Washtenaw County Lt. Brian Filipiak was pulled over, shit-faced and red-handed. But this time, the “courtesy” extended was to the lives of others on the road rather than Filipak.
Video shows Filipak repeatedly asking to just be let go, but the Montmorency deputies weren’t having it, and at one point, told him they would use a stun gun on him if he didn’t knock it off.
It’s impossible to know with certainty that, had the deputies not done their job, Filipiak would have killed or maimed someone. But it was surely a possibility, just as it would be with any non-cop. And so they did their job.
When a drunk cop kills, the victims are just as dead as when anyone else kills. Kudos to the Montmorency deputies who did their job.
H/T Mike Paar
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Kudos to the Montmorency Co Sheriffs officers who handled the issue with professionalism and integrity.
This deputy is a role model of good law enforcement.
But shame be on the Washtenaw Co Sheriffs Lieutenant for putting himself in the situation, trying to drag the other officers, his attitude about the recording not mattering (does he think they will erase a recording for him? Is that what they do at the WCSD?), resisting and obstructing.
This lieutenant is a model of bad judgement and lack of integrity.
I have relatives that drive daily in Washtenaw Co, and would feel much friendlier toward the department to see a statement from the Sheriff that this officer doesn’t represent departmental culture, that there is no dereliction of duty in the face of a suspected brother cop, and that he has been dismissed from the force.
Ps Pro tip to others that might get into Brian’s situation: dont place yourself or others in danger, and when the law catches up with you don’t resist and become a 20 minute object lesson on YouTube.
All those words to add absolutely nothing. Off to reddit you go.
I wish I could see this as a feel good story. But note how polite and forbearing, almost apologetic, the Deputy was with Filipak. As he said, had a non-police person refused to step out of the car, he would have dragged him out immediately and charged him with resisting arrest. Note also how the officer refers to all the 911 calls about Filipak’s driving. The implication is that if it were just between the deputy and Filipak he would have been let go. It is only because we have such low expectations of officers behavior that we are impressed that Filupak was finally arrested. But he was still treated with kid gloves, and received the type of deference no ordinary person would have received.
I did notice that. But without a comparison, it’s not enough to draw any conclusion about these deputies.
Deputy makes a remark early in the tape about them knowing “what cops go through every day” and then his first question when Lt. is at the front of the cop car is about a firearm. Maybe his politeness was him recognizing how quickly that situation could have gone south if he was dealing with and extremely drunk, armed and potentially despondent cop. One smart cookie if that was the case.
That’s sickening enough. Note, too, that Fillpiak states that *he* would definitely let other LEOs off the hook in a similar situation (around the 2:45 mark). That alone should be enough to have Fillpiak banned from law enforcement for life (sorry, being fired is a given).
I don’t have a comparison for the arresting officer, perhaps he is this nice and patient to everybody. But surely a resisting charge would have been thrown in for anybody else. And if he’s reading – it’s not too late for that very appropriate charge.
This is what a “good cop” looks like in action. Now, it’s sadly time for him to face retaliation for it. He thought his career was over if he let bad cop go, he’s about to find out that he’s screwed either way.
How long before the backlash against the Montmorency Co cops?
Nick: Good observation. Hadn’t occurred to me.
That had not ocurred to Mr. Lebowski.
I don’t know….you got to have a little empathy with the guy.
He works in one of the most liberal counties in the country, with at least five universities, and drives a minivan and it’s not like he was texting while driving or anything.
On another note, if I were ever to crack one or two “road beers” with the arresting officer (who seems to know a thing or two about “road beers”) I would probably give him a hard time about not deploying his training to lie and decive with deliberate stealth when needed.
He could have had the poor dude in the back of his squad car in under five minutes if he just said something like, “I got to get you out of here to sober up a little bit. I know a place down by the river where we can practice taking the field sobriety test.”
Don’t even think about trying telling me that double cab pickups aren’t minivans marketed to suburban dad’s who don’t like to get their coolers dirty by keeping them in the bed.
Which is all fine and dandy and might keep the wife happy when she has to load the cooler up with hot dogs are the 7 eleven but it’s damn near impossible to pitch the cans out the rear window into the bed unless you pull over.
And people wonder why there is so much litter on the highways these days….
I’m grateful for those Good Officer’s thinking about others and not just a fellow colleague. My father is a retired cop and I for one know that if that was myself or any other person, resisting that much… Our asses would be tasered and charged with RESISTING ARREST!! Hope Brian loses his job, and never works in the field again! Great job for sticking to your guns boys! ?
He expected the courtesy because it wasn’t the first time he had needed it. The first documented time he received the courtesy of letting him sleep it off or walk it off.
Exactly. It never happened with any other cop ever. It was all about his having been cut a break before. That’s the problem.
I think this was well handled by the arresting officer, so stop the liberal BS that he was too nice to the drunken cop, ok?
Anything could have happened without the this drunken moron, so it was a
Successful arrest, and that’s the bottom line.
The arresting officer should be commended ok? So cut the bull.
In fact, I am writing a letter to the local officials that the arresting officer should be promoted. Maybe somehow you crazy liberals will twist this thing into a racial biased case, knowing you.
Jonathon Henderson
Philadelphia, PA
Was this directed toward any comment in particular, or just random snarling?
[Ed. Note: Link deleted per rules.]
Not his first occurrence…
If you want to smack someone, even if its entirely irrelevant to the point of the post, have the balls to use your name.
“Just let me sleep it off.” Most sheriffs have a special room for just that purpose.
Remember Andy Griffith and Otis Campbell, the Mayberry town drunk? The funny thing about drunk driving is that it can happen to pretty much anyone. It used to be a sleep it off thing rather than a inchoate murder.
Cops are brothers, they risk their lives together – completely trusting each other. Its no fun having to do anything bad to someone you might even have considered a friend or at minimum, a friendly. All know that his career is over with this, no wonder they try to ease him into the drunk tank, nobody wants to fight someone you would have gone trough a door with had the circumstances been different.
Yes. We know. We wish others were shown that sort of empathy as well.
His career is over? Why? Search his name on google. There’s a reason he wants let off the hook – that’s what they’ve always done in the past. Why is this time different?
The sick part isn’t him wanting (and getting) special treatment – the sick part is that he has come to expect it because it always happens. This isn’t over yet. The DA might charge him with something far lower, the judge might let him go, the sheriff might drop the charges. And his employer might still keep him on like they always have before.
What you see is a learned behavior, and the cop in the video who is most likely to face repercussions is the arresting officer.
Good cop, Bad cop, Drunk cop, Stopped cop.
Gun shot? Taser shot? No shot. Mug shot.