even reasonable suspicion of another crime before ordering a vehicle's occupant(s) out of the car. It is also important to note that the officer may order a vehicle's occupant(s) back into the vehicle, as well.


So, yes the Supreme Court settled this in the 70's for the driver and extended it to passengers in the 90's. If a Cop tells you to get out, it is a crime to refuse. And he can order you out just because he feels like it.

Unfortunately a lot of parents don't tell their kids this and we end up with situations like this. A lot of people are very ignorant of laws surrounding traffic stops.

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A couple of things.

1. I'm willing to concede that the girl probably did mistakenly think she had a right to be told why she was being stopped before she was willing to follow orders. My read on the video is that that probably did happen.

2. However, that doesn't mean he has carte blanche to resort to any level of force to compel her to comply, and it also doesn't mean that he is under no professional obligation to attempt to peacefully diffuse the situation rather than being the one who escalates it to a violent conflict within seconds.

This was very poor police work. Probably doesn't rise to the level of justifying a successful lawsuit—assuming that the girl wasn't injured—but this guy absolutely needed to be fired. He clearly does not have the temperament for this job.