In this video, we cover the story of Angel Guice, a woman who went viral for posting a video where she claimed to be the victim of police brutality. In her video, she appears to be trying to sign for a ticket as well as asking the officer for his name and badge number. But instead of providing his information or letting her sign the ticket, the officer is instead attempting to arrest her and ends up grabbing her about the head and throwing her to the ground for the crime of asking questions. The video went viral as yet another example of excessive police force and police brutality, and was even picked up by large national outlets such as The Shade Room. However, Atlanta Police released the hour long bodycam detailing the buildup and the aftermath to the short clip that went viral, and it provides some very important context that utterly debunks Ms. Guice’s claims. So let’s dive in.
This story comes to us out of Atlanta, Georgia, where Ms. Guice was found after hours in a public park, in violation of city ordinance. Instead of letting her and the man with her off with a warning, the officer asks for their IDs so he can write them up. Even from this initial request, we see Ms. Guice not wanting to comply, as she did not retrieve her ID until the officer asks her again for her to get it. They both eventually hand them over, and the officer draws up the paperwork.
Once the paperwork is done, he has the male come over to sign the ticket, acknowledging that he received the ticket and is promising to show up to resolve it in court. The man asks some good questions, like what it is that he’s signing and whether he has to sign it, which the officer explains if he doesn’t sign it then he will be arrested. The man signs the ticket.
Next it’s Ms. Guice’s turn, and the officer once again has to ask her multiple times to come over to his car so she can sign the ticket. Once there, she starts asking for the officer’s name and badge number, which he provides to her twice. She also starts stating that she doesn’t have to sign anything, which the then explains that if she doesn’t, she is going to be arrested. She continues to refuse to sign, and asks the officer for his information for a third time.
At this point, having identified himself twice, and not wanting to continue to go back and forth, the officer asks her once and for all whether she is refusing to sign. She again refuses, leading Officer Brooks to attempt to arrest her. What ensues is over five minutes of Ms. Guice resisting his commands to put her hands behind her back, requiring Brooks to take escalatory steps to achieve compliance. These steps include pushing her up against the car, then taking her down to the ground, then threatening to use his taser if she continues to fight. It eventually takes several officers to finally get her in handcuffs.
That’s the factual basis, and this video is a good example of how simple compliance can save you a world of hurt with police. And we know that here because we have a side by side comparison of someone who does comply and someone who doesn’t. The man did comply with the officer and walked away unscathed. The woman on the other hand was resisting the officer at nearly every step of this investigation, to the point where the officer had no choice but to arrest her. So I’m sorry, but it is hard to have sympathy for her when she brought this upon herself.
This video also serves to show why we should never jump to conclusions based on a viral video. We should always wait for the full context, because oftentimes it is quite illuminating, like it is here.
NOTHING IN THIS VIDEO IS LEGAL ADVICE NOR SHOULD BE CONSTRUED AS SUCH. THIS VIDEO IS PURELY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. IF YOU HAVE A LEGAL ISSUE, YOUR BEST OPTION IS TO CONTACT A LOCAL ATTORNEY.
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