ATF agent detained and tased by local PD

[LittleLebowski]

https://radio.wosu.org/post/atf-agent-files-excessive-force-lawsuit-against-columbus-officers#stream/0




A special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has filed an excessive force lawsuit in federal court against the city of Columbus and two police officers.

The case stems from a July 7 incident in which ATF special agent James Burk alleges two Columbus Police officers tased and handcuffed him while he attempted to carry out official duties. The complaint alleges Burk was trying to confiscate an illegally-held firearm.

The suspect called 911 and the dispatcher sent officers Joseph Fihe and Kevin Winchell. Burk contends this sort of confusion isn’t unheard of, but in a typical situation, the police officers would check his credentials and then either assist in retrieving the firearm or leave the scene.

In this case, despite putting his hands up and telling the officers he was a federal agent with credentials in his pocket, Burk says the two trained their guns on him, roughed him up, tased him and handcuffed him before finally checking his credentials. The officers then forced Burk into the back seat of a police cruiser and detained him for about an hour.

The case also alleges the officers later privately shared body cam footage from the incident with other officers, making light of the incident and mocking Burk. The lawsuit claims this underscores a code of silence within the division that amounts to a de facto policy.

Columbus Police did not respond to a request for comment.

[LittleLebowski]

I’ll bet this is the same guy.

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/delhi-township/james-burk-atf-agent-charged-with-stealing-wine-from-kroger


DEERFIELD TWP., Ohio – A federal agent is charged with stealing wine from a Kroger store after employees grew suspicious and alerted authorities.

Police say ATF agent James Burk took expensive wine to the self-checkout lane and charged himself a small percent of the cost.

Burk was charged by the Warren County Sheriff's Office for stealing more than $200 in wine from the Landen Kroger.

[LittleLebowski]

More info here:

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2020/12/10/atf-agent-accuses-columbus-police-officers-excessive-force/6505667002/

[TGS]

Lawsuit smells funny.

Especially the part about going to confiscate a gun from a prohibited person......on your own.....

[LittleLebowski]

Lawsuit smells funny.

Especially the part about going to confiscate a gun from a prohibited person......on your own.....

I’m smelling “shitbird the local cops hate” given the Kroger incident and prolly other shit the cops know about that the general public doesn’t. From the article:


Burk has since moved to an administrative role within ATF because of the incident and injuries, both physical and psychological, Burk says he suffered.

[Coyotesfan97]

Lawsuit smells funny.

Especially the part about going to confiscate a gun from a prohibited person......on your own.....

I agree with TGS. That raised my hackles. Along with the other link about the shoplifting. The article from dispatch.com reads like a plaintiff’s filing paperwork.

[LittleLebowski]

Lawsuit smells funny.

Especially the part about going to confiscate a gun from a prohibited person......on your own.....

Maybe he’s dead ended at the ATF after the thievery and is looking for a big payout.

[TGS]

From the article:

Well, to be fair that part in itself isn't anything out of the ordinary. It's common to get the rubber gun squad transferred to administrative duties anytime you're under an official microscope, whether the accusations/charges are truthful or not....or even if it's non-punitive matter to begin with, like fitness-for-duty evaluations due to sickness or injury.


Maybe he’s dead ended at the ATF after the thievery and is looking for a big payout.

Totally where my mind went, and something tells me the city will push back on this and he's going to end up just making himself a notorious shitstain instead of someone that nobody has ever heard of.

[LittleLebowski]

Totally where my mind went, and something tells me the city will push back on this and he's going to end up just making himself a notorious shitstain instead of someone that nobody has ever heard of.

Well, at least he will always have the Kroger’s incident to be remembered by :)

[TGS]

Well, at least he will always have the Kroger’s incident to be remembered by :)

Since he's such a wine fan, Krogers could do a special run of "Ballin' Burk Bianco" with the label bearing his mug crying as he got tased.

[Wingate's Hairbrush]

If you're thinking good wine easily stolen, think Kroger.

[BigD]

I’m smelling “shitbird the local cops hate” given the Kroger incident and prolly other shit the cops know about that the general public doesn’t. From the article:

Burk has since moved to an administrative role within ATF because of the incident and injuries, both physical and psychological, Burk says he suffered.


You might be right.

Another reason to be on admin duty is for the pending civil suit. Damages will be greater if he's "unable to return to normal duty/normal life" due to the great physical and psychological harm inflicted upon him.

