Bradley was finishing a walk with his dog along a nature trail near the rural town of Plattsmouth, Nebraska when local police suddenly pulled him over. When the officers immediately went for Bradley’s center console and produced a CBD pipe, he knew something was off. When he confronted the police, they admitted they’d searched his parked car while he was away—and then waited for him so they could pull him over while driving. Police Accountability Report examines this disturbing case, and what it says about the activities police departments devote their bloated budgets toward.

Production: Stephen Janis, Taya Graham
Post-Production: Stephen Janis, Adam Coley

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Transcript

The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.

Taya Graham:

Hello, my name is Taya Graham and welcome to the Police Accountability Report. As I always make clear, this show has a single purpose: holding the politically powerful institution of policing accountable. And to do so, we don’t just focus on the bad behavior of individual cops. Instead, we examine the system that makes bad policing possible. And today we will achieve that goal by showing you this video of a cop who tried to search a man’s car while it was parked and he was walking his dog. But it’s what happened when the officer confronted the motorist on the road that reveals just how destructive and unfettered police power really can be.

But before we get started, I want you watching to know that if you have video evidence of police misconduct, please email it to us privately at par@therealnews.com, or reach out to me on Facebook or Twitter @tayasbaltimore and we might be able to investigate for you. And please like, share, and comment on our videos. It does help us get the word out and can even help our guests. And of course, you know I read your comments and appreciate them. You see those hearts down there. And we do have an Accountability Reports Patreon page, so if you feel inspired to donate, please do. Anything you can spare is truly appreciated. Okay, we’ve gotten that out of the way.

Now, if there is one refrain we hear from police unions and cop partisans and tough on crime politicians, it’s that there just aren’t enough cops. The complaint, no matter how much we fund them, is that law enforcement is simply stretched too thin to do their jobs. Of course, if that is true, I think the video I’m about to show you now will require some explaining from the elites who demand more dollars for cops and less power for us because the encounter with the cop on the screen now calls into question the entire, “We need more cops,” mantra, a sequence of events that paints an entirely different picture than the conjured crisis of a country chronically short on law enforcement.

Because if it’s true, why would the officer who I’m showing now on the video do what he did here? That is, searching for a parked car in rural Nebraska next to a nature trail with no evidence of a crime. If there are too few cops, then I am all ears as to why this particular act of law enforcement is worth the precious time of the dwindling number of officers on the job.

Now the story starts in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. There, Bradley Connolly was walking his dog on a nature trail after a hard day at work. At the time, Connolly was building a dollar store for the town, which is why he was taking a breather and enjoying nature with his beloved dog, Rosebud. Afterwards, Bradley and Rosebud hopped into his car and headed on their way. However, he was almost immediately pulled over for a traffic stop and was surprised that the officer reached straight into his car and headed for the center console and retrieved his CBD pipe. When Bradley confronted the officer and asked the officer how he knew where the pipe was, he made a shocking discovery. Just listen.

Sargeant Sommer:

I said I smelled marijuana coming from your vehicle, and that’s not marijuana, sir?

Bradley Connolly:

You went in my car… No, that’s CBD, but you went in my car when I was over there.

Sargeant Sommer:

So now you know you’re playing games with me.

Bradley Connolly:

I’m not playing games.

Sargeant Sommer:

Yeah, because you knew.

Bradley Connolly:

That you went in my car. You went right to it. Yeah. You shouldn’t have went in my car. Nobody gave you permission to go in my car.

Sargeant Sommer:

Yes. So let me explain how this works, okay? Your vehicle is a rental car. It’s parked in a place that it’s not supposed to be.

Bradley Connolly:

We’re on a trail.

Sargeant Sommer:

Let me me explain to you the situation. If you want to listen, I’m more than glad to explain to you, okay?

Bradley Connolly:

I’m listening. I’m listening.

Sargeant Sommer:

Like I said, you’re parked in an area where you’re not supposed to be parked. We just had a bunch of break-ins and cars stolen out here last week.

Bradley Connolly:

That’s not me, man. I just explained to you, I’m here-

Sargeant Sommer:

It doesn’t matters if it’s you. I’m explaining to you, your car is not registered to you. It’s a rental car and it’s parked in a place-

Bradley Connolly:

I’m here-

Sargeant Sommer:

I’m not going to continue to talk over you.

Bradley Connolly:

You’re being idolatry.

Sargeant Sommer:

You can stop and listen-

Bradley Connolly:

This should be a consensual conversation.

Sargeant Sommer:

It should be a, you listen to me because I’m explaining to you the reason why we are where we are right now. Okay?

