Cop Hates Two Gallants
It's not a party until a 14-year-old gets Tasered and a 90-year-old stand-up bass gets crushed. On Friday night at Walter's in Houston, a police officer responding to a noise complaint allegedly went Altamont on Two Gallants' ass without provocation. Houston Chronicle reports:
Exactly how — and why — it all started depends on whom you ask.Officer G.M. Rodriguez approached management about the noise complaint, filed by a neighbor, and the volume was turned down — but that as the officer was leaving, the volume went back up, said HPD's Sgt. Nate McDuell.
He said Rodriguez then went on stage and approached guitar player Adam Stephens, one of two members in the laid-back country rock band, the Two Gallants.
McDuell said Stephens, whose guitar was hanging from a neck strap, then used a sexual obscenity and shoved the officer with his shoulder.
McDuell said the officer then tried to arrest Stephens for assault and forced him to the stage floor of the stage.
Stephens, a 25-year-old from San Francisco, said that is "absolutely" not what happened.
Stephens said he was sideways and singing on the stage just before he turned around and saw the officer, who then shined a flashlight at him and said, "Stop."More than one audience member captured some of the melee on video. This MySpacer has a personal account of the night, with pics (including the ones above) and video. His friend Greg was arrested:Stephens, who denied shoving the officer, said he responded, "Why?"
He said the officer moved closer to him and yelled, "Stop!"
Stephens said he again asked why and that the officer then grabbed him by the neck and forced him to the floor.
Accounts vary, but apparently several people then charged the stage, there was a lot of pushing and shoving, and the officer called for backup.
HPD's McDuell said several people were grabbing the officer from behind when he felt someone grab his pistol.
At some point during the incident, the officer removed a cartridge from his Taser, so that it would discharged "dry stuns," which are used for "close contact combat," McDuell said. He said the officer used the Taser three times.
Meanwhile, about six patrol cars arrived at the scene.
Rodriguez suffered bruises and cuts on his arms, at least four people were arrested, a valuable bass was broken. A tall, slender 14-year-old with shoulder-length hair was Tasered, and a University of Houston sociology student doing a "field paper on the music scene" also was Tasered.
Stephens, who left the scene and was not arrested, said he was Tasered twice in the stomach and that the officer was "out of control."
"He was extremely violent form the start," Stephens said. "It was frightening."
McDuell said the officer's approach was commendable and that it was fortunate that he used a Taser instead of a weapon.
"An officer gets attacked by dozens of people in a club who have been drinking," McDuell said. "If anything, the officer was abused."
"the previous video ends with the cop knocking the camera out of greg's hands. this video begins after greg has picked the camera up and turned it back on. the cop is now pushing greg all around the club. you hear the cop telling greg to sit down. what you do not see is that the cop has his tazer out and is charging at greg with it. greg can not stop (to sit down) or he will most likely be tazered in the chest. eventually the cop pushed him into langhorne slim's equipment where he lands on the stand up base [sic]..."
Bummer. As for Two Gallants, the band posted on its blog last night, "The show will go on."
thank you everyone for your support with the austin incident. the band is ok...That's supposed to say the "Houston incident." Please excuse the rocker's faux-pas, as it was probably the most frightening Friday the 13th of his life.
UPDATE: The band made another MyStatement Sunday evening.
adam and tyson want to apologize for the show in Houston at Walter's on Washington being cut short on Friday Oct 13. some of the mainstream sources have been inaccurate so we want to thank all of you who have emailed offering your support and eyewitness accounts of what really happened. you can read some of these and see some images (and/or send in what you saw) on the forum, or this myspace page, and this one too. the band will speak more about this in the next few days as they have been advised not to comment much at this point.While you're at Two Gallants' MySpace, download "Las Cruces Jail" and "Nothing To You." We could've sworn these tunes were not available as free MP3s earlier this morning. But, when life gives you Tasers...
Posted at 1:56 PM in Concert, Video
Tags: Two Gallants
wow. i go to walter's all of the time and have never heard of a noise complaint or any kind of trouble there. the houston police are on some kind of power trip all of the time, but i can understand why the cop might be threatened. still, that's no excuse for his attacking the band and the crowd. im guessing two gallants will not be coming back any time soon.
