OCT 31, 2024 – This story has been updated
https://jocoreport.com/police-officer-fired-following-internal-investigation/
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Sept. 26, 2024
SELMA – An internal investigation is underway after video of a traffic stop by the Selma Police Department has gone viral.
Matt Sanders of Raleigh, the operator of Encore Automotive in Smithfield, says he was stopped by two Selma police officers while driving a customer’s car to a body shop to have the bumper repaired.
Sanders recorded the traffic stop with his cellphone camera and alleges one of the police officers deleted the original video recording from the cell phone. Later, he was able to recover the deleted video and shared on YouTube.
Sanders said he was leaving a convenience store on US 70 and drove past two police officers in their marked cruisers in the parking lot. “As I rode by them they looked up at me and followed me out of the gas station. As soon as I passed Ricks Road they stopped me. One officer ran up to my driver window and the other to my passenger window yelling (for me) get out of the car. That’s when I started recording them… and put the camera on the dashboard.”
“I’m not disputing anything about the traffic stop. My complaint, my biggest concern, is he deleted the video and I recovered it from my deleted file. My main complaint is deleting the video from my cell phone and stopping the recording on my cell phone,” Sanders said, adding he was able to recover the recording later that night from his recently delete photo file.
“I didn’t understand why an officer would stop my video and why he would delete my video. At that moment it made me extremely terrified.”
Sanders says he wants the officer who allegedly deleted the cell phone video to admit what happened and resign. “He does not need to be a police officer in this area or anywhere else unless he does some serious sole-searching. He doesn’t need to be in uniform. I don’t feel like I was violated because of color, I was violated because I was human. You have one officer doing his job and never raised his voice and another officer screaming. I would never be talking about the officer screaming had he not deleted the file. I want to know why he would try to delete it.”
Sanders says he thinks Selma Police should review other traffic stops made by the officer in question. He filed a formal complaint with the Selma Police Department on September 25.
Sanders says he has been contacted by Selma Police and according to him they want the NCSBI to do a forensic examination of his cell phone to confirm his story. Sanders says he has no problem with the forensic review which he says will validate his claim.
Selma Police Chief J.A. Hughes was unavailable for a comment on Thursday.
We were able to reach Mayor Byron McAllister who released the following statement. “Our Selma Police Department is aware of the video that has surfaced and are conducting a full investigation. We believe the video is from a traffic stop that occurred on Thursday, September 19, 2024. An official complaint was filed yesterday, September 25, 2024, by the individual from the video with the department. Since this is an ongoing internal investigation, I currently have no other information.”
Johnston County Report obtained a copy of the complaint filed by Mr. Sanders. It says in part, “The situation escalated in a way that I believe causes serious concerns about police misconduct and treatment of citizens… Fortunately I was able to recover the video, but the experience left me shaken and questioning the integrity of those sworn to protect us.”
During the first 24 hours, the YouTube video titled “Cop Caught Deleting Video While Searching Car” has been viewed more than 150,000 times. There have been more than 1,600 comments.
One person wrote, “An officer deleting someone’s recording should be fired on the spot and charged with tampering.” Another person said, “I am 100% sure that after a thorough investigation they will conclude there was no wrongdoing by the officers.”
Mayor McAllister did not say how long the internal investigation would take to complete.
The good cops always outweigh the bad cops but there are some bad and the good never gets put on YouTube.
Well…. After watching the video….. the officer at the driver’s side did in fact have a body camera clearly visible! Just brings in more questions to who is actually telling the truth!!!
But I don’t agree with the “I smell marijuana” just to gain access to search a vehicle!!!!!!!
I’ve been were he was and it’s a no win situation. Mine was a state trooper and I also filed a complaint and they said he had done nothing wrong. Claimed I didn’t have my Seat belt on. Threaten to arrest me and everything. I was “allowed” to leave because I created doubt…. I had passed a Pine Level cop who was sitting pst the handy mart and I told Green to go talk to the cop sitting 1/2 mile back and see what he says. That’s when he let me go. Cops can be so cruel. The office in the video first says the tag was expired. Then changes to tag light out. I didn’t know you had to have one, my cat doesn’t.
“We investigated ourselves and found we did nothing wrong.” Selma PD after the “investigation” ends.
Stopped for no license lights and given 5 citations? Looks like revenge.
The cops were out of line here but the “victim” is also making himself way more of a martyr than he is. It’s like when a soccer player gets nudged and he acts like his femur snapped in half. Victim culture is so pathetic
If the officer detected the smell of Marijuana, then he had probable cause. The” victim ” states he was shaken and upset, yet he argued with the officers the entire video. If he truly was innocent, he should have simply complied.