Police in Jonesboro, Arkansas, are facing scrutiny following the release of body camera footage capturing a ticket issued to a local pizza delivery driver—who says that officers have pulled him over more than seven times in under a year. The driver, Christian Mobley, says police have destroyed his livelihood after he lost his job due to receiving so many tickets. Police Accountability Report investigates the case as an example of how police departments around the country employ dirty tactics to maximize city revenues through ticketing. Production: Stephen Janis, Taya GrahamWritten by: Stephen JanisPost-Production: Adam Coley Transcript The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible. Taya Graham: Hello, my name is Taya Graham and welcome to the Police Accountability Report. As I always make clear, this show has a single purpose holding the politically powerful institution of policing accountable to do so. We don’t just focus on the bad behavior of individual cops. Instead we examine the system that makes bad policing possible and today we will achieve that goal by showing not one, not two, but multiple questionable stops by police of a pizza delivery man trying to simply make a living. It’s an ongoing pattern of writing tickets, pulling him over, and yes, even an arrest that we will investigate to reveal just how problematic the actions of these officers are. But first, before we get started, I want you watching to know that if you have video evidence of police misconduct, please email it to us privately at [email protected] or reach out to me on Facebook or Twitter @TayasBaltimore and we might be able to investigate for you. And please like share and comment on our videos. It helps us get the word out and it can even help our guests. And of course I read your comments and appreciate them. You see those little hearts I give out down there and I’ve even started doing a r comment of the week to show you how much I appreciate your thoughts and what a terrific community we have. And we do have a Patreon accountability reports. So if you feel inspired to donate, please do. We don’t run ads or take corporate dollars. So anything you can spare is truly appreciated. Alright, we’ve gotten that out of the way. Now there is no doubt that times are tough for the working class in this country. Grueling jobs, underpaid work and insufficient benefits are not only commonplace but a veritable addendum to the American dream that for some has turned into a nightmare and that is why today we are telling the story of one man who personifies both the challenges and obstacles of making an honest living under extreme duress. The man in question, Christian Mobley has been working as a pizza delivery person in Jonesboro, Arkansas for years. There he has been diligently delivering food, working late into the night to make ends meet. But soon he found along with the occupational hazards and inherent dangers of delivering food, another unexpected challenge he had to overcome to make ends meet the Jonesborough Arkansas Police Department. That’s because in spring of 2023, police began pulling him over for minor traffic violations, car stops that often became confrontational and ever more contentious as police turned traffic enforcement into something entirely divorced from public safety encounters with police that changed his life. Now Christian’s story begins, like I said, in June of 2023, Christian was driving to work to start his delivery shift when a Jonesboro officer Michael Starns pulled him over. Take a look. Speaker 2: What’s going on man? All right. My name is Officer Jonesboro Police Department. The reason I stopped is you got a brake light out, you’re passenger side brake light. Is there a reason you’re not wearing your seatbelt today, sir? Now I’m trying to get Walmart. You going Walmart, you’re going the wrong way. You got a driver’s license on you. Taya Graham: Now as you notice, the officer is already questioning Christian about circumstances that have nothing to do with his allegedly broken taillight. I’m not sure why he has to explain where he is going or even why. But the officer asks, let’s say provocative questions that heightened the tension of this stop. Just listen. Speaker 2: Okay, Mr. Moby, is there a reason you’re nervous? What’s wrong man? Christian Mobley: I mean you’re telling me from all the way who wouldn’t be nervous? You’re telling me all the way from back there. Well, Speaker 2: You have a brick light out man. Christian Mobley: You tell somebody that long, I mean you going to pull me over. You Speaker 2: Could have pulled me up. Well I thought you were going to turn to a residence back there. I wasn’t going to bother you because you were going to be at home, but I saw you driving. So I mean you need to know your brake lights out, don’t you, for your safety, right? Alright, I mean, right. And you’re not wearing your seatbelt. That’s not safe either, man. I’ll be right back with you, okay? Taya Graham: Now I won’t judge for you, but I think Christian looks annoyed rather than nervous and truly, if the officer was concerned about Christian safety, why were they focusing on his state of mind? But apparently Mr. Moby’s answer did not satisfy the Jonesboro Police Department because again, they escalated the encounter. Just look Speaker 2: Ly shaken. Taya Graham: Now before I play the next section of the video, I want you to notice how police often needlessly escalate a routine car stop. That is