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Wouldn't be the first time HPD's overreacted on a call, and sadly won't be the last.
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Having played many a Houston club and seen shows at dozens more, I can say that Houston cops are some of the most professional out there, and the last thing any of them wants is to raise Cain in some random club -- especially when wildly outnumbered.
Wasn't there, so I can't speak to this incident. But between the cop and the drunken crowd, I tend to believe the 5-0.
You ever cross an "out of control" cop, you're gonna end up with a damn sight more than a couple of taser burns and embarassing photos.
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more coverage:
http://houstonsoreal.blogspot.com/2006/10/even-rock-and-rollers-get-tazer.html
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The cop appears in the video to be overwhelmed and well... stupid for attempting such a stunt without proper backup, he's lucky it didn't escalate further and get anyone killed because it could've turned really bad in a split second.
He made a very poor judgment call and I hope the police department addresses that properly.
Getting a noise complaint to escalate to a near riot is just idiotic.
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That's nothing; Portland PD beat you to death for peeing on the sidewalk.
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what the hell did he approach the stage for anyways? the dispute would not be with the band but instead with the venue. he had no buisness going up there and should have known it would be nothing but problems.
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The cop was looking for confrontation. The singer asked "why?", a perfectly reasonable question. And the cop's response? Violence. I know it won't happen, but they should be compensated by the city for that bass.
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yeah, too bad most of the crowd was under 21 and most of the people that were closest to the stage were underage. the most anybody ever did to the cop was call him names.
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I was there, so I can speak to this incident. The crowd was not unruly, nor drunken; they did react to an unprovoked act of violence in the middle of a song, but quickly realized that the officer was not acting in a rational manner. If you watch the videos, you can see people trying to reason with him, and eventually just trying to get out of his way.
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this is so unbelievably fucked up.
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My favorite quote "McDuell said the officer's approach was commendable and that it was fortunate that he used a Taser instead of a weapon."
Very commendable indeed.
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is it proper to call two gallants "laid-back country rock?"
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if there's one thing i have learned about dealing with cops, it's that they hate to be asked "why?"
they tell you to do something, you do it. you don't ask why. it is a direct confrontation to their authority as a police officer.
it's pretty simple. cop says "stop", you stop.
challenging a cop is the worst possible thing you can do when you are in a situation like this.
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it's people that don't challenge police officers' authority that contribute to their inflated egos (and subsequently to situations like this).
always demand a reason for what they order you to do, because you deserve it.
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What if they ask you to put your gun down?
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damn right above poster.
the cops are here to serve US. if we don't ask why, we are giving up our rights and contributing to an abuse of power.
the point of a democracy is that is ruled by the people, not random figures of authority. if nobody ever asked why, cops would still be beating the shit out of black people just for being black (not that they don't still), and assholes like this dude would get away with this shit.
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they weren't the only band that had law enforcement problems for no reason this weekend. check out this video of a local band getting screwed over:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viHU3igaUfI&eurl=
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they weren't the only band that had law enforcement problems for no reason this weekend. check out this video of a local band getting screwed over:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viHU3igaUfI&eurl=
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Cops acting like fascist douchebags? Who'da thunk.
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to start, those cops need to lose their jobs. some with access to dead tree or tv media needs to get the true story out.
i applaud all acts of citizen journalism like this (for lack of a better term) which i hope will continue to grow and grow... the person who shot this video deserves a medal. the "authorities" as they love to call themselves need to know that WE are watching THEM and that they are accountable for the way they act. it seems those who are given power need to constantly be reminded who pays their salaries and who they answer to.
always ask why.
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Wow, I really do feel bad for Set It Straight and all the other bands and fans involved in the Two Gallants incident, just because of some out-of-line asshole cop(s). I'm sure after this incident, no band is going to play in fucking Texas.
This Officer Rodriguez guy has to be one of the biggest douchebags of 2006 along with Ryan Ross, the guys in Hinder, and that guy in Kasabian.
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that guy in kasabian is a much bigger douchebag.
look, in the heat of the moment to ask a cop "why" is asking for trouble. a cops' job is to stop something, not decide if it's right or wrong. that's what the courts are for.
when you confront a cop and reveal the shakey grounds for their interference, all i am saying is...expect a beatdown. not that it's morally right but in the heat of confrontation in a bar, the simplest thing to have done would have been put down the bass, wait for the cop to leave and then start playing 10 minutes later. all this mess would have been avoided.
sometimes, you have to appease a bully to stop them from beating your ass. you know, like yo la tengo.
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Shoot pigs in the face.
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Shoot pigs in the face.
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Don't cops usually just go talk to the manager and/or issue a citation? Is it normal for a cop to get up on stage and bodyslam a bandmember in order to deal with a noise complaint? Is that proper procedure?
BTW - what kind of idiot moves next door to a nightclub and THEN starts making noise complaints? I'll tell you who - the people who build lofts and want to drive their property value up by getting the clubs around them closed.
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cops, criminals, fast-food workers, gang members, the u.s. military...they're the bottom of the barrel and they all swim in the same pond. can we really expect them to act civilized?
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According to a different report, the Two Gallants guy allegedly responded to the cop's order to "Stop" not with "Why?", but with "Fuck no, suck my dick, get off the stage!" . . . and was subsequently body-slammed.
Doesn't that make more sense?
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Breaking News: The Decemberists support Two Gallants all the fucking way
Here's their MySpace bulletin post from earlier today:
-----
Hi,
If you live in Houston and want live music to still come to your town, get involved in this tragedy. So many of you have been writing to us and asking us to come to Houston. Seeing this really makes me never want to come back again...The information to file a complaint is listed at the bottom of the page. Please call in.
http://blog.myspace.com/dsharber
or
http://myspace.com/hpd_has_problems
Two Gallants are friends of ours, we toured with them in Europe. I have to say they are the nicest guys in the world. They are quiet vegans and weigh in at about 100 pounds each for god sakes. There is no way they would have done something to deserve or instigate this this kind of treatment. If you live in Houston (or beyond) you should be outraged.
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What's especially interesting is that, even if the lead singer did say "Fuck no, suck my dick", how'd the officer come to the conclusion that body-slamming would be the best solution to restraining a scrawny, 100-lb hipster dude?
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Breaking News: The Decemberists support Two Gallants all the fucking way
Here's their MySpace bulletin post from earlier today:
-----
Hi,
If you live in Houston and want live music to still come to your town, get involved in this tragedy. So many of you have been writing to us and asking us to come to Houston. Seeing this really makes me never want to come back again...The information to file a complaint is listed at the bottom of the page. Please call in.
http://blog.myspace.com/dsharber
or
http://myspace.com/hpd_has_problems
Two Gallants are friends of ours, we toured with them in Europe. I have to say they are the nicest guys in the world. They are quiet vegans and weigh in at about 100 pounds each for god sakes. There is no way they would have done something to deserve or instigate this this kind of treatment. If you live in Houston (or beyond) you should be outraged.
-----
What's especially interesting is that, even if the lead singer did say "Fuck no, suck my dick", how'd the officer come to the conclusion that body-slamming would be the best solution to restraining a scrawny, 100-lb hipster dude?
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Breaking News: The Decemberists support Two Gallants all the fucking way
Here's their MySpace bulletin post from earlier today:
-----
Hi,
If you live in Houston and want live music to still come to your town, get involved in this tragedy. So many of you have been writing to us and asking us to come to Houston. Seeing this really makes me never want to come back again...The information to file a complaint is listed at the bottom of the page. Please call in.
http://blog.myspace.com/dsharber
or
http://myspace.com/hpd_has_problems
Two Gallants are friends of ours, we toured with them in Europe. I have to say they are the nicest guys in the world. They are quiet vegans and weigh in at about 100 pounds each for god sakes. There is no way they would have done something to deserve or instigate this this kind of treatment. If you live in Houston (or beyond) you should be outraged.
-----
What's especially interesting is that, even if the lead singer did say "Fuck no, suck my dick", how'd the officer come to the conclusion that body-slamming would be the best solution to restraining a scrawny, 100-lb hipster dude?
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I was there and witnessed the moments leading up to the attack. I couldn't hear what words were exchanged, so the cop could have been verbally provoked, but he certainly wasn't physically provoked.
The cop was completely irresponsible and out of line for several reasons. The band and the crowd could have handled things better, but what he did cannot be excused.
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"According to a different report, the Two Gallants guy allegedly responded to the cop's order to "Stop" not with "Why?", but with "Fuck no, suck my dick, get off the stage!" . . . and was subsequently body-slammed."
...and you do know that someone made that "Fuck no, suck my dick..." shit up just to fuck over Two Gallants.
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i would be much more satisfied asking a cop 'why?' and getting bodyslammed than grudgingly going along with him and letting him think he can do whatever he wants. after all, jail is the only place for a just man in an unjust society.
and because the singer of two gallants didn't blindly obey the officer, this is now a sort of public incident where so many more people are aware of the injustice that took place.
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A cop decides to get on stage in the middle of a show and stop the whole thing by himself? What kind of cowboy bullshit police work do they teach them down there in Texas? He was pissed about not being obeyed the first time and instead of addressing it a second time to the management as he should have, he flexed some muscle. And you know why? Because he can, because he will not be punished for it, because those suffering the wrong end of his taser are not important enough to cause him a problem and he knows it. In a weird way, THAT is why you do always have to question "why?"
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He addressed management the first time. That said, it is the band that is committing the noise complaint so, since the volume was turned up as he was leaving, he was COMPLETELY in the right to go straight to the band and break up the show the second time.
The first time he was being nice, and they could have continued the show at a reduced volume. They didn't want to listen to him so show's over folks. That is the way it should have been handled, that is not cowboy BS.
So, the band didn't want to listen to him. He has a complaint, the noise must be turned down, if the guitarist didn't want to stop then guess what, the cop is again completely within his rights to physically stop the music. Again, he was completely in the right here. He can issue several verbal warnings but if they aren't heeded then guess what... it is faceplant time.
After that the crowd rushes the stage and tries to physically restrain the cop and is touching around him? He doesn't know if anyone is trying to grab his gun or what... but he was being physically touched and handled by people trying to grab at him and stop him. The CROWD escalated the situation, and you then have a FAR more serious issue than the noise complaint was.
The fact that he only used his taser shows immense restraint. He could have been very within his rights had he switched to lethal force. The crowd is lucky that they didn't get shot.
How about, instead of accusing the cops of acting like they are on a power trip, because the cop was handling the situation well... why not just realize that the crowd acted like a bunch of criminals and they are lucky to still be alive after assaulting an officer?
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Fuck the cops, fuck the two gallants, and fuck the south.
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I didn't know cops read Stereogum. You must have missed the videos of Cowboy Cop shoving through crowds clicking his taser toy. That is not standard operating tactics, that is a big ol' bully. If he really was worried for his safety or the security of his firearm he sure as hell shouldn't have been shoving his way into crowds of people. How the hell is that assuming a defensive position until backup arrives. Being a cop IS NOT a license to be a bully, no matter how many times they tell you otherwise. They already have guns and tasers and armor and shit, you'd think their fragile egos would be okay by this point. Guess not in Houston.
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To Anon: Still no reason to corner a fourteen year old kid and taser him. If a po is going to call for back up, then he should keep himself from starting any shit in a crowded venue - THAT'S restraint.
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The band is not responsible for the volume of sound the sound technician is. The cop should've approached the board, not the band. The band is not the one who supposedly turned down their amps and then turned them back up as the cop left. That would be the sound man.
Adam had every right in the world to question the cop. The audience should not have rushed the stage, I could see the cop being freaked out at that point but when finally pulled his taser out the situation was almost under control. Mase (the 2G's tour manager) was the one in the middle between them and the cop and he was doing a better job of controlling the situation than the officer. Mase got tased 5 fucking times for nothing more than trying to figure out what was going on and trying to get the officer to lay off the 14 year old kid. If he trully feared for his safety he should've made his way out of the building not into the crowd, chasing people down and tasing anything that moved. He didn't tase people once he did it repeatedly... mase 5 times, adam 2 or 3 times, the 14 year old unreported number of times, the camera man several times. Once is enough to get someones attention and get the idea across. This entire incident is bullshit and could've been avoided had the officer spoke with the proper people ie venue managment or the sound tech.
