A video has been circulating social media this week over a traffic stop on August 5, 2023. Sequatchie Valley Now has obtained the actual body cam video of the entire traffic stop.
Jasper Police held a press conference on Thursday to address the situation stemming from a video.
The press conference was held at Jasper’s city hall office and lasted for over an hour and a half, as Jasper officials detailed the reason for the traffic stop and gave more insight into the methods used by the officers pertaining to the passenger in the vehicle who officers say was uncooperative.
After Jasper Police stopped a vehicle for running a stop sign near Parkridge West Hospital on Hwy 28, the officers approached the car. When they looked inside the car, they saw a weapon that they say looked like a semi-automatic rifle. The occupants were asked to get out of the car. The driver did, but the passenger, a male passenger, refused and did not identify himself.
Officers are heard on the body cam asking numerous times for the man to get out of the vehicle. The officers used pepper spray, a Taser, and a palm strike. The palm strike is taught at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy as a way to control a person that is resisting, but the man continued to resist. After a period of time, officers were able to physically remove the man from the vehicle. He was placed on the ground and cuffed.
Warning… Some of the videos may contain strong language at times or show scenes that could make some feel uncomfortable.
Officer 1 – Video 1 of 1
Officer 2 – Video 1 of 3
Officer 2 – Video 2 of 3
Officer 2 – Video 3 of 3
The man, later identified as 52 year-old Samuel Isaac Hrynecwicz of Dunlap, was treated on the scene by ambulance personnel and refused transport.
He was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail and is charged with Two counts of Assault on a Police Officer, Resisting, Stop, Halt, Frisk, and giving a False Report (giving another person’s name instead of his own). The female driver was issued a written citation for the stop sign violation.
According to the police report, Hrynecwicz apologized to the officer during the transport to the jail and said he understood where he was coming from.
It was later discovered the rifle was actually an air-soft gun made to look like a semi-automatic rifle.
The Town of Jasper has asked for a review by the district attorney’s office, which is underway.