because since the initial contact, at least two other officers appear, including the one I’m showing you now on the screen, they approach Christian’s car from the back. So how would any rational person not be afraid? How could you not be fearful of a rapid and frankly questionable ratcheting up of police presence? Just take a look at what happens next. Speaker 2: Hey Ms. Mul, go ahead. Step back for me. Okay, so I’ll explain all that to you in a second. Just go back here. So this is a high drug traffic area. So what I’m going to do is I’m just going to run around your vehicle and if it doesn’t hit, we’ll be out of here. Is there anything in your vehicle illegal? I’m just going Walmart. I’m a pickup driver. Walmart, I get it man. I get it man. That’s all I’m trying to prove, man. Trying to prove your exact man. Okay? Is anything on you illegal? Nothing. Mind we search you real, okay? Yes, or Speaker 4: I Speaker 2: Just want to spray though there’s nothing illegal in here at all. Taya Graham: So the overarching crime under investigation here is an allegedly broken taillight, although the cop never uses his body camera to record the evidence from that point, police construct a narrative that Mr. Mobley, because he’s driving in a so-called high drug crime area, should be subject to a drug sniffing dog to test his car. Speaker 2: She’s been letting it go. So dispatch let her go. Yeah, essentially. Hey dude, I appreciate your on your break. Fives going to give you a verbal warning, a citation. Taya Graham: So after the entire ordeal of being personally searched, then his car subject to a drug sniffing dog, Christian is given a citation. That’s right. All the assorted officers, including a drug canine unit deployed to battle a broken taillight. But for all the duress Krishna experienced with his stop, he was soon pulled over again in March of 2024. Let’s listen as an officer justified stopping him, Speaker 5: Adam nor zebra, 86 M NZ 86 M on Nettleton by the country club. Send me another unit over here. I’m not sure what he’s doing. Taya Graham: He’s over by the country club. I’m not sure what he’s doing. I mean that’s interesting. So driving by a country club is suddenly a crime. First he was driving in a high drug and crime area and that was justification to search his car and now he’s driving next to a country club. Apparently Jonesboro is just a bunch of no-go zones for delivery drivers. And like the previous stop, apparently one officer was not enough to corral Mr. Mobley. Shortly after he was pulled over, another cop showed up on the scene. Take a look. Christian Mobley: How was y’all harassing me? I just told you cops are always following me. That’s harassment. That’s not harassment. It is. There’s officers who drive every day, every you on it too. You want to harass me too. Speaker 2: I just came here because he asked for backup. Man, Christian Mobley: He’s clear. I’m always clear. I ain’t never committed no crimes. I’m always clear you ain’t never going to catch me with nothing but drugs or nothing. Listen Speaker 4: Dude, bring it down. Taya Graham: Just bring it down. Now the car stop then takes a troubling turn as the officer says something that seems very pointed and honestly a bit disturbing. Speaker 2: Where have I talked to you before? Your name sounds familiar. Christian Mobley: Yeah, I got these cops always following me harassing. So if I don’t come home, you know where I’m at. They’re arresting me for no reason. We’re not arresting you for anything man. Taya Graham: But yet again, this car stop ends without charges. Not even a ticket. As the officer never fully articulates what Christian was apparently doing wrong other than driving adjacent to a country club. But this is not the last encounter in the series of stops that have pervaded Mr. Moby’s life. That’s because just months later he’s pulled over yet again this time just outside his workplace. See for yourself. Christian Mobley: Yeah. What’s up? What’s going on? Yeah, what’s going on? I’m working officer jp, I’m working right now. I know Speaker 6: Officer JP D. You reading that stuff because you didn’t use the turn signal? Christian Mobley: Yeah, I did use the turn signal. Yeah, I did you use it hundred. I used the turn signal. Yeah, I did. Your feet prior your into the parking. What? What’s your name? Speaker 6: Can you have a driver’s license insurance? What? Christian Mobley: What’s your name? Name and badge number? Speaker 6: Driver’s license, registration, insurance Christian Mobley: Name and badge number. Name and badge number driver license registration. Taya Graham: Okay, so I’m just going to have to be blunt for a moment. I understand enforcing the law is not easy and is often complicated. I understand officers have to do their jobs to make sure we obey certain rules of the road. But to pull a man working to make a living for not signaling quickly enough within 100 feet, I mean is that really worth anyone’s time? Let alone a police officers? I mean, how many times have we been told traffic stops are one of the most dangerous facets of policing? How many law enforcement officials have repeatedly claimed that they take a mortal risk simply by pulling over a driver to procure their license and registration? My point here is why if indeed this is so risky, why bother to pull over a man for a traffic infraction that is so minor and of such little consequence? Why take the risk if the alleged misdeed is so inconsequential? Well, Steven