Judge says, “cops issued promise not threat” in civil case against cop

Officer Glen Blair has been cleared of wrong doing in a civil case against him. The lawsuit filed Hank Bannister claims the officer threatened him. Bannister alleged the threats caused him emotional distress that caused him to seek professional help and also lose his job as a truck driver.

This all stems from an incident back in 2010. Blair was on patrol when he was dispatched to a fight in progress. Upon arrival Blair found the fight to actually be a domestic violence situation.

During the investigation Bannister was identified as the primary aggressor and was arrested. During the arrest Bannister, who was drunk at the time, resisted arrest and had to be subdued with a TASER.

At the police department Bannister continued to be belligerent with officer Blair during his interview. At one point in the interview Bannister said this.

“Hey pig, I know where you live. Yeah, lets see how tough you are off duty with out your little stun gun and five other cops for back up. That girl friend you got is hot. Maybe I will stop by some night. First I will take care of you, and then I can show her want a real man can do.”

After about four other more raunchy comments Officer Blair decided he had to say something.

“Just so you know… even off duty I carry a gun. Also FYI this sate has something called “Castle Doctrine”. You step one foot in my house I am well within my legal right to shoot first and ask questions later. Oh and my hot girlfriend, she is a sheriff’s deputy and she has a gun at all times also. So if you stop by my house you will leave it in a body bag.”

At trial the officer took the stand to defend his statements.

“I had a suspect who threaten me and the safety of my household. So I told him a factual statement of warning about the law and my preparedness.”

Judge Walker, who presided over this case, agrees with the officer. The Judge dismissed the case and had this to say in his closing opinion.

“Clearly it was the officer here who was threatened. The officer did not respond with a threat. It is the belief of this court the officer was in fact laying out a set of facts. He was effectively saying ‘if you do this, I will respond in this way’. In the opinion of this court that is a promise not a threat. Case Dismisses.”