“If I Would Have Complied, I Would Have Got Killed”: Black Man Avoids Being Shot By Cop, Records Whole Ordeal
Edrick Truitt was parked at a convenience store waiting to meet up with his family before going back to his home in Jonesboro, Arkansas when police officers from the Helena-West Helena Police Department came to clear the lot.
As the man was leaving the parking lot, he was reportedly blocked in by another car. It was at that moment when a police officer approached Truitt and pointed a gun at him. Fearing for his life, Truitt immediately started streaming the encounter on Facebook Live.
“As we get to leaving out, a car jumped in front of me so I hit my brakes to let them go by,” Truitt told WREG. By that time, he claims his car was blocked in and he couldn’t move it becoming the center of attention and from that point on, things just kept escalating.
Truitt said he started filming with his cell phone just in case. “I started rolling because he jumped out with his gun.” According to him, even though the officer made demands, Truitt didn’t want to make a single move. “Played it safe.”
“He was like, ‘That’s a failure to comply,’ but if I would have complied, I would have got killed.”
In the video, the officer can be heard telling Truitt to turn off the car and that he won’t shoot. The officer even said his body camera was on and rolling the whole time. But Truitt said he didn’t believe the officer so he didn’t turn the car off. Also, he wanted to have his own proof of the whole ordeal.
Police said they found a gun in the back of Truitt’s car which he never denied having with him. When WREG asked Truitt if he thought the cop was afraid of him having a gun, he said, “Yeah, probably so.” But the man added that the gun wasn’t within his reach and the officers had nothing to worry about.
“What I did saved my life,” Truitt added. “That’s why I’m here talking to ya’ll. If not, ya’ll would probably be covering a story about how I got shot.” In the end, he was arrested for loitering and disregarding an official order.
The officer is now getting threats and was off duty in the days following the incident. The police, meanwhile, are checking body cameras and getting statements from other officers who were involved in the incident to determine if any rules were broken.
People watching the live stream couldn’t believe their eyes
Watch the entire video below
Here’s what people said about the incident
Seems like the first thing Cops do in the US is pull their guns out. Very very rarely see that happening in Australia, NZ and the UK etc. Seems like shoot now, ask questions later. A very trigger happy country that is ruining countless lives.
Yeah, it's shocking to find story after story of people getting shot for no reason, or because of a small misunderstanding. Does someone here know how long U.S. police is trained before going out on the streets? As I live in Finland, I know that Finnish police go to school for 2 - 3 years, and their training includes stress handling skills in risky situations, to avoid misinterpreting various objects as guns etc. This effort is put in in a country with much much lower street crime rates than the U.S...
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I agree. There are lots of places I would love to see in the U.S. but this sort of c**p makes me choose other countries for my vacation trips.
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I'm so happy I live in The UK, where I can say hello to Police Officers in Central London holding M4 rifles without the fear confrantation. US Police officers need serious reform - it blows my mind that this is still happening. But of course, not all of the people that record these incidents are completely innocent....
Innocent isn’t the point. People shouldn’t have to fear summary execution because the officer was afraid or confused.
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Situations like this just make you wonder, how many innocent people were murdered before the age of smartphones who were buried as guilty people because it was the cops word against their own.
I've wondered about this, it's terrifying to think about.
Load More Replies... What kind of country is it where you can get arrested for mere loitering? Seriously? There is like everything wrong with this case. Arrest people if they commit crimes!
A country where many towns & counties make their money off two-bit arrests so they can charge fees & court costs. There is racism involved too, but cops know too many white people won't believe minorities, so they focus on minorities. Juries rarely convict the cops of straight-up thug behavior, unless the cop is a minority too, but they will hand over taxpayer dollars to pay for the bad behavior of the cops.
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Wtf did he even do wrong? He’s at a gas station where people loiter all the time and him just pulling up isn’t loitering. He’s just a racist POS cop who wanted to invent a reason to arrest a black man. I’m so tired of seeing sh!t like this. If you’re racist don’t be a cop just don’t. Do us all a favor and set yourself on fire.
I'm gobsmacked, I didn't realise until now (but can see it after this!) that you could potentially be so easily shot for moving, even if its to comply with an order! That was a trap, and that guy was brave and smart enough to find a safe way out thank goodness. I'm so saddened that anyone can be trapped like that because the level of pigment in their skin is "dangerous" ...bullbleep. im glad i know this now, and sad.
