Cops eating pot, throwing darts, and making fun of an amputee are just some of the things seen on a surveillance video of a police raid on an unlicensed marijuana dispensary in Santa Ana, California, last month.
The officers reportedly burst into Sky High Holistic May 26 bearing their guns and ordering all patrons and employees to the ground
before escorting them out, the Los Angeles Times reported. The officers can then be seen removing some surveillance cameras but, expecting a raid, the shop owners captured the events with a hidden device.
The raid was the result of a February cease and desist letter that the shop allegedly ignored, according to the newspaper. It instead continued to operate illegally.
One officer is seen sampling a marijuana edible, tossing it in his mouth and giving a thumbs-up signal.
The cops can also be heard using derogatory words to refer to Marla James, the wheelchair-bound manager of the dispensary who is also an amputee.
"Did you punch that one-legged old Benita?" one officer asked, according to the Times.
"I was about to kick her in her f***ing nub," another replied.
James, who is legally blind and physically handicapped, now plans on filing a lawsuit against the city.
"How can I respect someone like that?" she said later to KABC. "It just makes your stomach turn — maybe she doesn't know what it's like to have an amputation. I don't know what was going through her head, but man that was so disrespectful."
Mathew Pappas, James' lawyer who is also representing the business, told KABC that the video also shows the police officers playing darts in the shop, in addition to sampling the products.
“He's eating it right there in the marijuana collective. If you're a police officer, you probably shouldn't be eating things from a marijuana collective," Pappas said.
Chris Revere, Santa Ana police commander, is concerned about the allegations against his officers.
"We expect our officers to hold themselves to a certain standard and represent the department and the profession well," he said, according to KABC. "If that wasn't done in this case, it's certainly something that, as part of the administrative investigation, the chief will make the appropriate disciplinary recommendation if it's warranted."
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