AP
A Vermont state police trooper who pursued and pulled over a speeding New York City rabbi and ordered him at gunpoint to lie on the ground and then with other police handcuffed the rabbi’s family has been cleared of wrongdoing.
State police and the Department of Public Safety commissioner performed an investigation of the nighttime traffic stop and found “there was no evidence from the investigation to suggest his actions were based on any type of bias or profiling,” according to a statement they issued Friday.
The investigation found it was so dark the trooper couldn’t see details of the vehicle’s occupants before trying to pull it over.
Trooper Justin Thompson clocked a vehicle behind him going at 83 mph (134 kph) in a 65 mph (105 kph) zone on Interstate 91 in Thetford on Aug. 8, the investigation said. Thompson pulled over and put on his lights. Once the vehicle passed he tried to pull it over with his lights and siren, but the driver failed to stop for 4.5 miles.
Video: Dashcam video of arrest
After the car pulled over, police dashboard video released Friday shows, the trooper shouted from his cruiser for driver Berl Fink to get out and walk backward with his hands up. The trooper, who was holding a gun, ordered Fink to lie on the ground.
Thompson decided to initiate a “high-risk motor vehicle stop” because he was in a rural area late at night with no immediate backup nearby, the vehicle had failed to stop, the occupants’ actions were suspicious and the vehicle had been speeding, the investigation said.
In such a stop, officers are trained to order the driver and passengers out of the vehicle and to have their guns drawn, the statement said.
During the stop, a passenger, Fink’s son, tried to get out of the vehicle, and Thompson ordered him to stay inside. Once backup police arrived, Fink’s son was ordered out of the vehicle and was told to walk backward but failed to do so and walked to a guardrail. He was pushed against the car and was handcuffed.
Two other passengers, Fink’s wife, Sarah Fink, and another child, also were handcuffed.
Sarah Fink told the New York Post the ordeal was “traumatizing.”
“I tell you, there was brutality,” she said. “He was pointing guns.”
Berl Fink told the trooper he didn’t realize he was speeding. He said once he suspected he was being pulled over he was looking for a safe place to pull off the interstate.
Fink, who’s from Brooklyn, was cited for attempting to elude police. He’s scheduled for a court appearance on Oct. 18.
Never again? Tragically it is all beginning AGAIN!
And that you think they are all liars c”v. I think otherwise.
Just wondering if the yid was a lubavitcher would it change the opinion of those attacking him on this site? Whether he was right or wrong would he automatically be right? Probably
I have been in a car while being pulled over for speeding, the cop turned on light and called on the loud speaker “take the next exit” we took the exit gave a ticket and the whole ordeal was done no cuffs no citation. Here however when a car does the stop right away you could assume they are hiding something, that’s why in the beginning he was so strict especially these days with the terror that goes on from the cops view you have to assume the worst
Baruch Hashem!
The police have a very wide range of discretion to make a arrest.
And unfortunately sometimes humans make bad decisions. The cops clearly overreacted to a simple misunderstanding, but the law is on their side.
Thank g-d everyone is bh, and that’s the end of it!
Do police ever employ the loudspeaker and directly instruct drivers to pull over if they think there’s any sort of misunderstanding? parenthetically, who made the accusation of discrimination? there was clearly no discrimination in what I’ve seen of this video, not sure why that would even be attempted, It’ll make his case harder to argue if he made a false accusation against the officer. That being said, he turned his blinker on immediately slowed down, and at times looked like he was trying to pull over. Should the officer have at least tried the loudspeaker?
As someone who has followed the story from the day it happened, let me add a comment. What would you say is to be done if the following story had happened. A known Talmid Chacham was driving his family to vacation for a few days, he has never bothered a soul, and has never had a brush with the law whatsoever. While driving on a secluded road in some deserted part of a State he has never been to before, he suddenly finds himself followed by flashing lights, in rainy weather, dark at night, he tries to find a safe… Read more »
I very rarely watch long videos but I did watch this whole video. The most the cops can be accused of is an initial overreaction, and minimal, if any brutality. And certainly NOT anti semitism. They reacted that way before they knew who was in the car. Once they saw they were not dealing with a dangerous situation, they calmed down and were cordial, respectful and not in the least bit aggressive. I’m sure the people in the car felt differently since they were probably traumatized, but any outsider watching it can tell this.
Maybe if this guy got his licence a week before this story he would be correct he’s 100% wrong
years ago. A truly harmless individual by the name of Gideon Bush, who unfortunately didn’t have the sechel to calm himself when confronted with police there. His family has had no real redress for his murder to this day. משיח עכשיו!
if this concerns you, i hope it also concerns you that black people get actually shot at for doing similar or less
Only an adult male driver should (understandably, given their protocol) be required to be subject to such force.
The woman, the children…. that is a whole new level of police misconduct.
before Yom Kippur, perhaps there’s a Cheshbon Hanefesh needed. I think there’s mistakes made by
both sides. Police are given liberal boundaries to handle many situations with. Still it was a very difficult, unpleasant experience. Hopefully the rest of the year will be much better!
… IF THIS WAS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY, THE COP WOULD’VE BEEN PLACED ON LEAVE AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WOULD’VE APOLOGIZED PROFUSELY FOR THE RACIAL HATE CRIME.
AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE ON A “HIGHER RUNG” THAN JEWS ON THE “LIBERAL LADDER OF VICTIMIZATION”.
will someone give him a speeding fine for rushing to conclusions?
Yes we should have the benefit of the doubt that the Frum Yid did not know he was speeding, and it’s possible he did not know when a police has his sirens on you most slow down or stop, even if you don’t see a safe place to stop, stop and wait till the officer tells you were to go.
But let’s not screems anti-Semitism, if we do its like the man that screem’s wolf wolf, and then when it’s really anti-semitism no one will look.
Stay safe
Yes officer at the beginning did what he had to do etc…and it was a looong time till he pulled over!!! but then officer got brutal!!!!! He had to realize woman & daughter were innocent and should have gone easier on them. Yes boy should have
followed proper instructions and father shouldn’t have argued with officer at all…but when father said can’t appear in court on that date coz of holiday the officer acted disgustingly!
May Hashem bless them with rachamim and it end easy and well for the family. The shock was enough of a punishment!!!
Gut yohr all
The officer was so confrontational when he said “I decide when you stop” in response to the accused saying that he was looking for a place to stop on the side of the road. The officer also started off the interaction with anger management. It’s about time that all law encorcement figures, authority figures, judges etc become mandated to go through psychological testing before they apply for any job or training. In the corporate world, psychological testing is standard for any high level job. Why should police be different? The drama arrest with the guns and hamdcuff was completely unnecessary… Read more »
Having a bad experience with one Jew is never a reason to hate a whole nation and become an anti-Semite! If the man was driving a Honda, would we think that it is normal for the police officer to hate Hondas for the rest of his life??! Maybe join an organization that is anti-Honda?? Or if the perpetrator is from the state of New York, would it be justified for the the police to hate ALL New York residents? The answer is, obviously, of course not! Each person is an individual and has to be judged on that basis. The… Read more »
he explained that he was looking for a safe place after being confused as to if he was the one being pulled over !
he was apologetic , he was refind and he made a kiddush hashem , i personally was proud of being associated with such a fine , aidel mentch . now either take his side or be qiluiet ! it’s just past yom kippur and i know where my loyalties lay!
ps .. none of the nay sayers here even mentioned that his family were handcuffed .. that was protocol too ???!!!
It’s not about the speeding it’s about a feeding the police officer which turn this into such a drama. Would you tell me that everyone commenting here woodsy police flashing lights in the mirror and ignore that for four and a half miles
The driver said he saw the police car when he passed it, yet he ignored flashing lights and siren, a signal everywhere to pull to the right . If it is not an ambulance or fire truck behind you it must be police which means stop. If they pass by you then you can reenter traffic and be on your way.. Watching the video shows that the officer was right. The family may have been frightened but the officers did not terrorize or mistreat them. The officers were right to ascertain that there was no threat of danger from either… Read more »
The driver has a perfectly plausable reason for not stopping immediately.
It wasnt a high chase police situation…..
…Drama queens with an added element of
because it rightfully shows exactly what was assumed.
The cops were cordial and better then I imagined.
No words, good you posted this so others can see, and learn from this.
Speeding is worthless. (At the least) however try to be empathetic and realize that a person can make an honest mistake or go above the speed limit. And we don’t have to turn him into a criminal just to show that he was wrong for speeding and not immediately stopping (poor judgement, oblivious or scared) whatever the matter. Give him a break and move on with your own life.
we all guilty of speeding one time or other ..we all make mistakes ! this guy was treated disgustingly !
guys look favorably at another yid .. it was yom kippur just yesterday !
Judge a fallow jew favorably and that’s how u will be judged !
C’mon people… had this been an young African American complaining of police brutality you would all be ranting… but because this is a frum guy evading police at high speeds for over 20 miles we are whining. The Rabbi was wrong.
Moral:
Don’t speed.
…And IF you do speed and you notice a police car tailing you… you better pull over.
BS”D Oh sure # 4 our prisons are full to the brim with innocent people give us a break
I would say the jewish guy is guilty for not obliging to the police command for 3 minutes or so, that seems clear, but I think the officers did overkill by arresting the passengers. Only the driver sped (allegedly) and only the driver ignored a police order. Conversely it seemed overkill that he escalated allegations of bias with getting politicians involved etc. when he should have used the excessive response to the passengers as a point against the officer in the courtroom to win the judge’s sympathy. I can’t see how the whole hikind thing benefits him because either the… Read more »
IN AMERICA!!!!!
glad i got out !!!!
Seems like batlanus, however the lack of zerizus recognizing and following instructions was dangerous because the police were confused. Especially, the son was at risk.
The driver was wrong, it was all documented, the police seemed efficient at their job, and thank G-d it didn’t turn out worse.
For a moment, put aside this particular incident. (Whenever a story goes public people tend to jump on either side to defend or do the opposite) The United States has a problem. Police tend to quickly escalate most situations. Cops today tend to have a complex. Often times they are physically or mentally unfit to serve as an officer of the PEACE. If any such incident would happen in Canada (for example) he would have been issued a fine that would be in accordance with his speed – he would not have to go to court – he would have… Read more »
Seems like he was folowing protocol
And yet again, the Jew is exposed to be a liar. With the rise of anti-Semitic incidents I’m forced to ask: are we provoking them? Frankly, I feel trrrible for the cop who was performing his duty to protect other drivers and I would understand if the cop joins the KKK.
The the following comments that’s ask: how did the Jew arrested initially lie? The answer is hat he omitted the essential fact that he evaded attest for four miles!
Hope he doesn’t get jail time. His obvious disregard is a serious offense. Almost 20 miles over the speed limit, seemingly trying to evade the police for 4.5 miles, ignoring commands of the officer. Lucky he didn’t get shot. Police are very nervous these days, and rightly so.