THE
STOP
HUFFINGTON
10.21.12
says he can’t hear him over the noise
from the highway. Huff complies. Before
talking to Huff, Reichert asks Seaton for
ID as well, which Seaton isn’t obligated
to produce, but does.
Reichert then tells Huff he pulled him
over for weaving across lanes. Huff says
in his video that this is a fabrication.
But he didn’t challenge Reichert’s claim
at the time because, “I was from out of
state, and I didn’t want any trouble.”
After running a check on Huff’s license, Reichert tells Huff he’ll let him off
with a warning, and the two men shake
hands. Legally, Huff is now free to go.
But just as Huff is set to get back into
his car, Reichert says, “Let me ask you
a question real quick.” Huff agrees. It’s
here that Reichert adds, seemingly as an
afterthought, that Seaton—the passenger—appeared nervous and apprehensive. He then asks Huff a series of what
law enforcement officers call rolling no
questions about whether Huff is transporting any drugs, weapons or cash. Huff
says “no” to each.
In his interview with Huffington, Huff
asks, “If he thought Jon was nervous,
and that might indicate drug activity,
why did he wait so long to bring it up?
And why did he wait until he had basically told me I could go?”
“It’s a common tactic,” says John
Rekowski, the public defender for MadisonCounty, where the stop took place.
“[Officer Reichert] thinks he’s doing
Video footage of the stop taken from
Reichert’s dashboard camera.