Getting arrested for "loitering"? Arrested? Damn, America, you sure are great again.
wtf ? That's why I can´t trust on law.. this guys are supposed to protect people behind everything . It's so ridiculous , I've been on security forces , and before everything , we had to promises to save someone's life , even if we could die .. This world is f****d up ... Is not just in USA , in every single part of the earth is happening something that we , has a Human , could avoid . It's so sad that people let their ego be stronger than themselves ....
Actually I have read that they are under no obligation to protect anyone. Crazy, huh?
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The officer did the right action. Yep. The guys car was blocked, maybe he committed a crime. He back talked the officer. You Don't ask the officer what you did wrong, he will tell you after he checks you out. All you had to do was comply and not act like a thug.
I hope I will never EVER have to set a foot in that country of wackos.
I'm too, am very thankful that nothing bad happened. But what I don't understand is why say"shoot me"? Why would anyone say that to a policeman..?
the fact so many people look up to police and wanna be one. so many little kids out there wanna be a police officer. they are supposed to respect and protect but they out here doing this c**p? and i hate how the blacks are treated by them. they pick anyone who is different from them. be it race, religon, or sexulality. i hate the way people treat musluims. and gays. and women. its time we take a stand. not just about the whole police ordeal but everything wrong in this crappy world. #takeastand2019
Let me tell you guys a story about police in my country, Zambia. Sometimes students from our biggest university, The University of Zambia, hold riots (they get a little crazy) to protest the government not releasing their meal allowances, and sometimes it's peaceful but other times the students go overboard and do crazy stuff. The thing everyone has learnt is that when there is a riot and the police get into the school, the safest place is in the rooms in the new hostels referred to as "New Residential." Last year in October, around 23:00-24:00, one of these riots occured and my aunt and her friends were all in their room sleeping, when suddendly they heard noise and realizing what was happening, hunkered down in their room and went back to sleep believing they were safe, about an hour into the riot, police start firing tear-has cannisters to disperse the rioting students. Now, as a rule, the year gas in only fired at the school boundary close to the road where they like to root, but on that day, the police went into the campus and we're firing the canisters all over, some of which they threw into dorm rooms, knowing they are enclosed spaces and have only 1 medium sized window each, ergo poor ventilation, the girls in the rooms woke up to tear-gas chocking them. It get worse, somehow, when one of those cannisters was thrown, a fire started and rooms started to burn, smoke was spreading everywhere, it was crazy!
Gun crazy in the US. My father was down there once, an old guy rear ended him, when he went back to talk to him the guy pulled a gun on him!
Police must be under the same rules of engagement as our notary. If we are to trust them with guns they must prove they have the self control to not reach for a weapon unless there is no option. They should also be penalized for this
What was it... the Land of the free and the land of the brave? Or was it the American dream? Oh wait, it was the Land of unlimited possibilities.. shot in the face being on of them.. No thanks.
I agree the cop didn't handle the situation well at all but neither did the guy in the car. I don't know why the cop stopped him in the first place or why he approached with his weapon drawn and that is probably what put the man on the defensive and more than likely ended his compliance. I've seen several of these videos and it always seems that the civilian tries to blow everything out of proportion and the media does as well. Yes police need a LOT more training than they get and some cops shouldn't be cops. But we ALL need to work on ACTUAL communication in these situations. The cop never answered why he was stopping the man and the man could simply have told the passenger to turn the car off if he didn't want to put his hands down. I think it would have de-escalated the situation. There is a way to communicate your disagreement with the officers actions without putting yourself or the police on the defensive where the only option becomes force. Treat each other with RESPECT.
The cop is the professional. Most people didn't use to have to train themselves how to act with cops, but now they do.
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The US police aren't the Stasi but they sure as heck are looking like paranoid nutters with no regard for any safety but their own. IMHO. It's ludicrous that "it looked suspicious" is somehow "justifiable cause" for the c**p that goes on....
The psychological screening for cold isn't good enough, we need to do better racism has no place in positions of power.
Please post also the part where he actually was in danger for being shot for complying with the cop's request.
Police are also trained how to lawfully antagonise the unknowing public into saying or doing things that they can legally arrest them for. We the public who don't know laws inside and out have no clue as what the Police are doind or saying and what our rights are until they're tild you after you have been arrested. Either they teach the law inside and out to kids at school or we are all in trouble. Keep your cameras rolling and try to read the situation. If this guy had put his hands back in the car to turn the engine off like the Officer asked. Then they would have legally been able to shoot him as they believed he was becoming a threat (driving away or pulling out a gun) Police man wins, guy dead. Guy at fault, Police man ollowed the law as he was taught.