Taya Graham:

This officer revealed that he had opened his parked rental car, carried out a search without his permission or presence, and then waited for him to drive away to pull him over.

Sargeant Sommer:

Okay? You’re parked in a place where you’re not supposed to be parked.

Bradley Connolly:

Not a crime.

Sargeant Sommer:

I’m sorry?

Bradley Connolly:

That’s not a crime.

Sargeant Sommer:

Blocking the road is. I could have towed your vehicle.

Bradley Connolly:

I was off to the side.

Sargeant Sommer:

Your tire’s in the roadway, okay?

Bradley Connolly:

I’m glad you didn’t. I’m glad you didn’t tow.

Sargeant Sommer:

Yeah, I’m glad I didn’t either. I was waiting because you know what? I’ll be honest with you. I’ve already run you. I know you have warrants in Illinois for burglary-

Bradley Connolly:

They’re unextraditable.

Sargeant Sommer:

… For burglary and drugs-

Bradley Connolly:

Out of Illinois.

Sargeant Sommer:

See? Exactly. You know, all this, and yet you want to play games with me.

Bradley Connolly:

I do. I’m not playing games.

Sargeant Sommer:

When I asked you for your ID, you could have simply given me your ID and we would’ve been done.

Bradley Connolly:

I didn’t want to.

Sargeant Sommer:

But you want to argue and you want to play games.

Bradley Connolly:

So you broke into my car…I’m not.

Sargeant Sommer:

I did break into your car. I have a right to determine if this car is stolen and who owns the vehicle.

Bradley Connolly:

You could have run the plates. All that other stuff is irrelevant.

Sargeant Sommer:

I did. You know what? Rental cars aren’t reported stolen until 30 days after.

Taya Graham:

Now, Bradley was of course disturbed by the officer’s actions. So he did whatever US citizen has the right to do and he asked the officer to legally justify the search. But how the officer responded is a troubling commentary on the state of our constitutional rights at this particular moment. Just watch.

Sargeant Sommer:

You can sit here and argue the law with me all day, but guess what? I’ve been a cop for over 20 years.

Bradley Connolly:

Okay.

Sargeant Sommer:

I know what the law is, okay? So all you have to do-

Bradley Connolly:

Then you know that warrants are unextraditable.

Sargeant Sommer:

Yeah, exactly.

Bradley Connolly:

Yeah, and so-

Sargeant Sommer:

All you had to do was provide me a driver’s license.

Bradley Connolly:

I shouldn’t have to, man.

Sargeant Sommer:

Yeah, you should.

Bradley Connolly:

This this isn’t Nazi Germany.

Sargeant Sommer:

If you’re in an area doing something illegal-

Bradley Connolly:

This isn’t Nazi Germany. I wasn’t doing anything illegal. I was walking my dog.

Sargeant Sommer:

I have reasonable suspicion that you have a vehicle that’s not registered to you.

Bradley Connolly:

Not so.

Sargeant Sommer:

It’s a rental car parked illegally in an area that had break-ins last week.

Bradley Connolly:

Not so.

Sargeant Sommer:

I have every right to do an investigation. That’s what I’m going to do.

Bradley Connolly:

Listen, I’ve been up here seven weeks building that store, man.

Sargeant Sommer:

Right.

Bradley Connolly:

No trouble. As a matter of fact, the police in Plattsmouth were very, very good.

Deputy Murphy:

[inaudible 00:05:39].

Bradley Connolly:

I can’t believe you went in my car.

Sargeant Sommer:

This is very simple.

Bradley Connolly:

No, it’s not simple. When you break into my car-

Sargeant Sommer:

It’s not breaking in, sir.

Bradley Connolly:

It is. You can’t-

Sargeant Sommer:

No, it’s not.

Bradley Connolly:

You can’t just go in the car.

Sargeant Sommer:

You left the vehicle unlocked.

Bradley Connolly:

It doesn’t matter.

Sargeant Sommer:

I have a right to go-

Bradley Connolly:

No, you don’t.

Sargeant Sommer:

… In your car and determine who owns it.

Bradley Connolly:

So anybody has the right to go-

Sargeant Sommer:

I have a right to-

Bradley Connolly:

Come on, man.

Sargeant Sommer:

I’m a law enforcement officer. It’s a difference.

Bradley Connolly:

Yeah, and I’m a citizen of the United States. Free.

Sargeant Sommer:

There’s a big difference.

Taya Graham:

Just a note. Searching a car that is on a public road requires two prongs, so to speak, for it to meet the threshold of conducting it lawfully. One, the officer must have probable cause to search, and that means reasonable, articulable suspicion that a crime has occurred. And two, there has to be exigent circumstances. That means the car has to have been on a public road where someone can move it.

