Across the country, police have been getting slammed for various forms of corruption. Unfortunately, this article is going to be among that trend. Today, we are going to be discussing Fort Worth police officer, Taylor Stephens, a woman who not only appears to be vile, but has absolutely no regard for Constitutional rights, as viewed in multiple YouTube videos (links below.)
In a perfect world, officers such as this one, would be held to a higher standard of accountability. If an officer is shown to be corrupt, they are removed. However, all to often, this is not the case. Stephens has a notorious history within law enforcement. In 2018, in fact, she was terminated from the Fort Worth police department due to a man dying while in her custody; years later, for unknown reasons, this infamous officer was given back her job.
July 2018 Death
In 2018, five officers were involved with the arrest of Christopher Lowe, 55. Among them was none other than Taylor Stephens. While detained in the back of a patrol vehicle, Lowe kept advising the officers that he was having medical complications. One such complication being that he could not breath. It is important to note that within law enforcement there is a common expression: If they can talk, they can breath. However, this is not always true.
The interaction with Lowe was based on complaints that he had attempted to break into a residential home, a crime that was hardly worth dying for. regardless, as he desperately tried to get officers to take his complaints seriously, they simply ignored him. The officers made the presumption that he was just making up the medical situation in an attempt to avoid jail. As his situation continued to deteriorate, officers finally began to take notice.
It was at this point that they removed the cuffs and attempted CPR as they awaited EMS. As they discussed the situation with each other, they willfully planned to leave out details regarding their suspicions that he was under the influence of Narcotics. This omission of information very well could have sealed Lowe’s fate. The officers involved, which again included Taylor Stephens, were either suspended or terminated; she would be among the officers terminated. Although she no longer on the force, as a result of this case, that would not last. Since her return, she has terrorized the citizens of Fort Worth.
Time Post Reinstatement
Officer Stephens has shown no regard for her own department’s policies, nor has she shown regard for the very Constitutional rights that she was sworn to protect. According to one source, they are currently undergoing legal processes simply for recording the officer, who was acting within the scopes of her duties. The source, via email exchange, had the following statement:
I appreciate you helping to shine light on her, she charged me with felony stalking for recording her on a public sidewalk.
As many of us know, it is not a crime to film an officer in the scope of their duties. It is also not a crime to film a person in a public location as there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. However, according to the source, Stephens has taken this Constitutionally protected act to an entirely new level of extreme. With hope, we will be able to cover more on this subject at a later time as it is a currently pending case.
In video, we have seen her disregard for department policies. Virtually every department has a tobacco policy. To sum this up, it typically says something along the lines of, “The use of tobacco products, including vapors, is strictly prohibited while on duty.” Stephens, however, is clearly observed spitting chewed tobacco onto the pavement as she walks back to her patrol car. In the video, which is linked here, she is first observed using tobacco around the 1:20 mark. Later, in her patrol car, she is observed using it again starting at the 14:55 mark. Regardless of this clear violation of policy, no consequences have been issued to the officer. Because of this, we are left to question the integrity of her department as a whole.
With that question in mind, we looked into that very question. What we found can only be described as horrifying. Report after report of excessive force, wrongful deaths, and various other violations appear to be common practice within the Ft. Worth Police department. We’ll link a few videos below. With this information, it is of no surprise that Officer Stephens was reinstated. What is surprising is the fact that this abuse has been allowed to continue for as long as it has.
Situations like this only serve to make the overall law enforcement community look bad. While we are highlighting the darker side of the system, we are not oblivious to those who serve for legitimate reasons. Regardless of the career, there will always be those who abuse their authority. It is those individuals that we, as a society, should hold accountable.
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