has been working on that question and we’ll discuss it later. But despite the questionable nature of the allegation, the jonesborough officer presses on and actually escalates the encounter. Just watch, Hey, I need driver to get Speaker 6: My driver’s license out of there. Driver’s license registration. Christian Mobley: I need to go in there and get my driver’s license out of there. Oh, Speaker 6: You not going inside. Christian Mobley: It’s inside. Speaker 6: Well you not going inside. I’ll take your name and date of birth. Matter of fact, step out for me. Christian Mobley: We have to lock our stuff up in the car up in the job then. All right, cool. Speaker 6: You still away? Do you have any weapons on you? Christian Mobley: No, I don’t have no, no weapons, nothing on me. Alright, cool. I’m working right now. As you can see Papa Johns, I’m working. What’s your name, date of birth? Speaker 4: Christian Mobley. Speaker 6: I did use the turn signal. I did. You didn’t. If you stop talking over me and let me explain. Christian Mobley: Okay. Speaker 6: You didn’t use the turn signal a hundred feet prior before making this right? Turn to this. Christian Mobley: I used the turn signal fully and you know Speaker 6: I did not a hundred feet prior. That’s what I’m saying. Christian Mobley: A hundred feet prior. Speaker 6: You trying to turn you giving the wrong information. Christian Mobley: Okay man. Okay. This is clearly harassment. Do you have any registration in? Yeah, I got everything you need in the car. Where is it? Can I get in the car? Of course, go ahead. Okay, registration insurance please. Okay, hold on, hold Taya Graham: On, hold on. Now as the stop continues, I want you to notice something as I run the video Again, these car stops are not being conducted by a single officer. No. This apparently serious offense of not signaling more than 100 feet before the turn has actually warranted. Not one, not two, but seemingly three cops at least. That’s three law enforcement officers for one pizza delivery man, who apparently made an ill time use of his turn signal. Take a look at how this increased police presence makes this stop even more tense. Christian Mobley: This is clearly me. I’m only going to ask you this one time, okay? Stay right there. Don’t move. You understand what I’m telling you? Yeah, I understand what you’re telling me fully. Officer, am I being same? Yes moment. Yes. I’m being the same at the moment. Yes. Where is it at? In the glove box. It’s in the glove box. My insurance and everything’s in the glove box. Officer, are you getting consent to go in there and get it? You said I’m be in the same, right? Yes sir. So if I’m, we Speaker 2: Have to have consent for you to go inside there, get your Christian Mobley: So if I deny, if I deny, Speaker 2: If you Christian Mobley: Deny it, we’ll recite you for not having proof of, okay, go on there and get it. Go on there and get it. Come get my keys out the car and get my driver’s license out the bunk Speaker 5: Because you’re supposed to have it while you’re driving. So we just won’t even worry about that. I’m going to be driving without a license. Christian Mobley: Yeah, yeah. Come get my keys at the car. No, stay over there. Come get my keys out the car so you can get my drivers out the box. Speaker 6: Put you in a until we tell you to don’t throw with nothing. Okay? Thank you. Christian Mobley: Okay, let’s get this right. You’re not in patrol, you don’t need to tell him what to do. You don’t get I got you officer. I got you. What’s your name and badge number? D Thomas. 1, 5, 3, 3. Thank you. Thank you officer. Yeah, they harassing me. They harassing me. Get your hands out your pocket. Ain’t no weapons on me out of your pockets. My bad. I’m used to putting my hand in my pocket, man. Taya Graham: Okay, just wait a moment. I think I actually undercounted the number of cops at the scene this time. It looks like there are at least four officers who’ve joined this investigation. And guess what? More cops probably means more problems. And that’s exactly what happened as police decided to put Christian in handcuffs. Just look ice. Christian Mobley: Huh? Ice. What’s your bad number? What’s your bad number? Four, eight. Thank you. Who is that right there? Speaker 2: He’s not a part of this traffic stop Christian Mobley: Business, sir. Okay. Hey, hey, hey. They won’t let me get my license out the box. They won’t let, he’s my manager. He, yeah, they harassing me. What did I just say? They harassing me. Hey, put him back in there. Put him back in the truck going on. I’m being arrested. Being detained. Taya Graham: That’s right. They detained him. Although this looks like an arrest to me. And again, this entire ordeal did not lead to any actual charges. Just more mental anguish for Mr. Mobley. But it wasn’t over. Not hardly just 48 hours later, just two days after the stop we just watched Christian was pulled over again by the same officer Speaker 6: Jones, bur police department. I know the reason I stomped you is because you falling too close. No I wasn’t. Yes you were. No. You flashed me with your high beams. No I wasn’t. When I pulled over into this parking lot, you was so close. You almost rear-ended me. No. Okay. What was the purpose of you? You harassing me again. Odie. Can I have your driver’s license? Registration, insurance. Christian Mobley: What’s the traffic ion? Odie. Speaker 6: Driver’s license, registration, insurance. You Christian Mobley: Harassing me again? OIE, Speaker 6: Mr. Moley. Okay, driver’s license, registration, insurance. Do you know that’s bs Taya Graham: O. But this time the crime was apparently following too closely, but this time as well, the officer seems to have decided that he would employ the full extent of his police powers. Take a look. Speaker 6: Set up out. Step out. Step out. Here’s your drive license here. No step out. It’s too late. Here it is. Here it is. What you doing man? Step out. What are you doing? Turn around. What are you doing? Oie? Hands behind your back. What are you doing? Hands behind your back. What am I being arrested for? Odie. What am I being arrested for? Obstruction for what? 1 42. Dispatch. Oh damn, this is bullshit. 