So in this case, that means probable cause is critical to making this search lawful because the car is parked on the side street where, conceivably, it could drive off. Which is why I want you to listen again to the officer legally justifying the search. But also, take note of how once he realizes how his case is weak, he throws every theory against the wall, so to speak, to see if it sticks. Take a look.

Bradley Connolly:

And I’m a citizen of the United States. Free.

Sargeant Sommer:

There’s a big difference.

Bradley Connolly:

Free.

Sargeant Sommer:

Yeah, exactly.

Bradley Connolly:

Yeah, exactly what? You can’t just go-

Sargeant Sommer:

And you want to stop arguing. Yes, I can. By law, I can determine who owns this vehicle and where it’s supposed to be be, okay?

Bradley Connolly:

You don’t have a supervisor?

Sargeant Sommer:

I am the supervisor.

Bradley Connolly:

Man. You can’t go into go into somebody-

Sargeant Sommer:

You lied to me, first off. Okay?

Bradley Connolly:

I did not lie to you.

Sargeant Sommer:

I’ve explained this and I’m not going to continue to explain it.

Bradley Connolly:

I understand what you’re saying.

Sargeant Sommer:

You did lie to you. I did say I smelled marijuana in your car. You said, “There’s no marijuana.”

Bradley Connolly:

You went in my car and you found it, man. Without my permission.

Sargeant Sommer:

I smelled it before.

Bradley Connolly:

No you didn’t.

Sargeant Sommer:

Yeah.

Bradley Connolly:

Because I haven’t smoked it in two days.

Sargeant Sommer:

Guess what? It doesn’t matter. Marijuana has a distinct smell and I smelled it earlier. It’s on my body camera. When I was looking in your vehicle for a rental agreement to determine who owned the vehicle to make sure it wasn’t stolen.

Bradley Connolly:

Okay.

Sargeant Sommer:

All completely legal-

Bradley Connolly:

Was it stolen?

Sargeant Sommer:

Under the state law and under the constitution, okay?

Bradley Connolly:

Well, I’m not trying-

Sargeant Sommer:

Simple. Plain and simple. And so this is CBD, it’s not marijuana?

Bradley Connolly:

That’s correct.

Deputy Murphy:

[inaudible 00:07:47].

Bradley Connolly:

That’s correct.

Sargeant Sommer:

Okay. So when it gets tested, it’s not going to come back as marijuana.

Bradley Connolly:

That’s absolutely 100% true.

Taya Graham:

Oh really? You smelled marijuana, Officer? But wasn’t the car door closed? Isn’t that what you admitted on camera? So how did you smell this marijuana? I mean, had Bradley literally been smoking a bong two hours prior to your arrival so that the car reeked? Because your probable cause only works if you opened the door, and that is before you have met the legal threshold. So we’re going to have to give you a fail on our impromptu field constitutional policing test.

But don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to touch your finger to your nose or stand on one foot. I would just suggest you take some time to review a few law books. You may find it enlightening. But I digress.

Now, Bradley’s obvious discomfort turns into a heated discussion about the law, which the officer declares he doesn’t have to explain. A curious assertion given his clear lack of understanding revealed by his haphazard and possibly illegal search. Just take a look.

Sargeant Sommer:

So then why were you so worried about it?

Bradley Connolly:

I’m not worried, man. This is my right.

Sargeant Sommer:

You’re making a complete issue out of it.

Bradley Connolly:

I’m trying not to.

Sargeant Sommer:

No, you absolutely are.

Bradley Connolly:

You should watch some of my videos, man. I highlight great officers all over the country.

Sargeant Sommer:

Right.

Bradley Connolly:

I do.

Sargeant Sommer:

Okay. And I appreciate that you-

Bradley Connolly:

Yeah, but you’re not. You’re acting like a tyrant right now.

Sargeant Sommer:

You know what? Here’s the situation. If your job is to drive around and try to all lure officers into doing something-

Bradley Connolly:

I don’t do that, bro.

Sargeant Sommer:

Because-

Bradley Connolly:

That’s not me.

Sargeant Sommer:

… Obviously you parked in a place that you shouldn’t have been.

Bradley Connolly:

No, it’s a golf course with a walk. I came back with my dog. The first thing you should have said is, “Oh, he just took his dog for a long walk.”

Sargeant Sommer:

Right.

Bradley Connolly:

Yeah.

Sargeant Sommer:

Right.

Bradley Connolly:

Do you think I’m going to take my dog to break into fricking houses? Come on.

