A video posted on Facebook at the beginning of the month has gone viral. It shows New Mexico State Police officers breaking the window of a car and forcefully drag the driver out, during what was supposed to be a non-violent traffic stop for a minor offense.
You can see the video at the bottom of the page. In the 46-second clip, shot by the female passenger from inside the car, you hear her and the driver try to reason with the cops.
The driver, identified as 41-year-old Phillip Page, even begs with them to stay calm and tells them that what they’re doing is “completely unnecessary.” And so it seems: one of the cops breaks the window on the driver’s side with a baton, then grabs the driver by the arm, immobilizing him.
The driver is then forcefully pulled out by the cop and 2 others, and hurled to the ground. Meanwhile, the woman begs with them not to break his arm.
The incident actually took place in February this year, in Taos, New Mexico. The two, driver and passenger, were charged with misdemeanors but the charges were dropped for lack of prosecution. They were refiled in April, which prompted the female passenger to take their plight to social media, Taos News reports.
The video makes it look as this is a clear case of police brutality, with officers overreacting and using excessive force in a situation that warrants none. After all, they had pulled the two over on suspicion of driving without a seatbelt.
As it turns out, the short video made public is misleading. New Mexico State Police released a 12-minute version of the incident, which actually lasted 1 hour, to show that officers were within rights to act this way. The cop who smashed the window repeatedly asked the driver to roll down the window and unlock the door so he could offer identification.
New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas stands by his agents, saying for the publication that the public deserves to see the full video so as to understand why they acted this way. “They [the people] need to have an entire picture. It's my job to slow everything down and look at the totality of the circumstances,” he adds.
At the end of the incident, the two were charged with resisting or obstructing a police officer, concealing identity, and making a false 911 call and a seatbelt violation.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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