(Or, as others pointed out, the ATF has decided he doesn't need to be carrying a firearm for this incident of for the shoplifting incident.)

I'm not ATF, but confiscating a firearm seems like at least a two-man lift. Something is off with that, as TGS pointed out.

[Stephanie B]

Totally where my mind went, and something tells me the city will push back on this and he's going to end up just making himself a notorious shitstain instead of someone that nobody has ever heard of.

Sounds a lot like the jerkoff administrative law judge who tried to sue a dry-cleaners for millions for ruining his pants.

Edited to add: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson_v._Chung

[BehindBlueI's]

Lawsuit smells funny.

Especially the part about going to confiscate a gun from a prohibited person......on your own.....

...with no deconfliction...and apparently with no readily visible indicia of being a LEO.


Seems legit.

[Casual Friday]

The case also alleges the officers later privately shared body cam footage from the incident with other officers, making light of the incident and mocking Burk.

I really hope it gets leaked.

[Wise_A]

It's very easy to avoid this sort of thing:

*ring*ring*

Me: Such-and-Such Department.
Dude: Hey, it's Dude from Federal Alphabet Agency. At 1200, we're going to be making contact with a subject at 123 Evergreen as part of an investigation.
Me: Is that address in Pine Estates off Route 1?
Dude: Sure is.
Me: We have patrols available in the area if you'd like backup.
Dude: No thanks, there's two of us.
Me: Okay. I'll make a note of it here and message or phone the patrol sergeant just to give them the heads-up. What's a good callback number for you?
Dude: 123-4567.
Me: Great. And what time do you expect to be done?
Dude: Brief meeting, no later than 1300.
Me: Okay. Give me a call back when you're done, and I'll check in at 1300. Have a good day.

Then, all sorts of fun shit happens. If I get a complaint about gunshots or fireworks in that area, I don't jerk around and send one unit to investigate, I roll a bunch and advise them of the call, and then stage EMS. The guys involved are now on my radar and I can check on them if I don't hear from them. If we have, say, an extensive history of mental health or fights-the-police issues at that residence, I can let them know. All that and more for a minute or two of time, although it's not as cool as just rolling around with nobody looking over your shoulder.

Now, that said, maybe ATF doesn't have a good relationship with that department. Maybe their communications people are just dickbags who don't do cool things for their u/s. Hell, for all I know, this guy did do that and somebody dropped the ball. Who knows? All I'm saying is, there are very good, very easy ways to prevent stuff like this from happening, and it just takes two minutes of working together.

[HCM]

Lawsuit smells funny.

Especially the part about going to confiscate a gun from a prohibited person......on your own.....

This ^^^^. Cops go in twos.

[HCM]

It's very easy to avoid this sort of thing:

*ring*ring*

Me: Such-and-Such Department.
Dude: Hey, it's Dude from Federal Alphabet Agency. At 1200, we're going to be making contact with a subject at 123 Evergreen as part of an investigation.
Me: Is that address in Pine Estates off Route 1?
Dude: Sure is.
Me: We have patrols available in the area if you'd like backup.
Dude: No thanks, there's two of us.
Me: Okay. I'll make a note of it here and message or phone the patrol sergeant just to give them the heads-up. What's a good callback number for you?
Dude: 123-4567.
Me: Great. And what time do you expect to be done?
Dude: Brief meeting, no later than 1300.
Me: Okay. Give me a call back when you're done, and I'll check in at 1300. Have a good day.

Then, all sorts of fun shit happens. If I get a complaint about gunshots or fireworks in that area, I don't jerk around and send one unit to investigate, I roll a bunch and advise them of the call, and then stage EMS. The guys involved are now on my radar and I can check on them if I don't hear from them. If we have, say, an extensive history of mental health or fights-the-police issues at that residence, I can let them know. All that and more for a minute or two of time, although it's not as cool as just rolling around with nobody looking over your shoulder.

Now, that said, maybe ATF doesn't have a good relationship with that department. Maybe their communications people are just dickbags who don't do cool things for their u/s. Hell, for all I know, this guy did do that and somebody dropped the ball. Who knows? All I'm saying is, there are very good, very easy ways to prevent stuff like this from happening, and it just takes two minutes of working together.

It is an easy way to avoid this sort of thing if the Agent was actually conducting official business. As others have mentioned, going to retrieve a firearm from a prohibited person at a residence solo is shady at best.

Deconfliction notifications such as you describe are best practice but are not a guarantee. The bigger the agency the more chance of issues IME.