15 one time. You know this is bullshit, right? Turn around. I asked you three times to give me your information. I gave it to you. It’s in your hand. I’m only required to ask you once you gave it to me once I came over here and told you to step out the vehicle, Christian Mobley: You know what you’re doing. It’s bs man. Speaker 6: Let’s go Taya Graham: Obstruction. Well that’s interesting. Bear in mind obstruction is premised upon obstructing an investigation into a separate crime. And since the officer did not articulate what the underlying crime is, we have no idea how he is justifying the charge. A lack of full disclosure that is not addressed during a post-arrest discussion. Let’s watch Speaker 6: Mr. Mobley. Yeah, what’s a good phone number for you? Christian Mobley: What am I being arrested for? Speaker 6: Obstruction. I’m being arrested for obstruction. Yes sir. What’s a good phone number? How did I obstruct Odie? Are you going to tell me your phone number? Mr. Mobley? What’s the number for your citation? How did I Instruc? Odie. What’s your current address? You know my address Odie? It’s on the driver’s license. Okay, you mind telling it to me? Christian Mobley: It’s on the driver’s license. Speaker 6: Alright, well like I said, you going to jail tonight for obstruction? I asked you three times to provide me with your identification. Christian Mobley: I gave it to you Speaker 6: After the fact. I came over there And Christian Mobley: How was I obstructed though? Oie? How was I obstructed? Taya Graham: And so Christian is taken to jail without sufficient justification and truly without understanding what crime he’d committed. And as you’ll learn later, this had devastating consequences for him and his livelihood. But there is more to the story, so much more that we’re actually not showing all the video now. Instead there will be a part two of our investigation into the Jonesborough Police Department. And please feel free to reach out with your own stories of your interactions with the Jonesborough Police Department and we will be soon joined by Christian to tell us how this continuing series of police encounters has impacted his life and what he wants to happen as a result. But first we will be joined by my reporting partner, Steven Janis, who’s been reaching out to the police and examining the documents. Stephen, thank you so much for joining me Stephen Janis: Taya, thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Taya Graham: Now first I know you sent a lengthy email to the Jonesboro Arkansas Police Department. What did you ask and how did they respond? Stephen Janis: Well, I was very specific. I was very concerned about the kind of probable cause for putting Mr. Moley through all these car stops and some of the searches. So I asked him very specifically, how do you designate a high crime area in the city? Is that like an official designation? What is the process you use? Secondly, I asked about country club is driving within the vicinity of a country club actually a crime. And how do you establish this? Basically I was looking for a criteria for how they decide when to pull someone over and what that means. Now you sent an email to it to the Jonesborough Police Department? We actually sat and talked to them on the phone. We actually spoke to a traffic sergeant there who said he would get back to us. I have not heard, but we’re going to keep following up and I just want to let people know we did our due diligence to get these people to respond. We let them know what the questions we had. We asked specific questions and we did not get a response. But they are certainly been put on notice about this. Taya Graham: So you have reviewed all the video in depth. Do you think the officers had probable cause to stop Christian? Stephen Janis: Well tell you. Certainly not because I have a lot of experience with being pulled over myself and living in a city that part of their crime enforcement was to pull random people over all the time. And these stops saying high crime area, that’s so subjective. Driving near a country club even more odd and I can’t even call it subjective, just kind of crazy. And then the stops occurred later when he was driving a hundred feet. I mean, how on earth is any person supposed to know? How is a cop supposed to know that? How do you know when someone’s not put a tour signal on a hundred feet before they turn? It’s just impossible. So to me these stops are highly questionable. I don’t think the law backs it up and I think the questions need to be asked. Taya Graham: Steven, can you give me some background on the Jonesboro Police? How large is the department and what their crime rates look like? Stephen Janis: Te there are a lot of different ways to look