Sargeant Sommer:

You know what, sir? All kinds of things happen, unfortunately.

Bradley Connolly:

Well-

Sargeant Sommer:

My job is to investigate those things. Again, like I said, last week, multiple cars were stolen… I’m sorry. Multiple vehicles were broken into-

Bradley Connolly:

That happens all over the country, man.

Sargeant Sommer:

… And a car was stolen.

Bradley Connolly:

I’m all over the country. I’ve seen it.

Sargeant Sommer:

And that’s fine. I’m glad that you’re all over the country and I’m glad that you’re doing your part to be a great citizen.

Bradley Connolly:

Can I have your name and badge number?

Sargeant Sommer:

Sergeant Summer. 92021.

Bradley Connolly:

S-O-M-M-E-R?

Sargeant Sommer:

That’s correct.

Bradley Connolly:

And you, sir?

Deputy Murphy:

Deputy Murphy.

Bradley Connolly:

Murphy? And your badge number?

Deputy Murphy:

[inaudible 00:09:58].

Bradley Connolly:

One more time?

Deputy Murphy:

92032.

Bradley Connolly:

Thank you.

Taya Graham:

You know, just watching the video and the officer’s justification that there have been car break-ins is intriguing. Is that why he had to then break into Bradley’s car? I mean, if, as officer says, he is investigating the crimes, how is going through someone’s car going to solve it? How is searching out parked cars for a supposed criminal who’s breaking into cars productive?

Finally, the officer decides that contrary to the evidence, he has to entangle Bradley in the legal system by issuing him a citation. But he also, without justification, confiscated Bradley’s wallet, which Bradley alleges had $2,000 in it. Money he has yet to get back. Just watch.

Sargeant Sommer:

All right. We’re going to get you a citation for the paraphernalia and the marijuana. If it comes back that it’s not marijuana, then most likely they’ll drop the charge. But I can’t field test it at this point right here. It smells like marijuana. It appears to be marijuana.

Bradley Connolly:

Same thing as CBD, you know?

Sargeant Sommer:

Okay. I don’t use marijuana, I don’t use CBD, so I can’t think of the difference.

Bradley Connolly:

Well maybe you should, because you’re a little high-strung.

Sargeant Sommer:

No.

Bradley Connolly:

Yes.

Sargeant Sommer:

Well unfortunately, that happens when people are uncooperative.

Bradley Connolly:

No.

Sargeant Sommer:

That’s what happens.

Bradley Connolly:

I’m not uncooperative.

Sargeant Sommer:

You were absolutely uncooperative.

Bradley Connolly:

You have no right to go through my vehicle. You have no-

Sargeant Sommer:

I’m not going to continue.

Bradley Connolly:

I don’t care if you want to continue or not.

Sargeant Sommer:

Why don’t you Google the constitution?

Bradley Connolly:

Why don’t you Google… Man-

Sargeant Sommer:

You’re good.

Bradley Connolly:

Tell me what the first amendment is in.

Deputy Murphy:

Right.

Sargeant Sommer:

I choose to-

Bradley Connolly:

Because you love to put people in cages.

Sargeant Sommer:

Sir, if you choose to be a criminal and be belligerent to officers-

Bradley Connolly:

I’m not a criminal.

Sargeant Sommer:

That’s your-

Bradley Connolly:

You’re a criminal.

Sargeant Sommer:

That’s your decision.

Bradley Connolly:

You went through my car while I was walking my dog.

Sargeant Sommer:

Legally check… If I leave-

Bradley Connolly:

He’s got my wallet. That’s the only money I have.

Sargeant Sommer:

Think that matters that he has your wallet?

Bradley Connolly:

Shut up.

Taya Graham:

But this encounter was just the beginning of the legal repercussions for Bradley, because the officer and department contacted his employer after he posted a video exposing the illegal search. And the consequences for Bradley were devastating.

And for more on that, we will be speaking to Bradley shortly. But before we do, I’m joined by my reporting partner Stephen Janis. Steven, thank you so much for joining me.

Stephen Janis:

Taya, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

Taya Graham:

So Steven, first I know you have some breaking news about the case we reported on last week involving a former Texas firefighter. Denton County sheriffs used a bogus DUI to destroy his career and run him out of the department. What’s your update?

Stephen Janis:

Well, what’s amazing to me is when I sent the case to prosecutors for comment, because I’m like, “Why did you prosecute this case?” They said they have no evidence of this case even existing. And I said, “Blood tests, whatever?” They’re like, “No, we have nothing. We never received this case.”