A very small number of cops are good cops. 95% are pigs! I can tell you one more thing most corrupt and bad cops are white. FTP. I am not black but I have a message for you folks ... stop fighting white man's war in the Middle East and Asia where you can even pronounce their names, fight the war against you in America. Screen-Sho...52-png.jpg 
95% of cops are good cops, but the remaining 5% of racist, s****y pigs gives all of them a bad reputation since they're the only ones who make the news.
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Ummm hello? He DID have a gun. Did you all miss the part where he admits to having a gun in the back seat? If you all would stop carrying guns, maybe the cops wouldn't be shooting you
Many Americans have guns, but most of the kids getting shot weren't anywhere near one.
Load More Replies...
Seems like the first thing Cops do in the US is pull their guns out. Very very rarely see that happening in Australia, NZ and the UK etc. Seems like shoot now, ask questions later. A very trigger happy country that is ruining countless lives.
Yeah, it's shocking to find story after story of people getting shot for no reason, or because of a small misunderstanding. Does someone here know how long U.S. police is trained before going out on the streets? As I live in Finland, I know that Finnish police go to school for 2 - 3 years, and their training includes stress handling skills in risky situations, to avoid misinterpreting various objects as guns etc. This effort is put in in a country with much much lower street crime rates than the U.S...
Load More Replies... I agree. There are lots of places I would love to see in the U.S. but this sort of c**p makes me choose other countries for my vacation trips.
Load More Replies... I'm so happy I live in The UK, where I can say hello to Police Officers in Central London holding M4 rifles without the fear confrantation. US Police officers need serious reform - it blows my mind that this is still happening. But of course, not all of the people that record these incidents are completely innocent....
Innocent isn’t the point. People shouldn’t have to fear summary execution because the officer was afraid or confused.
Load More Replies... Situations like this just make you wonder, how many innocent people were murdered before the age of smartphones who were buried as guilty people because it was the cops word against their own.
I've wondered about this, it's terrifying to think about.
Load More Replies... What kind of country is it where you can get arrested for mere loitering? Seriously? There is like everything wrong with this case. Arrest people if they commit crimes!
A country where many towns & counties make their money off two-bit arrests so they can charge fees & court costs. There is racism involved too, but cops know too many white people won't believe minorities, so they focus on minorities. Juries rarely convict the cops of straight-up thug behavior, unless the cop is a minority too, but they will hand over taxpayer dollars to pay for the bad behavior of the cops.
Load More Replies... Wtf did he even do wrong? He’s at a gas station where people loiter all the time and him just pulling up isn’t loitering. He’s just a racist POS cop who wanted to invent a reason to arrest a black man. I’m so tired of seeing sh!t like this. If you’re racist don’t be a cop just don’t. Do us all a favor and set yourself on fire.
I'm gobsmacked, I didn't realise until now (but can see it after this!) that you could potentially be so easily shot for moving, even if its to comply with an order! That was a trap, and that guy was brave and smart enough to find a safe way out thank goodness. I'm so saddened that anyone can be trapped like that because the level of pigment in their skin is "dangerous" ...bullbleep. im glad i know this now, and sad.
Getting arrested for "loitering"? Arrested? Damn, America, you sure are great again.
wtf ? That's why I can´t trust on law.. this guys are supposed to protect people behind everything . It's so ridiculous , I've been on security forces , and before everything , we had to promises to save someone's life , even if we could die .. This world is f****d up ... Is not just in USA , in every single part of the earth is happening something that we , has a Human , could avoid . It's so sad that people let their ego be stronger than themselves ....
Actually I have read that they are under no obligation to protect anyone. Crazy, huh?
Load More Replies... The officer did the right action. Yep. The guys car was blocked, maybe he committed a crime. He back talked the officer. You Don't ask the officer what you did wrong, he will tell you after he checks you out. All you had to do was comply and not act like a thug.
I hope I will never EVER have to set a foot in that country of wackos.