at crime statistics and we’ve seen some reports that say Jonesboro has somewhat of a high crime rate, although it’s not that much different from the rest of major cities in Arkansas. Some people have given them a B plus for certain types of crimes and a C for violent crimes. So there’s all over the board. Obviously they have some problem with crime, but I will say as a word of caution that pulling people over randomly does not reduce crime. They did that a lot in Baltimore and it didn’t work. And if that’s the department strategy and I really wish they would talk to us about this then I think they’re going in the wrong direction. Taya Graham: And now to give us a sense of how his ongoing encounters with police have affected his life and his livelihood and how his perception of law enforcement has changed. I’m joined by Christian Mobley. Christian, thank you so much for joining us. Christian Mobley: No problem. Taya Graham: Now first please walk me through what we’re seeing in this video. You’re working in food delivery, driving back from a stop, I assume. What happens when the officer pulls behind you? What did they say and why are they pulling you over Christian Mobley: That? I didn’t use the turn signal at a hundred feet before making the turn, but I used the turn signal. Taya Graham: So the officer initially says you’re not using your turn signal and then admits, well, you used the turn signal, you just didn’t use it within 100 feet of the turn. What were your thoughts when he said this and do you agree with his assessment? Christian Mobley: What you don’t see, what you don’t see is there’s another cop on the left side of me. He’s right on the left side of me and Odie is behind me. So it’s like they kind of got me boxed in. But yeah, it’s just harassment. They’d have, the police department is actually across the street from Papa John’s, so they sit over there all the time stalking me, trying to make their presence felt. It’s like they’re just trying to agitate me all the time and it’s just what they do Taya Graham: Now. This seems to be a simple traffic enforcement issue and really if you were guilty at all, there should have just been a warning. Why did it escalate? I mean, it seemed like there were four officers on the scene just for a turn signal infraction. Christian Mobley: Simply put, they don’t like me. They don’t like the fact that I stand up to them and they can’t bully me or intimidate me and I speak out against them. So they just got a problem with that. But like I said, I’m not really necessarily doing this for me. I know I’m not the only one in this town dealing with this kind of stuff. So this is more so for the other people that’s dealing with this and somebody needs to do something about it. I feel like I’m the one to do something about it. Taya Graham: Now you were trying to communicate with your manager or wanted for your coworkers, you tried to explain to the officers where your information was. Why do you think they were so adamant about stopping you from communicating with your manager? Christian Mobley: They knew that if he could get my driver’s license, they wouldn’t have, they probably wouldn’t be able to get me with that charge of failure to present driver’s license. But when I come into work, my driver’s license is always in my wallet and I lock my wallet up in my locker, so I forgot it that day. So that’s why my driver’s license wasn’t on me at the time. Taya Graham: So what surprised me was that they placed you in cuffs effectively for trying to speak. How did they treat you? I mean, did they put you in the back of the car? You can’t really see because the video goes dark for a little period of time. Christian Mobley: Well, they didn’t put me in the back of the car, they just cuffed me. They just took my phone, placed it on the hood of his patrol vehicle and that’s why the scream went dark. But I was in front of the vehicle handcuffed. Taya Graham: So this wasn’t the first time. Jonesboro police officers have followed you looking for traffic infractions. Can you tell me how many other times you’ve been pulled over this year and for what? Christian Mobley: I mean if I could off the top of my head, I could say at least five times. It’s like they would pull me over to try to find out where I live, try to get my, they would just issue me warnings, but they would pull me over. It’s like they just trying to find out who I am and where I live at so they can monitor me or something. Taya Graham: So I know you mentioned that after one of your traffic stops with Officer Sergeant James D. Stout on March 3rd this year, you said he followed you into a Walmart afterwards. Do you believe this is harassment? Christian Mobley: It is something they do. It’s like this little thing they do. It was after the encounter I was doing Walmart Spark and while I’m doing Walmart Spark, he drives by me and kind of nods at me. It’s something they do, they’ll drive by you and they’ll nod at you we’re watching you. It is just something they all do. It’s like a little gang thing that they do. And yeah, he drove past me. He nodded at me. He’s trying to intimidate, he’s trying to send me a message and they all do it. Taya Graham: They said they aren’t following you but pull you over because they thought you were break checking them. Can you please explain? Christian Mobley: No, I was just coming from Natural Grocers and they have this thing where they’ll always get behind me and start telling me and he was