Nick Juarez Cages Videographer, Gets Paid Vacation

Last week we helped get a spotlight on Nick Juarez, an Alice (TX) police employee who non-nonchalantly kidnapped and caged Gabriel Cabrera after he realized Cabrera was filming, from private property, a vehicle stop that Juarez was involved in.

Twelve minutes after Cabrera started filming (from a good 60-feet away), a stop that wasn’t “atypical” (it’s unfortunate that a shake-down in plain sight can be normal), Juarez noticed him, approached aggressively, and when Cabrera stated his right to record rather than turn-over his ID, Juarez put him in handcuffs.

Props to local TV outlet KRIS, who’s employees aren’t allowing the attempted deflections by Juarez’s colleagues (really nothing more than PR folks for an organized gang). Though I’d say they still have room to grow as they’re still likening the aggressor and cronies to “authorities.” Please.

It’s clear Juarez was in the wrong. He’s now on “administrative leave” – a doublespeak way of saying “paid vacation.” Is that punishment?

Juarez would likely never have even thought he could treat someone as he did Cabrera but not for the perverse incentives that he was working in. Would anyone claim that this was the first time Juarez ever violated someone’s rights?

It’s probable that before he so callously acted toward Cabrer, Juarez would have long ago been fired at a previous iteration. The lack of competition means a lack of accountability.

Complete meta-post on this situation, including Alice PD contact information:  CopBlock.org/NickJuarez

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Nick Juarez, Alice (TX) PD Employee, Cages Man for Filming
January 2nd, 2013

ALICE — The Alice Police officer seen in a viral video that surfaced on YouTube earlier this week has been placed on administrative leave while authorities investigate an arrest he made.

Officer Nicolas Juarez was caught on camera last month arresting Gabriel Cabrera, 25, as Cabrera videotaped Juarez and other officers who were making a traffic stop.

In the video, Juarez asks Cabrera for identification, and mentions that he does not want the video to end up on YouTube.

But in his police report Juarez never mentioned anything about his frustration with being videotaped. Instead, he wrote that he arrested Cabrera after Cabrera refused to identify himself. Juarez wrote that he wanted to identify Cabrera because Cabrera was a witness to the traffic stop. In the video, however, Juarez never says anything about Cabrera being a witness.

It is still not clear why Cabrera was videotaping the traffic stop.

Federal courts have ruled that it is not illegal to videotape police officers.

Nick Juarez Cages Videographer, Gets Paid Vacation is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights