RT News A 34-year-old Iraqi War veteran is facing ten years behind bars after photographing police officers in Austin, Texas that he says were mistreating a woman during a routine arrest on New Year’s Eve.
Antonio Buehler was pumping gas on December 31, 2011 when he witnessed officers with the Austin Police Department attempt to detain a woman under suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol at a fueling station. By the end of the evening, though, Buehler also found himself being apprehended by authorities.
“I saw a woman getting assaulted by the police. It looked like police abuse, and I decided to speak up and take pictures. I think that is every person’s right,” Buehler told Austin’s KVUE News earlier this year.
The authorities, however, see things differently. According to the officers, Buehler was interfering with their investigation. Buehler says he was simply exercising his First Amendment rights from afar, but the police department begs to differ.
Buehler was “in my face,” Officer Pat Oborski writes in the official police report. The officer also claims that Buehler spit at him, an allegation that Buehler rejects.
“The officer kind of put his hand on his shoulder and tried to back him up and at that time was when Buehler spit in the face of Officer Oborski,” Corp. Anthony Hipolito, an APD spokesman, told KVUE News earlier this year. “At that time he was placed under arrest for harassment of a public servant which is a third degree felony.”
When all was said and done on January 1, Buehler was released from a holding cell after 16 hours behind bars. In the six months since the incident, the defendant has been trying to get to the bottom of things. Unfortunately for him, however, it’s been a fight that Austin officials have seemingly been all too unwilling to help with — a late January complained filed with the Austin internal affairs department was essentially ignored, and a letter he received last week informs him that he is forbidden to “view, possess or receive copies of the Internal Affairs Division’s investigation,” forcing him to face his felony charge hearing without little for him or his attorney to work with.
By taking his plight to the Internet, Buehler was able to find a witness that had recorded footage that evening from their cell phone that shows Officer Oborski pinning Buehler against a truck — and not the defendant approaching the police, as described in the department’s report.
“I would not get involved in police action,” Buehler tells KVUE, “unless they were doing something heinous such as man-handling a woman who was no threat to them. There are two criminals on the loose; they are looking to get into fights. They wear blue, are armed and wear badges,”
Buehler will take his case to the Austin Citizen Review Panel next month, who can then make a recommendation regarding the charges to the police department. If the current charges remain, however, Buehler faces a maximum of ten years behind bars for the alleged felony. Last week Buehler introduced a petition to the Web asking for an investigation aimed at the Austin Police Department and has so far garnered over 1,600 signatures.
“These cops assaulted a woman who had committed no crime, and then levied three false charges against her. Antonio Buehler committed no crime, and that they then levied two false charges against him, one being a felony that carries a sentence of 2-10 years in prison that this cop deliberately lied in his affidavit to destroy Antonio Buehler life for not kissing his ass,” reads a plea on the petition page.
As Buehler awaits his hearing, he has also created a project to help other citizens protect themselves from police injustice. Through his Peaceful Street project, Buehler hopes to hand out more than 100 video cameras to Austin residents so they can keep an eye on the police.
“We want to encourage people to take their liberty and security in their own hands,” he tells Pixiq.com.
Here is Antonio Buehler back in January, 2012.
Its just another case of the biggest gang in Amerika plying their trade!
Dan
This is how the u.s. treats its heros. Blah!
Cops who are found guilty of lying in their reports should receive the punishment that their false report would have caused their victims to receive.
When people have finally had enough and begin shooting back the guys are going to get massacred. These are the types that think they’re heroes for arresting and gunning down kids. I wouldn’t piss on them to put the out in they were on fire. Absolute sucking scum.
Hell, I would not piss in a cup in the desert if they were dying of thirst.
I grew up in a corrupt law enforcement family….I’ve seen this happen many times before….good for the young man…and screw the Austin Police Department….
Regards,
RJ O’Guillory
Author-
Webster Groves-The Life of an Insane Family
There are good cops and there are bad cops. I just have not known of ayn good cops.
Hey – PIG ROAST – anyone?
I’ll start the fire.
sure would be awsome! Could even listen to “piggies” of the Beatles White album!, or rocky raccoon – aw I just better shut up. Don`t wan`t oinkers knocking on my back door. I can dream though.
Anyone who works to uphold the law and swears an oath to that effect, who is subsequently found guilty of breaking the law should get double the maximum sentence for their crime, and should they appeal and the conviction upheld the sentence is tripled.
Oh and they never ever work for the law again.
A judge would convict a cop only to make an example out of the cop. Good idea though Tony. The judge should put the cop in the same jail as everyone else. Better yet he might just have a cellmate. The cop could squeal all he wanted to then. It would serve cop right.
These scumbags take the art of lying to a whole new dimension.
p.s. Clark Kent: Don’t use charcoal, bring thermite!
never thought of thermite! More to dream about. Geezs, nice dreams. hahaha.
My hopes and thoughts are always with the wrongly accused and framed up. APD is and always was….consistently out of control. It is a street gang that “wins at all costs” and has “no fear of ever being accountable for any crime or abuses”.
Scott Henson used to run a site called “The APD Hall of Shame”. Recently he got into a situation with them. Uniform cops are bad enough…but…my story in detail, is a story of “how APD hides felonies behind civilian fronts” (NSA TSP now called “INFRAGUARD”) when they want to “run you out of town”. I left and maintained a degree of sanity and avoided alot of goons, frameups, and stalking encounters.
When you challenge the bogus trumped up charges…….it costs a lot of money. My advice: TAKE THE STAND, and YOU WILL WIN (if they don’t rig the jury pool with cop groupies aka NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH GROUP members).
I’ve dealt with APD, and have very little good things to say about the level of corruption that starts at the top of the pyramid. Most of the truely shocking scandals at APD, are hidden away….sometimes FBI HQ will come in, but they “don’t promote prosecutions”????
I could go on about YOGURT SHOP MURDERS, and the “hidden evidence” and a failed attempt at exposing the bulls who run Central Texas using badges.
These badges at the top…..all milk the system for themselves. Money is available if you are corrupt….and APD HQ is and always totally worthless. I gave those ——-, all they needed to work “The Groper” who sexually assaulted at least 10 women long ago…and, uh…”APD and the pigs sent goons and thugs after me”. I left Austin….and was very releaved to get out of that pressure cooker (illegal surveillance is stalking).
Of course FBI HQ, who had my complaint…..did nothing, said nothing, and refused to discuss findings and conclusions? PS: I’m the Texas lawyer who sent the complaint that exposed The NSA Terroristi Surveillance Program (no oversight occurred…all covered up…now they call it INFRAGUARD-NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH).
First off, secure the footage from the indepenant source, you will need this for substantiate your claim in court, when the day comes. Just to be on the safe side, make many copies of that footage, post it on the web if need be, but whatever you do, make sure it does not disappear.
Second thing, cops like this could not get away with what they do, UNLESS THEY HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THEIR SUPERIORS.
So, whilst you can all cry buckets of tears 24/7, the FACT is you are missing the whole point, who is responsabile for this behaviour.
It’s no good targeting the perps, whilst they need to be charged, it’s also relevant to charge their Superior management for failing to up hold the law and their obligations to the community that pays their wages.
Make it ‘HOT’ for them, and you will see it being passed down the line to keep creeps like this in line.
If that doesnt work, I’m sure under a democratic system,(as it’s claimed the U.S. is run) there are means available to FIRE such people.
I could not agree more….in fact…one would ask why we tolerate any level of abuse, at any level, from any government agent or agency….?
I recall getting a tour of the “prisoner processing” ghetto my Father helped to manage as a corrupt St. Louis City cop….and it has not gotten any better in the last forty years….(mostly) corrupt, bigoted, egotistical idiots getting off by controlling others…and lacking in most human compassion, ethics and morals….
Read my memoir,…you will understand why I so agree with your comment…..they are all corrupt to the core…
Regards,
RJ O’Guillory
Author-
Webster Groves-The Life of an Insane Family