What I do believe happens in a lot of these cases is that we somehow want to place blame on the victim for their behavior or that they brought it upon themself. As law enforcement official, you are held to a higher standard. You are expected to execute your job in that regard.
Sharon CooperAnd what I tell people is this - as a citizen of this country, there are certain rights that are given to you. Officer Encinia's decision to forcibly remove Sandy from her vehicle, which predicated on the fact that he asked her to do something - he did not lawfully order her to do something - to which she responded with a question. And for that - for that - I celebrate her because during a time where so many people would have remained silent she stood up for herself, and she invoked the rights that are due to her, and that is not unlawful.
Sharon CooperI don't mean to sound so disenchanted, but I will tell you what has been going on in our country in the mere - the last nine months to a year in terms of the fact that there is clear evidentiary proof based on video footage.
Sharon CooperWhen you have police officers like Office Encinia who is a trained professional, who is trained to de-escalate a situation where a motorist may not be in the best of moods because of an encounter that they're having with you, you are trained to respond differently.
Sharon Cooper