Bodycam footage was released after a complaint of an officer planting a meth pipe
By: -----
Stillwater, OK - The Payne County District Attorney has released a statement regarding online discussion of accusations towards Stillwater police officers in a recent traffic stop.
The statement is as follows:
It has been brought to my attention that there have been public accusations against Stillwater Police Department officers that they planted evidence on a Defendant in a recent traffic stop in Stillwater. Specifically, social media posts have been made with cell phone camera footage where the originator says ‘Stillwater police plants a pipe and the other finds it. This ain’t the first time, can anybody help me.’ This post has gone viral on social media.
I want to be perfectly clear: If ANY police officer ever plants evidence on a defendant in an attempt to cause my office to convict an innocent person, not only will I ensure they never wear a badge again, I will prosecute that police officer to the fullest extent of the law, and put them behind bars for as many years as I can. That is not hyperbole. That is a promise.
In this instance, I have thoroughly reviewed all the evidence and all the body camera footage as well as the cell phone video posted on social media. These accusations against these officers are barefaced falsehoods. I
am releasing body camera footage of this incident for the public to see for themselves. What officers “planted” on the seat and console was a passenger’s pocket knife, and their ID cards. The meth pipe was found behind the glove compartment. I encourage the public to watch all the body camera footage. This is exactly why we have and need officer-worn body cameras – both for the protection of the public, and law enforcement officers.
This cellphone footage, presented without context and alongside assertions of officer misconduct, is being spread online by career criminals in an attempt to undermine anti-drug dealing and anti-drug trafficking operations in our district and our state. I encourage the public to conduct their own research before perpetuating the spread of this misinformation.
I want the public to know, I have absolutely zero tolerance for drug dealers and drug traffickers who are profiting off those in our community who are suffering from addiction. Our friends and neighbors struggling with addiction, many of whom are good people, are dying from drugs, including fentanyl. I will not stand by and allow these thugs to continue to operate and profit in my jurisdiction.
I will fight them every step of the way.
To the drug dealers in Logan and Payne Counties: the days of lenient plea offers from this office are gone. You deal drugs in my jurisdiction and profit off those struggling with addiction, I will put you in prison. You will not intimidate me, or our law enforcement partners, through the deliberate spread of misinformation. Not one bit. Be advised, you can stop distributing illegal substances now, or you can leave my jurisdiction of Logan and Payne County. Otherwise, you are going to prison.
Because of the significance of these kinds of matters, I have asked and will continue to ask the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to investigate fully. And rest assured, I am personally reviewing any of these kinds of accusations against police officers in District 9.
I encourage the public to take time, come to the courthouse, and attend dockets and jury trials. These are all public proceedings, and I want the public to see the procedures and hear the facts of these cases. This is also why I want cameras in the courtroom—for the same reason we have body cameras on police officers. Truth matters. And I want the truth to come to light.