I'm too, am very thankful that nothing bad happened. But what I don't understand is why say"shoot me"? Why would anyone say that to a policeman..?
the fact so many people look up to police and wanna be one. so many little kids out there wanna be a police officer. they are supposed to respect and protect but they out here doing this c**p? and i hate how the blacks are treated by them. they pick anyone who is different from them. be it race, religon, or sexulality. i hate the way people treat musluims. and gays. and women. its time we take a stand. not just about the whole police ordeal but everything wrong in this crappy world. #takeastand2019
Let me tell you guys a story about police in my country, Zambia. Sometimes students from our biggest university, The University of Zambia, hold riots (they get a little crazy) to protest the government not releasing their meal allowances, and sometimes it's peaceful but other times the students go overboard and do crazy stuff. The thing everyone has learnt is that when there is a riot and the police get into the school, the safest place is in the rooms in the new hostels referred to as "New Residential." Last year in October, around 23:00-24:00, one of these riots occured and my aunt and her friends were all in their room sleeping, when suddendly they heard noise and realizing what was happening, hunkered down in their room and went back to sleep believing they were safe, about an hour into the riot, police start firing tear-has cannisters to disperse the rioting students. Now, as a rule, the year gas in only fired at the school boundary close to the road where they like to root, but on that day, the police went into the campus and we're firing the canisters all over, some of which they threw into dorm rooms, knowing they are enclosed spaces and have only 1 medium sized window each, ergo poor ventilation, the girls in the rooms woke up to tear-gas chocking them. It get worse, somehow, when one of those cannisters was thrown, a fire started and rooms started to burn, smoke was spreading everywhere, it was crazy!
Gun crazy in the US. My father was down there once, an old guy rear ended him, when he went back to talk to him the guy pulled a gun on him!
Police must be under the same rules of engagement as our notary. If we are to trust them with guns they must prove they have the self control to not reach for a weapon unless there is no option. They should also be penalized for this
What was it... the Land of the free and the land of the brave? Or was it the American dream? Oh wait, it was the Land of unlimited possibilities.. shot in the face being on of them.. No thanks.
I agree the cop didn't handle the situation well at all but neither did the guy in the car. I don't know why the cop stopped him in the first place or why he approached with his weapon drawn and that is probably what put the man on the defensive and more than likely ended his compliance. I've seen several of these videos and it always seems that the civilian tries to blow everything out of proportion and the media does as well. Yes police need a LOT more training than they get and some cops shouldn't be cops. But we ALL need to work on ACTUAL communication in these situations. The cop never answered why he was stopping the man and the man could simply have told the passenger to turn the car off if he didn't want to put his hands down. I think it would have de-escalated the situation. There is a way to communicate your disagreement with the officers actions without putting yourself or the police on the defensive where the only option becomes force. Treat each other with RESPECT.
The cop is the professional. Most people didn't use to have to train themselves how to act with cops, but now they do.
Load More Replies... The US police aren't the Stasi but they sure as heck are looking like paranoid nutters with no regard for any safety but their own. IMHO. It's ludicrous that "it looked suspicious" is somehow "justifiable cause" for the c**p that goes on....
The psychological screening for cold isn't good enough, we need to do better racism has no place in positions of power.
Please post also the part where he actually was in danger for being shot for complying with the cop's request.
Police are also trained how to lawfully antagonise the unknowing public into saying or doing things that they can legally arrest them for. We the public who don't know laws inside and out have no clue as what the Police are doind or saying and what our rights are until they're tild you after you have been arrested. Either they teach the law inside and out to kids at school or we are all in trouble. Keep your cameras rolling and try to read the situation. If this guy had put his hands back in the car to turn the engine off like the Officer asked. Then they would have legally been able to shoot him as they believed he was becoming a threat (driving away or pulling out a gun) Police man wins, guy dead. Guy at fault, Police man ollowed the law as he was taught.
A very small number of cops are good cops. 95% are pigs! I can tell you one more thing most corrupt and bad cops are white. FTP. I am not black but I have a message for you folks ... stop fighting white man's war in the Middle East and Asia where you can even pronounce their names, fight the war against you in America. Screen-Sho...52-png.jpg
95% of cops are good cops, but the remaining 5% of racist, s****y pigs gives all of them a bad reputation since they're the only ones who make the news.
Load More Replies... Ummm hello? He DID have a gun. Did you all miss the part where he admits to having a gun in the back seat? If you all would stop carrying guns, maybe the cops wouldn't be shooting you
Many Americans have guns, but most of the kids getting shot weren't anywhere near one.
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