just doing the same thing and what you don’t see is him looking in his mirror. I can see him looking in his mirror, making a face trying to intimidate me. It’s what you don’t see in the video video. So I’m just slowing down to see what he’s on and then he turns his lights on and said, I’m trying to break check him. It’s what? It’s Taya Graham: So Officer Michael Starnes of the Jonesboro Police Department pulled you over June 27th this year allegedly for having a break light out. But then he started saying you look nervous. I mean, considering how often you’ve been pulled over this year, I would be nervous too. Do you think he was hoping to search your car and he was talking about smelling deodorizing spray in your car and talking about running a canine around your vehicle and that you’re in a very high crime area. I’m familiar with that sort of police procedure as a Baltimore city resident, do you think he was fishing for bigger crime than a traffic infraction? Christian Mobley: It wasn’t a high crime area, not at all. But yeah, I think he was just targeting me. But the very next day after that incident, I’m in Dollar General on East Johnson. He walks in my back is to him, he walks in the Dollar store and like I said, as I turned around, I seen him standing there. He gives me this nod. He’s trying to send me a message like We’re going to be watching you. Yeah, it’s what they do. It’s like they target people. It’s like a game to them. Taya Graham: So you were driving your mother’s car during that stop, which is nice looking car. And the also said you were in a high crime area. Do you think that you were being profiled, I mean there were at least four officers on the scene and a canine, so it seems like they were expecting you to be the catch they were fishing for. I mean, is Jonesboro a place where there’s lots of criminal activity? Christian Mobley: Not at all. I mean, nah. Mean even if you say you live in the hood in Jonesboro, it ain’t dangerous. Give me a break. Nah, it’s not a high crime at all. Taya Graham: So Christian, how much has this cost you personally? I would imagine it is stressful just getting into your car for work, considering how often you’ve been followed and ticketed and how much it costs in tickets and timing going to court. I mean, what has this cost you either financially or even emotionally or psychologically? Christian Mobley: I would just say I’m built for it. No, I’m not. And like I said, they’re not going to intimidate me. I’m not the one they’re going to intimidate. I’m going to stand up, I’m going to stand up against them. But I mean in the beginning it was kind of stressful. It was new to me, but it started to anger me and that’s when I decided, you know what? I’m going to stand up against this. I’m going to bring light to this situation because I can’t be the only one in Jonesborough, Arkansas dealing with this from these officers. One time it got the best of me where I made a mistake and thought someone was following me and I ended up getting arrested by Deputy Jordan drum. But that was in the beginning when it was new to me, but now I built a tolerance for it and I know how to deal with it and I know how to manipulate it and catch them in the process of trying to do it to me. Taya Graham: Christian, I hate to ask this, but do you have any sort of criminal history that could explain why these officers have chosen to keep such a close eye on you? Christian Mobley: No, the only thing that if you want to consider it is when Deputy Jordan drum from the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office, he arrested me. The only thing they charged me with was obstruction. That’s the only, I guess major thing you can say that’s on my record. Everything else is just traffic tickets. Taya Graham: By any chance, do you know why Officer Peyton Perkins was fired? I mean he was one of the officers that was involved in your interactions? Christian Mobley: I don’t know. I went in there, I went in there one day to get A-F-O-I-A video and yeah, Trevor, I was talking to Trevor, officer Trevor and I said, I was talking to him about Perkins and he said he got fired and I asked him why he wouldn’t disclose to me why he got fired. So I’m not really sure, but I’m happy he’s fired. Taya Graham: If you could speak to the Jonesboro Police Department right now, what would you say if you knew they were listening to you right this moment? What would you want to tell them? Christian Mobley: Personally? I just want to tell them they cowards, they’re cowards for you to do for them to try to put that type of, this is the type of stuff that can make people commit suicide. So for them, them to find some sort of satisfaction out of doing this type, this type of stuff, they’re cowards. That’s what I would tell them. They’re cowards and that’s all you’ll ever be. Taya Graham: Okay. I have a lot to say about what happened to Mr. Christian Mobley. Part of what I’m thinking about is directly related to the constant and I think obviously unnecessary police interactions we just witnessed, it seems based upon the video evidence that these traffic stops were the result of concerns other than just enforcing the law. One can only imagine the stress that Christian must have experienced when a drug sniffing dog was deployed to search his car or one can guess how he felt when a police officer told him he was pulled over because he was driving near a country club. All of these interactions with law enforcement hardly