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Brandon Locke was arrested in February for impersonating a police officer when East Haven Police officers believed the local drunk, despite clear evidence they had the wrong people (if such people existed). According to the video above, Vincent Esposito told police that people were in his neighborhood claiming to be police officers and he believed they wanted to hurt him. He described them as Puerto Rican and stated they were driving a silver Accord. According to FOX CT:

Locke was driving a Honda Civic- not an Accord, and nobody in the car was Puerto Rican. At least six officers responded to the scene as Locke was pulled over a couple blocks away. Officer 1: “You know why I stopped you right?” Passenger: “Uhhh. I wish I did know.” Officer: “Alright the reason why I stopped you is we’re conducting an investigation right now, in which this vehicle is involved, where a person was approached impersonated a police officer.” As officers took turns questioning Locke, other officers began to question the situation- all happening as their body cameras recorded everything. Officer 2: “I don’t know if it fits the criteria for that charge.” Officer 1: “I’ve never even looked at it, I don’t know.” Officer 2: “Yeahhhh… I think there’s certain things, you know?” But Locke was arrested and booked into jail anyway as two friends and his girlfriend, Daniela Arduini, sat and watched. When his day in court came in February, prosecutors dropped the case for lack of evidence. “I just think they had one mindset when they pulled us over and it was like a done deal. The body cameras saved everything. The facts are just right there,” said Arduini. The arrest cost Locke $2,000 for an attorney and bail, and while the charges were dropped, his mug shot lives on online, where it may serve a life sentence. “You can’t put a price on me waking up and seeing me on the news in the morning going against a felony. A felony’s a big word, that’s a huge word,” said Locke. Locke tells FoxCT News he’s just trying to put this all behind him and will not sue the police department or Esposito. Assistant State Prosecutor Michael Denison, who opted not to prosecute, never responded to our repeated requests for comment.

If you were to simply tell someone this story, where a man was arrested with no costume, no badge and no gun for impersonating a police officer, they probably wouldn’t believe you. Then to hear such one liners like when the officer responded to the question about the criteria of the law with, “I’ve never even looked at it, I don’t know.” If that isn’t telling of the type of people there are out there providing you with protection, then I don’t know what is. Police officers here were not only charging a man with a felony, but they didn’t even fully understand the law involved with that felony or the implications, furthermore, several officers were on scene here discussing the validity of the stop/charge. Yet, none of them spoke up to the arresting officer, none of them stepped into prevent the arrest and I’m personally shocked they even talked so candidly knowing they had body cameras.

Which brings me to my last point; body cameras. I hope this doesn’t become the textbook case for how awesome body cameras are for cops. This wasn’t that big of a stop and the charges were dropped before this information surfaced. After all, the police didn’t find one of their costumes, shiny badges, or guns on Locke. So, if he was impersonating a police officer, he was going about it wrong. Plus, I only bring it up now to point out that cops don’t know the laws they swear to uphold (while claiming to keep you safe) and that this footage probably would have never made it to see the light of day had something more egregious than taking the word of the town drunk had happened.

I also hope these kids learned their lesson because had they been using the bambuser app (available for all smartphones) then they wouldn’t have had to wait for the police or DA to come to their senses. As we’ve seen with many examples here at CopBlock.org, the faster the video is shared and viewed, the quicker the response is from public officials. Why leave it in the hands of the failed justice system? Put your evidence into the court of public opinion.