I think it’s really questionable. I mean this case was devastating for Thomas. He was basically run out of the fire department. It turned his life upside down, and yet this case ever made to prosecutors. Let’s remember, prosecutors are a check on police. They’re very, very, very important to make sure the police don’t file bogus charges. In this case prosecutors haven’t seen it, and I think it raises a lot of more questions about the Denton sheriff’s office.

Taya Graham:

Wow. Steven, that is really disturbing. Please continue to follow up on that and keep us updated.

Okay. So back to Bradley. You have been reaching out to the Nebraska Police Department. How are they explaining this case?

Stephen Janis:

Well, I reached out to the Plattsmouth prosecutor because I really wanted to see how this case was processed, and he sent me a very detailed email about what happened with the charges. First of all, the charges were dropped. He would not comment on the legality of the search, but he did say nothing was used against Mr. Connolly from that search, and he also said that he disputes, or at least was not able to reach a conclusion about the $2,000 that Bradley said was missing.

He says that he did an investigation, it’s still ongoing, but at this point he has no evidence either way. So that’s where this case stands. Certainly the prosecutor seemed to take it seriously and the prosecutor also said there were no charges brought against him. The case was dropped. So that’s pretty much where we are right now with this case.

Taya Graham:

So the officer seems to suggest that the smell of marijuana is probable cause, but using that as a pretext is facing some pushback. Can you talk about that?

Stephen Janis:

If there is one statement into probable cause that is really eroded our constitutional rights, it’s the smell of marijuana. It’s basically been used as a bogus pretext for decades and it’s wreaked a lot of havoc. In our own city, we had police officers chase two young men for the smell of marijuana at 100 miles per hour and cause a fatal accident that killed three innocent people.

So really, a lot of states and a lot of legal authorities are saying it is time to end this. This is not a statement of probable cause. It’s absolutely irrelevant in the particular case we’re talking about. Supposedly searching for cars that have been rifled through or stolen. What the hell does marijuana have to do with that? So it’s evidence not even pertaining. It is bogus and it really erodes our rights and a lot of states are saying, “Stop.”

Taya Graham:

And now to talk to the man who endured this invasive search and some of the lingering consequences for him. I’m joined by Bradley Connolly. Bradley, thank you so much for joining me.

Bradley Connolly:

Absolutely. Thank you. I’ve been watching you since the beginning. You and Steve, I love you guys.

Taya Graham:

So first, what are we seeing at the beginning of the video? I mean, at first I didn’t even realize it was a traffic stop.

Bradley Connolly:

If I may back up just a little bit. So for the past five years I’ve built Dollar Trees and Family Dollars around the country, and I built one in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, which is a small town. Her and I actually went through a tornado there during the build, but I had to come back to hang up a couple signs and do a couple things, and I’d rented a car. I drove 12 hours approximately with her. Of course we stopped along the way and stuff, but while I was up there building the store, we always went to this rural golf course and there was long paths and walks and it was not in golf season, so nobody golfed.

And we had got there maybe 20 minutes before dusk or so on this long drive and I said, like I always do for her, “Hey, do you want to go to the park or golf course? Do you want to go to the park?” And she gets really excited. So we pulled off there and I actually had pulled behind somebody, and like I say, there’s a few neighborhoods around, but cornfield surround the thing. I mean it’s out in the middle of nowhere. And we went on a walk and I came back and I got in my car and it was completely dark when we got back. And when I started the rental car, I noticed that some lights came on in the back of me. And me being an advocate, I was just like, “I hope that this isn’t a cop.” Of course I’m following all the speed limits and the laws and as I turn at the stop sign, I see the insignia. And he started the lights and I pulled over and he asked me for my license, and me being an advocate, I wanted to know what I did wrong.

Taya Graham:

So why were you initially pulled over by the officer?

Bradley Connolly:

When I asked him why he pulled me over, he said I was suspicious. And I asked him, of course, “A suspicion of misdemeanor or felony, and how am I being suspicious?” And then he went from that to, “It smells like marijuana in the car,” which it definitely didn’t. It was a rental car. And that’s when they pulled me out and went into the center console.

When he pulled me over, I rolled down the window. He wanted my ID and I said, “If I haven’t committed a crime, I’m not going to give you my ID.” And he called his back-up, and that was Deputy Murphy, came up and pulled the taser at my passenger side window and told me to get out. So I got out and I had no idea that they had went through my car. And I’m not the smartest person in the world, but I got out and the only thing I had in the car… It was a rental car. I don’t smoke marijuana in the car, CBD or anything, so I know that the car didn’t smell. It was in the center console, it was a pipe, and he went right to it and pulled it out. And like I say, I’m not the smartest person in the world, but I thought, “He’s been in my car.”