There are sometimes circumstances were local notification is an operational security issue but that is the exception, not the rule.

[Le Français]

It's very easy to avoid this sort of thing:

*ring*ring*

Me: Such-and-Such Department.
Dude: Hey, it's Dude from Federal Alphabet Agency. At 1200, we're going to be making contact with a subject at 123 Evergreen as part of an investigation.




There are sometimes circumstances were local notification is an operational security issue but that is the exception, not the rule.

As HCM noted, sometimes deconfliction like what Wise_A describes is out of the question because of concerns (or certainties...) vis-à-vis corruption. I’ve been there, including very recently, when the call to the local PD went out as we were surrounding the house, because no way were we going to trust them not to tip this guy off.

When I was working on the SW border (totally different area), there were some local/county agencies we wouldn’t trust to tell us day’s light and night’s dark. Speaking of dark, that’s where we kept them regarding upcoming operations. Hell, there was a lot of stuff we wouldn’t tell the USBP.

The vast majority of local, county, and state LE don’t present this problem, but the fact that it’s come up several times, in totally different contexts, in the span of my relatively young career has not been lost on me.

As for agents always doing things in twos, the first time I had a professional interaction with an 1811, a VA OIG special agent came to my PD and asked us to accompany him to do a knock and talk interview of someone he suspected was diverting prescription drugs. He was by himself, and if we hadn’t been available to help, I don’t know what he would have done. He was probably 3+ hours from his closest colleague. Some agencies always send two agents for that kind of stuff, but apparently some don’t.

[Le Français]

Deleted

[blues]

I've been on both sides of the deconfliction thing. It can go bad either way...whether or not there is a known issue with one agency or the other.

Agree that the agent going solo is bad policy...and something to be avoided if at all possible for any number of reasons.

I've arrested bad LEOs and not as a member of any internal affairs squad. It feels good to take out the trash...but there's little joy in the larger sense.

[Coyotesfan97]

It's very easy to avoid this sort of thing:

*ring*ring*

Me: Such-and-Such Department.
Dude: Hey, it's Dude from Federal Alphabet Agency. At 1200, we're going to be making contact with a subject at 123 Evergreen as part of an investigation.
Me: Is that address in Pine Estates off Route 1?
Dude: Sure is.
Me: We have patrols available in the area if you'd like backup.
Dude: No thanks, there's two of us.
Me: Okay. I'll make a note of it here and message or phone the patrol sergeant just to give them the heads-up. What's a good callback number for you?
Dude: 123-4567.
Me: Great. And what time do you expect to be done?
Dude: Brief meeting, no later than 1300.
Me: Okay. Give me a call back when you're done, and I'll check in at 1300. Have a good day.

Then, all sorts of fun shit happens. If I get a complaint about gunshots or fireworks in that area, I don't jerk around and send one unit to investigate, I roll a bunch and advise them of the call, and then stage EMS. The guys involved are now on my radar and I can check on them if I don't hear from them. If we have, say, an extensive history of mental health or fights-the-police issues at that residence, I can let them know. All that and more for a minute or two of time, although it's not as cool as just rolling around with nobody looking over your shoulder.

Now, that said, maybe ATF doesn't have a good relationship with that department. Maybe their communications people are just dickbags who don't do cool things for their u/s. Hell, for all I know, this guy did do that and somebody dropped the ball. Who knows? All I'm saying is, there are very good, very easy ways to prevent stuff like this from happening, and it just takes two minutes of working together.

That is SOP for my old agency whenever we go out to another jurisdiction. It’s a lot better for both sides that the other agency knows you’re there especially if it’s a plainclothes operation. If it hits the fan it’s a lot better for both sides is the responding patrol Officers know another agency’s Detectives are involved.

If another agency was in our city it was entered as an information call and the district Lieutenant was notified. The call usually had who was there and when they’d be done. When they cleared the call was closed.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard men with guns hot calls get dispatched and it turns out to be our Detectives doing a vehicle takeoff at a major intersection and they didn’t even bother getting on the district channel to make patrol aware.

[LittleLebowski]

The video is finally out! I laughed and I laughed :D


https://youtu.be/gb1MVFDy_tw

http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/dgib.gif

[TC215]

Clown show, on multiple levels.

[Greg]

“ I can’t breathe” seems to be the get out of jail card everyone’s trying to pull now.

[SouthNarc]

I've been taken into custody several times while working undercover, including once while naked in a massage parlor and I've NEVER argued with responding police officers even when they bounced me off the floor.