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Hey anon, post your home address so I can come to your door one morning and stab you in the eye with a soldering iron, you fucking pig dick-sucking ass baby. People like you with your knee-jerk indignance over the quesioning of authority and your sociopathically rationalized explanation for the pigs' assault on over half a dozen people(including aggravated assault on a child!!!!) proves far beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are one of the far-right fascist ignorant redneck retards that are ruining this country and the world for those that actually have souls. Your time posting comments would be much better spent killing yourself, you pig-fucking bastard ass child of a cum catching nazi whore!!!!
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Having seen the Two Gallants locally on dozens of occassions, I can say, without a doubt, that they are some of the kindest and most sincere guys I've ever seen perform - both in their on stage presence and when you walk up to them and talk with them after the show. The venue they frequent here locally is almost smack dab in the middle of a downtown neighborhood - and I'm sure that if anyone told them to quiet down so that they could keep performing - they would.
The suggestion that Stephens said something about telling the officer to suck his dick, although not completely out-of-character, per se, is still quite far-fetched from what I've seen out of either of them. They always seem very laid back and very quiet - almost socially awkward.
But that, coupled with their music, is why they're so wonderful :)
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As an outsider looking in, I'd say it's indisputable that the cop was an idiot. He went up to the stage - by himself - trying to force the band to stop. It's irrelevant if they said anything to provoke him prior to that. Actually, if they had said anything, a smart cop would've been smart enough to realize he now had a situation on his hand and should've at least called one cop to back him up.
Instead, he goes to the stage and yells at the band to stop. Disregarding what I already said, a smart cop would've simply gone to cut the power on the venue or pull the wires from the speakers. Instead, cowboy Rodriguez winds up taking the singer to the ground - while he is playing a show - and tazering him. For gods sake, if this was Tony Bennett or Jay Z this would be a complete outrage. Instead, the Houston Dickforce comes out and says the kids got what they deserved.
Ideally, this cop would've had his tazer stolen and had it discharged on his nutsack. Big man, with a big gun, and a big tazer, turning his aggression on kids at an indie rock show. Despicable. Fuck Houston if they don't get justice against this pig.
Dave
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As an outsider looking in, I'd say it's indisputable that the cop was an idiot. He went up to the stage - by himself - trying to force the band to stop. It's irrelevant if they said anything to provoke him prior to that. Actually, if they had said anything, a smart cop would've been smart enough to realize he now had a situation on his hand and should've at least called one cop to back him up.
Instead, he goes to the stage and yells at the band to stop. Disregarding what I already said, a smart cop would've simply gone to cut the power on the venue or pull the wires from the speakers. Instead, cowboy Rodriguez winds up taking the singer to the ground - while he is playing a show - and tazering him. For gods sake, if this was Tony Bennett or Jay Z this would be a complete outrage. Instead, the Houston Dickforce comes out and says the kids got what they deserved.
Ideally, this cop would've had his tazer stolen and had it discharged on his nutsack. Big man, with a big gun, and a big tazer, turning his aggression on kids at an indie rock show. Despicable. Fuck Houston if they don't get justice against this pig.
Dave
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First, it is great to here so many sides to this tale. Long live the internet and freedom of expression! I see this is old news so maybe I can have the last word.
I believe we are all victims of circumstance and our conditioning, I am not saying this is an excuse to do whatever we want, disregarding the consequences. I just say whats happen has happened...and had to happen. Hating and blaming and demanding vengeance does not help the situation, or the future. Trying to see the others point of view is much more helpful.... none of us is perfect!! and this is an example of that, as all groups involved had opportunities to deescalate the violence. Congratulations to those who did.
Police may have one of the most difficult jobs, and our society needs them remember. Building an attitude of hate and fear towards them is just throwing fuel on the fire and you become part of the problem. Coming from a country where the citizens and the police are not allowed to carry hand guns I see this a problem and a barrier against trust and respect. I know there are no quick 'n' easy answers to theses problems but remember that as an individual what you do and say does make a difference.
We all want the same things in life but most of us are confused about the best way to get it, and often cause more suffering for ourselves and others. If we can remember this there will always be a spark of compassion within us... 'Baaby! Let your light shine on me.... ROCK ON!!!!!!!
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