Taya Graham:

Were you surprised to discover through your conversation that the officer had admitted to searching your car before he pulled you over?

Bradley Connolly:

Honestly, I was mind baffled. I couldn’t believe that he had went into my car. I mean, if I would’ve broke into his car in his reasoning, which, again, mind baffled. It gives me chills. It makes me so upset. He said it was because I left the car door unlocked, and now that should tell everybody how rural the place is. My wallet was on the front seat with $2,000 on it. That’s how rural the place was.

I questioned him that way and sure enough, he said he had every right to go through my car and he’d been through my car. If you find a pipe in a car as an officer, you probably are going to want to search the trunk. He never looked in the trunk. You’re probably going to want to search under the seats. In my presence, he never looked under the seats. So anyway, from my point of view video, you can kind of see… And I stopped at one point and went live, and I think I’ve tried to air that, but it’s all bits and pieces. That’s kind of why I wanted the dash cam footage. And I’ve been trying head over heels. I’ve spoke with the prosecutor.

Taya Graham:

Do you think your knowledge of the law helped protect you from the situation becoming worse?

Bradley Connolly:

To answer your question, I think it could have went both ways and I’ll tell you why. Because if I wouldn’t have known my rights, I probably would’ve handed over my ID and I knew I had warrants for theft of my dog right here. Long story, but ex, easy. It’s nothing. But I knew they were non-extraditable. I could have just handed him my ID and been on the way, maybe. He probably would’ve escalated it, the way he is.

Now, the other aspect of that is I was really angry that he went into my car. All I wanted to do a after a 12-hour drive was get to the store, finish up what I had to do, get some rest, and go back. He stole my wallet that night. I ended up having to sleep in my car because I didn’t have any way to pay for anything. That being said, I don’t like bullies and the way I reacted isn’t typically how I talk to people. I try to treat everybody with kindness and respect, and I have so much mad love for people and things. I really do. And I try to portray that, but with auditing cops who seem to be untouchable and above the law, something in me just gets so mad because I see them treat people… And I’ve been in areas where I’ve seen what they do because they can. And just because you can doesn’t mean it’s right.

Taya Graham:

Why do you think the officer was so fixated on it being a rental car?

Bradley Connolly:

I have no idea. That’s a good question. I’ve never really thought of it before, so I don’t have an answer that I know to be the truth. All I can say is that all the police in Plattsmouth, they would stop by and see me building the store. I built it with one other guy, and I got to know them. They were okay. They watched my tools and my equipment. So it was really, really odd to me. I don’t know why.

Had he just been doing his job… And I have no problem with him running. He sees a car, they’re running the plates, see if it’s stolen or whatnot. But when he broke into it and then ran my license and all that good stuff, that really irritated me. There’s no burglary tools. There’s a dog and a leash and a guy coming back on a trail. I mean, use your common sense. If somebody didn’t call in that there was a burglary, why are you bothering me?

Taya Graham:

I have to admit, this does seem a bit like what some people call a fishing expedition.

Bradley Connolly:

I know exactly what you mean. Even in the video, if you watch the entire video, I told them that’s all the money I had on me. I had $2,000 in it. Well, when they released me, I took off, obviously, and then I realized that they never gave me my wallet or my money back. So it was two miles up the road and I called dispatch, the sheriff’s office, and I told them, “Hey, they never gave me my wallet back.”

And they told me… Mind you, two miles, two minutes. It’s 15 minutes to the police station. They told me it was in the property, I could get it tomorrow. And that’s when I went in live and they told me that the property officer wasn’t there. So a month later they sent me back my wallet without my money in it. So they stole my $2,000. And that’s all on video, too.

Taya Graham:

How has posting this encounter impacted you? I mean, it did cost you your job.

Bradley Connolly:

Well, it’s affected many nights of sleep. I have made countless calls to the prosecutor’s office, countless calls to the police department and he called my work, Southwestern Services, who gets the contracts from Dollar Tree. I don’t know what he said. It was never told to me what he said. I tried to FOIA request that phone call and apparently there wasn’t one, but they told me that I could no longer work for them because of the video.

And my response was, “I did nothing wrong.” I didn’t commit any kind of crime. I actually highlighted Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, and I put my blood, sweat, and tears into it for five years. I’ve built maybe 60 by myself, ground up. I hired a few people to help me along the way, but I know them backwards and forwards. I practically don’t even need the plans. So anyways, to answer your question, they told me that I could no longer work for him.