[HeavyDuty]

I've been taken into custody several times while working undercover, including once while naked in a massage parlor and I've NEVER argued with responding police officers even when they bounced me off the floor.
Oh, that’s a story that needs to be told...

[blues]

I tried arguing with some deputies in Knoxville one time, until I realized that the Sgt., who told a big, gigantic looking deputy to hit me in the mouth if I said one more word, wasn't kidding.

It ended without bloodshed and I still got a word or two in...but it was embarrassing being handed my Model 15 in one hand...and the cartridges in the other.

(I may have had an alcoholic beverage or two.)


;)

[SouthNarc]

Oh, that’s a story that needs to be told...

So there I was naked and covered in baby oil from head to toe with two hot Vietnamese girls with a wash cloth hanging off my manhood like a surrender flag on a French infantryman's rifle, when Biloxi PD busted in and took me down to the floor. I was about 30 lbs lighter then and they got mad because I kept slipping the cuffs because of all the petroleum products.:cool:

[DC_P]

So there I was naked and covered in baby oil from head to toe with two hot Vietnamese girls.

Not waiting until after the happy ending shows a severe lack of interagency cooperation.

[SouthNarc]

Not waiting until after the happy ending shows a severe lack of interagency cooperation.

Yeah man they were fuckers.👍🏽

[blues]

So there I was naked and covered in baby oil from head to toe with two hot Vietnamese girls with a wash cloth hanging off my manhood like a surrender flag on a French infantryman's rifle, when Biloxi PD busted in and took me down to the floor. I was about 30 lbs lighter then and they got mad because I kept slipping the cuffs because of all the petroleum products.:cool:

First raid I ever went on in NYC was a brothel run by Chinese gangs in lower Manhattan. It was a blast...climbing fire escapes, going in windows, knocking down doors.

I had my clothes on but the madame patted me on the ass when we were leaving and told me to come back. :p

(I didn't.)

[HeavyDuty]

The incident video... not defending the guy, he’s definitely a jamoche - but I’m guessing he is claustrophobic about being restrained. I can relate, I’ve gotten that way since I’m older. But if the fool had just done any number of things right both before and during the encounter none of this would have happened. I commend the Columbus officers for their handling of the ensuing shitshow.

[LittleLebowski]

The end with the citizen complimenting the responding officer on the job he did was the icing on the cake :)

[LHS]

So there I was naked and covered in baby oil from head to toe with two hot Vietnamese girls with a wash cloth hanging off my manhood like a surrender flag on a French infantryman's rifle, when Biloxi PD busted in and took me down to the floor. I was about 30 lbs lighter then and they got mad because I kept slipping the cuffs because of all the petroleum products.:cool:

Sounds like they made a *puts on sunglasses* dick move.

[DDTSGM]

Does anyone know how to handcuff correctly anymore?

[TheNewbie]

So there I was naked and covered in baby oil from head to toe with two hot Vietnamese girls with a wash cloth hanging off my manhood like a surrender flag on a French infantryman's rifle, when Biloxi PD busted in and took me down to the floor. I was about 30 lbs lighter then and they got mad because I kept slipping the cuffs because of all the petroleum products.:cool:


Why do I feel the urge to find a Super 8 and $29.99 in extra cash?

[LittleLebowski]

He got paid out of this :( Dude is a shoplifter (https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/delhi-township/james-burk-atf-agent-charged-with-stealing-wine-from-kroger) and still a FLEO.

https://legalurge.com/atf-agent-burk-lawsuit-outcome-2022-a-closer-look-at-the-legal-battle/

[HeavyDuty]

He got paid out of this :( Dude is a shoplifter (https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/delhi-township/james-burk-atf-agent-charged-with-stealing-wine-from-kroger) and still a FLEO.

https://legalurge.com/atf-agent-burk-lawsuit-outcome-2022-a-closer-look-at-the-legal-battle/

Oh, that’s total bullshit.

[Basher]

He got paid out of this :( Dude is a shoplifter (https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/delhi-township/james-burk-atf-agent-charged-with-stealing-wine-from-kroger) and still a FLEO.

https://legalurge.com/atf-agent-burk-lawsuit-outcome-2022-a-closer-look-at-the-legal-battle/

Per that article, local LEO should be held responsible for abuse of their position, but the feds shouldn't be. That's what I get from all of this, and quite frankly, that seems par for the course... :(