build a connection with the community. In fact, all of this police intervention for Noncrime only increases the distrust of institutions and not just policing. That has become endemic in this country. And I don’t think policing like what we just witnessed is simply the result of Officer overreach, but that’s not the only aspect of Christians’ ordeal that concerns me. Something else bothers me about what we just watched that more than likely will get less attention than the stops themselves. An idea about law enforcement in this country that deserves to be discussed so that we understand what we’ve truly seen and to make it more comprehensible, I’m going to explain it as a story, a tale about people like Christian who work hard struggle, keep trying only to discover that the biggest obstacle to carving out a good life for himself is the government that’s supposed to serve him. The story starts almost 50 years ago before Christian was even born. That’s when the working people of this country had benefited from one of the most robust expansions of the middle class in history, high union membership and less income inequality meant that the American dream was alive and well and more importantly actually possible. But over the past 50 years everything changed. Union membership fell, income inequality rose the road to the middle class was filled with potholes of neglect. As the wealth of the top 1% expanded to engulf the bottom 80, it seemed like the hope for a comfortable middle class life turned into an unattainable dream, a mirage of a long forgotten social contract that seemed to move further and further away the harder we reached for it. Now the reason I bring this up is because the excessive policing we just witnessed is part and parcel of the lack of opportunity for the middle class. It’s something I’ve been thinking about because I’ve witnessed so many cases like this where police seem inexplicably drawn into conflicts with people whose biggest crime is being economically vulnerable. Now, it made me think about something I heard about one of the reasons America seemed so invested in the middle class 50 years ago, I don’t remember who it was, but their argument went like this. The country’s political leadership concerned over the Cold War with Russia felt they had to prove that democracy could deliver for the people. The idea was that the best life prospects for the greatest number of people would lead to proof that a democratic society was an effective society. It would be proof that the whole system actually worked. So what happened? That’s a good question. Apparently after the end of the Cold War, our country’s elites decided to abandon the egalitarianism of making the greatest number of lives better without the so-called red scare. It seems like we all veered in the opposite direction, extracting the biggest gains for the smallest number of people. And I think along with that decision was the idea that in order to prevent such an imbalance system from collapsing the elites turn to an institution that could in some sense keep the declining middle class and working class in check by sowing chaos in their midst. And that’s why we see so many questionable car stops and ordeal like Christians. That’s why police roll out drug sniffing dogs because you simply drive in an area they deemed well basically poor and off limits or while you’re stopped a second time for driving next to a country club, no need to worry if you’ve committed a crime. No need to think about if you’re a threat to public safety. The whole idea is containment to make you feel less capable of demanding your rights or of expecting a fair shake or of being treated fairly. The unnecessary scrutiny and inexplicable traffic stops is all a part of the same process to make you feel strange from the rights that are bestowed upon you by the Constitution. And to make this point even more salient, I want to share some news with you, a development to reinforce my argument that over-policing is a consequence of rampant inequality. Just as we were finishing recording our show, Christian sent me an email and I want to read part of it to you. I just found out I lost my job because of this arrest. Christian wrote me not only that his car was impounded and he spent three days in jail and now he’s unemployed. So I ask you, what exactly did law enforcement accomplish here? What exactly was the goal, the purpose, the public interest that was served by causing a hardworking man to lose his job? I mean, I am at a loss to explain the underlying societal justification for a process that culminates in this type of economic loss that bolsters such unnecessary hardship, that conscripts humiliation to justify the deleterious effects of a society that are intrinsically unfair. Honestly, when I watch videos like these, I feel like all the mainstream media pundits who say discussing economic inequality is class warfare are right except the abuse runs downhill to those who can least afford it. To people like Christian who were struggling but working hard and now must struggle even more just to overcome the government that he literally funds through his taxes, but only if the police department will allow him to work. One of the things that is most discouraging about Christians ordeal is like many cities we cover, Jonesboro spends more on policing than any other facet of city government. As Stephen pointed out, the city dedicates less the firefighting, sanitation, parks, recreation