Taya Graham:

Okay, so the officer referred to a warrant. What was the warrant for?

Bradley Connolly:

So the warrants are… There’s two. I was building a store in Iowa and I had a passenger and he had four grams of marijuana on my center console. We actually worked so long that we slept all day. And I’m not saying that I’m a perfect person and I’m not saying that I smoke or don’t smoke marijuana, but I’ve never done another drug in my entire life. So it’s not like I’m out there committing crimes for drugs. Actually, I was in the parking lot that I was building, resting, taking a nap with one of my workers that I hired. And he came up on us and I’m not one to tell on anybody, and they were asking us, so they did a walkthrough, four grams, a walkthrough in jail, and I told them I’d never be back in Iowa. Forget it, right? What’s in Iowa? Beans?

So anyways, the other one is my dog that I’ve had since a baby, supposedly, allegedly was taken. And it’s a long story, but to make a long story short, my ex of three and a half years tried to take my dog from me and it’s the love of my life. So that didn’t happen. So I have two warrants, felony warrants with a $75,000 bond, but they’re unextraditable as of present, and as they were, out of Illinois, I’m not saying I was a perfect child, but I haven’t had a conviction on my record for… Oh, no, this is going to date me. Since 2000.

Taya Graham:

What would you like to see change about policing or how do you hope posting on your auditing channel will help?

Bradley Connolly:

That’s an amazing question. I just want police… Because we’re all human. We are all going to make mistakes. We do some pretty idiotic and dumb things at some certain times. A couple months training is not enough for an officer. I want them to treat everybody, whether they’re drug-induced, mental health. You see these videos where the police kill these mentally ill people. I mean, I could have got them out of the car with maybe a butter knife and they shoot them in the head. It just doesn’t make any sense.

And don’t get me wrong. I want to make it very clear, I do not hate police. I actually have a lot of police friends on my Facebook and officers. And not all officers are bad, but I think that being in a negative environment along with the… And I would almost… Man, I’ve just seen it too much to not say that to become an officer, you have a certain personality. And that personality needs to, or persona, it needs kindness, love, respect. There is going to be times when evil is there and you got to do what you got to do. I get that. But if you see somebody’s hurting, if you see somebody that is maybe able to talk down, negotiation skills, deescalation skills and realizing that that’s another human on this planet.

Taya Graham:

Now I want to address something that I’m sure police partisans are soon going to squawk about in the comment section after they watch the show. It’s the off-sighted, but nevertheless unchallenged assertion that the right to search a car is simply a legal question. And so long as police can conjure, and notice I’m using a very specific word here, a reasonable, articulable suspicion, they should be able to search when and wherever they please.

What usually companies that argument is this addendum.”Why should you have a problem with a search if you have nothing to hide? What’s the big issue with cops doing their job? I mean, aren’t you always calling them out for not solving cases? I mean, why are you making such a big deal about constitutional rights when you should be more concerned about crime?” Well, besides the fact that we’ve had several cops here in my hometown, Baltimore, caught on their own body camera planting drugs, I think we need to consider for a moment just how the system, so to speak, only amplifies bad policing. Not just by abusing search powers, but turning those illegal searches into the life-altering stigma of criminality that happens all too often. How the system created to ensure cops don’t overstep and the innocent aren’t unjustly charged has been warped by our culture of indiscriminate guilt. So what do I mean?

Well consider this recent ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court regarding the misuse and withholding of evidence by the state police over a faulty breathalyzer test, a case that could lead to the possible dismissal of over 27,000 convictions. That’s right. Convictions. The case focuses on the fact that a common breathalyzer machine, the Dräger Alcotest 9510 breathalyzer, which the state police crime lab determined could produce false positives when not calibrated correctly, was still used despite the evidence. In fact, in 2017, a representative of the company that made the machines said that of the 400 they tested in the state, none were correctly calibrated and thus capable of flagging false positives.

Fair enough, no machine is perfect and certainly if the lab quickly and appropriately revealed the problem, the state could have fixed the problem and perhaps procured a different device. But that’s not what happened. Not hardly. The state continued to use the machines despite the fact that the concerns had been raised publicly and were found to be factual. Instead, thousands of people had to live with convictions for a serious crime despite the real potential of tainted evidence. That is until the recent state Supreme Court decision giving everyone, every single person convicted, the right to ask for a new trial.

This is an unusually sweeping case, but it didn’t happen because the state who had imposed harsh sentences on innocent drivers asked for it. No, this all occurred because one of the victims of a false conviction sued, and that case was finally decided last month. In that decision, the court called the state’s actions egregious government misconduct, which is why the court made the sweeping decision to allow anyone, meaning 27,000 people, to ask for the new chance to prove their innocence.

Now I want you to think about that number in relation to Bradley’s case or to the case we just updated of Thomas the Texas firefighter falsely charged with a DUI. How sweeping and consequential the impact of a decision to ignore the flaws in the machines was for the people who were victimized by it. How many lives were turned upside down or thrown into chaos and otherwise destroyed by this inexplicable decision to ignore the facts? How many licenses were revoked, jobs lost, and opportunities cast aside because the state, the state, simply chose to ignore evidence?

It’s kind of an interestingly cavalier attitude towards the consequences of our massive law enforcement industrial complex, a defiance to the truth, which I think can only be countenanced by people who are simply immune to it, meaning only the elites cosseted from the law could simply stand by while thousands of people suffered. And that’s kind of what you have to conclude when you attempt to understand the cruel indifference of the people who made the decision to allow innocent people to go to jail.

That’s right, and it was not elected officials or anyone in power who felt compelled to act in defense of the innocent. It was not a governor or a state legislator, or anyone with the ability to intervene who defended people unjustly accused. It was solely up to a victim of their malfeasance to take up the defense of the people wrongly accused, someone who had to hire lawyers and battle the case all the way up to the state’s highest court.

That’s why I think it’s important to remember that when we see videos like Bradley’s to put them into the proper context, that we remember the larger and broader injustices when we analyze how these same forces bear down on smaller but no less insignificant cases like the one we reported on today. Because I think the same sense of entitlement and immunity that prompted that Nebraska cop to illegally search Bradley’s car and confiscate his wallet is similar to the callous indifference of the Massachusetts State Police. I think the sense of careless impunity exhibited by that individual cop is really part of a larger process that allows an entire state to put innocent people in handcuffs.

It’s all about that intangible but potent power of unconstitutional entitlement. The idea that I, meaning the cop, I am the law, not representing it. That I, the cop with the gun in a badge, I am the sole arbiter of your rights, and that the power conferred upon me is not a privilege to be exercised with prudence, but a legally prescribed intoxicants that allows me to confiscate your rights, put them in handcuffs, and then discard them on the roadside like an abandoned vehicle.

This impudence, both in one case and in thousands, is the result of the culture of our version of an untouchable elite. Those elites who don’t pay taxes, have amassed ill-gotten fortunes, and who simply aren’t worried about the law. It’s their power, conferred upon cops, that we witnessed on that video. And also what spurred Massachusetts police to act without conscience. It’s also why the institution of policing must be watched as ardently as they like to watch us. Their utter disregard for our rights must be matched with the vigilance of our cameras. Their casual and consequential indifference must be overwhelmed by our passion for the rights that we must refuse to relinquish. What they treat as unimportant, we must make paramount. What they think is just the cost of doing business, illegal searches, unjust DUI convictions, we must define as unambiguously wrong.

The plethora of fake charges and false criminal records that they cast upon us like a blanket unconstitutional conviction, we must throw back at them with the indignity of a people who know our lives and our rights should not, cannot, and will not be torn asunder. That’s what we do on this show and that’s why we will continue to grow our community of constitutional activists, of defenders of rights and believers in the proposition that all of us, and I do mean all of us, are entitled to the rights to often ignored, but I believe will endure if we are willing to fight for them.

I’d like to thank Bradley Connolly for joining us and for sharing his experience. Thank you, Bradley. And of course I have to thank intrepid reporter Stephen Janis for his writing, research and editing on this piece. Thank you, Stephen.

Stephen Janis:

Taya, Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

Taya Graham:

And I have to thank friends of the show, Nolie D. and Lacey R. or their support. You know I appreciate you. And I want to thank every single Patreon that supports us. In our next live stream, make sure to listen for your name. I want to thank you too.

And of course, I want you watching to know that if you have video evidence of police misconduct or brutality, please share it with us and we might be able to investigate for you. Please reach out to us. You can email us tips privately at par@therealnews.com and share your evidence of police misconduct. You can also message us at Police Accountability Report on Facebook or Instagram, or @eyesonpolice on Twitter. And of course, you can always message me directly @tayasbaltimore on Twitter and Facebook.

And please like and comment. You know I read your comments and appreciate them, and even if I don’t get to answer every single one, you know I read them. And we do have a Patreon link pinned in the comments below for Accountability Report, so if you feel inspired to donate, please do. We do not run ads or take corporate dollars, so anything you can spare is greatly appreciated.

My name is Taya Graham and I am your host of the Police Accountability Report. Please be safe out there.

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