and fixing city streets than to law enforcement. Basically 37% of all the money their city collects goes to cops, cars, arrests, and jails. But how does city leaders justify this expenditure? What do they say to residents who might ask why they need to find countless numbers of officers to conduct countless numbers of questionable stops? How do they explain the dedication of communal resources to a process that seems so unnecessary? And Jonesboro is not the exception throughout this country. We invest more in handcuffs than we do in housing, more on cages than in keeping our cities clean, more on traffic stops than healthy recreation. And that’s what’s really intriguing. The recent trend in crime calls into question the entire justification for this hard to fathom spending. As you may already know, there has been a historic drop in violent crime in many of the largest cities across the country in our city. Baltimore homicides reached a record low dropping by nearly 40% over the last year. But what’s also intriguing about this good news is that it occurred when the police department also had a record number of vacancies. And Baltimore is not alone. Departments across the country have raised concerns about a dearth of new police officers shortages that they simply can’t fill vacancies that have remained vacant. So then how can we explain the historic drop in violence? If more police and increased spending on police will somehow deliver more public safety, then why do crime drop when fewer officers were on the streets? What exactly am I missing here when fewer cops translates into less crime? I think what we’ve considered and truly examined is that perhaps all the spending on policing has less to do with crime than police. Partisans would want us to believe that pumping tax dollars into shiny new SUVs for cops isn’t really about keeping us safe, but perhaps about keeping us in check, maybe just maybe cops have another purpose, an often unacknowledged role in the economic inequality that has engulfed people like Christian maybe along with traffic stops and minor crimes, they are the guardians of the border between extravagant wealth and soul crushing poverty. Maybe they are here not just to enforce the law but impose boundaries on the chaos that communal poverty creates. I mean, just consider that roughly only 20% of property crimes and 40% of homicides are solved. I’m not saying it’s easy to catch a thief, but certainly that doesn’t seem to be the focus of police who have the time to constantly pull over the same man over and over and over again. And that’s why we take the time to report on cases like Christians. That’s why we produce a detailed show to scrutinize the actions of police that deserve the attention. And that’s why we tell the stories of people who end up on the wrong side of police overreach. That’s why we produce the show so that someone other than the cops holding handcuffs can tell their side of the story. I want to thank our guest, Christian Mobley for bravely coming forward, supplying us the video evidence and of course sharing his story. And we really hope that things are going to take a positive turn for you soon. Thank you so much for your time, Christian, and of course I have to thank Intrepid reporter Steven Janis for his writing, research and editing on this piece. Thank you Steven Stephen Janis: Taya, thanks for having me. I appreciate it. Taya Graham: And of course I want to thank mods of the show, Noli D and Lacy R for their support. Thank you and a very special thanks to accountability report, Patreons. We appreciate you and I look forward to thanking each and every single one of you personally in our next live stream, especially Patreon associate producers, Lucita Garcia, David K, and John, er, and super friends, Eddie Clegg, Kenneth K Shane, B, pineapple girl, Chris R and matter of W Rights. But also I want to thank a very special supporter of the show, Scott Rushing. Scott was kind enough to share his family story with us. Unfortunately, this case is a tragic use of excessive force that result in the death of his unarmed son. Tyler rushing 34-year-old Tyler rushing was tasered attacked by police canine shot and killed on July 23rd, 2017 in Chico, California. But Scott has never given up on the hope that his family will receive justice for his son’s death and neither have we. Scott, we appreciate you supporting our work and we hope you’ll join us soon to update us on your progress on reforming the excessive force policies and training practices of private security guards. Thank you for your support, Scott. And I want you watching to know that if you have video evidence of police misconduct or brutality, please share it with us and we might be able to investigate for you. Please reach out to us. You can email us tips [email protected], ensure your evidence of police misconduct. You can also message us at Police Accountability report on Facebook or Instagram or at Eyes on Police on Twitter. Or of course you can message me directly at tia’s baltimore on Twitter or Facebook. And please like and comment, I do read your comments and appreciate them. And we do have a Patreon link pinned in the comments below for accountability reports. If you feel inspired to donate, please do. We don’t run ads, never take corporate dollars, so anything you can spare is truly appreciated. My name is Taya Graham and I’m your host of the Police Accountability Report. Please be safe out there.