http://www.taosnews.com/news/article_627322be-522b-11e3-94cf-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=youtube
Before we get into the video and pick it apart, let me just say one thing: She was driving without a valid license, and had avoided a ticket for that.
As you can tell from the video, Oriana Ferrell was aggressive from the start. She was given two options when she was pulled over. 1) Set a court date in the next 30 days to dispute the ticket (she didn't have to dispute it right then and there, until she kept repeating "I don't want to choose") or 2) Send in the money for the fine. These are both normal options, for normal people. She even had the option to change the court date if needed. Wow. My own city doesn't even do that. Once a court date is set, you show up or have to pay the fine.
When she kept arguing with the police officer, you can tell he doesn't want to deal with it...and in fact, tells her he doesn't have time to argue with her all day. That should be her clue to shut up and just accept the damn thing. I understand we are a "free" society where we can say what we want, when we want...but damn woman. Did she not realize she was arguing this entire time with a police officer? If I were him, I'd of thrown the ticket in her window and left. He had a LOT of restraint.
She was arguing from the get go, and he sure seems to have a lot more patience then I do. When she kept repeating she didn't want to choose, he gave her a third option: He can take her to the courthouse and set it up so that she could fight the ticket right then and there. He also tells her to turn please turn off her vehicle about 3 times, before walking back to his squad car. She also tried to argue turning off her vehicle, which is ridiculous since we all HAVE to turn off our vehicle when pulled over by the police.
Damn, who knows how long she actually fought him, as I only got to see 4:30 of when he is JUST trying to give her the damn ticket. She was probably fighting/arguing with him the entire time he was asking for her information, etc. We only get to see 4:30 of her fighting the ticket and being argumentative. So, who knows how long she actually wasted his time just being a brat.
The arguing itself, show she wasn't "terrified" of the cop or "in fear" and just reacted. She didn't want the damn ticket, and in order to get out of it...or rather "not make a decision", she ran. You can also tell from the video, that he told her in no uncertain terms she was NOT free to go until she made a decision, or came with him to fight the ticket immediately. She KNEW this, as he told her multiple times (too many to count).
As you can see, she doesn't even give him time to get back to his car before she just drives off. I believe the video shows it as 5 seconds elapsing from the time he walked away from the van, to the time she drove off. I bet he was like "WTF, Where'd she go??" The BEST part about her driving away the first time? You can clearly see a car in between the police cruiser chasing her, and she is WAY speeding away. Talk about endangering the public while making your escape!
Thankfully, she does pull over. She could have really hurt herself, her kids, or another person. However, her second pull over goes no better then the first! It actually gets worse, and not for the cop's lack of trying to control the situation. He actually advises dispatch of his intentions to get her out of the vehicle, which is good - because she could try to drive off again! Does this woman not realize that evading the police is a felony???
Yes, he does start out by screaming at her. Can you really blame him at this point? He probably had to deal with her arguing for a good 15 min, and THEN she was deemed a felon the minute she drove away during her traffic stop. He's also trying to get her to get the hell out of the car.
I personally like how she is still trying to argue and fight with him, WHILE he is trying to get her under control and out of the vehicle. Nice respect of authority there. As you can tell, the kids start screaming when SHE starts screaming. The kids didn't freak out until he is yelling at her to get out, and she starts arguing (by yelling) again. I rewound it a few times to make sure it wasn't because he was trying to drag her out. No, it was as soon as she raised her voice. As you can tell at 6:03, she is still inside the vehicle, her kids are screaming, he has NOT physically touched her yet (from what I can see), and he is loudly (with a raised voice) repeatedly telling her to get out of the vehicle.
Common sense at this point would tell you to get out of the vehicle. Not so for Oriana Ferrell. At about 6:10, you can see the passenger side door open up from inside. It is very obvious that one of her little snots opened the door, and was going to get out to "defend" their mother. At 6:17, the other side door opens up via one of the children inside. Once again, this is a warning sign that SOMEONE is going to get out of the car very soon, and it probably won't be the mother.
Her son actually DOES get out of the minivan through the right side sliding door (6:27). This is when the cop pulls his taser, and tells the little punk to get back in the minivan. You can tell just by the kid's attitude that he was going to step in and get involved. He is lucky he didn't get tazed. If I was a cop and saw some random individual get out of the car, where I was trying to subdue the driver, and walk towards me - I'd taze their ass immediately. Talk about dangerous for the cop! Thankfully, the little punk (he's 14?? much taller then the cop!) does get back in the van - WITH a cocky smile on his face. Yes, look closely, the little shit is smiling when he gets back in the van. However, he leaves the door open....
Anyways, she continues to fight him verbally and/or physically (5:45). I personally love how he is trying to get her out of the vehicle, and she is STILL trying to argue with him at 6:43. Bitch, guess what - your words mean nothing at this point! You're WAY in the wrong now. She is completely trying to excuse her behavior. "I didn't think you meant that..." "I didn't know..." It really doesn't matter at this point, she KNEW she was asked to turn off her vehicle, she KNEW she had two choices...and in none of what previously happened, was she EVER told she was free to drive off. What a load of crap.
I also like how she is NOW saying she will sign whatever he wants her to sign NOW. She knows she's in big ass trouble, so she's trying to excuse and pacify the cop. She knows she is probably going to be handcuffed, and is trying to get out of it. Naturally, in her entitled mind, she thinks she has a CHOICE in where she is going now. You can even hear her saying, "I'm not going anywhere". Bitch, I'm fairly certain you are going to jail right now.
At 7:13, the cop finally tries to pull her out of the vehicle. While he is doing that, she is STILL fighting verbally and physically with him! At this point, even her older children are yelling at the cop to get off of her. God forbid he put handcuffs on their mother for evading police!! It's not a felony or breaking the law or anything like that... The cop even has to tell the kids to stop touching things, such as the DOORS they keep opening.
He even gives her the option of getting out of the car on her own (7:35) and to speak with him. He is being completely reasonable with this woman, who is obviously belligerent. Instead, she gets out her cellphone and starts to call someone, instead of just listening to him! She continues to argue with him, while trying to call someone, and he has to tell her to put her phone down! According to what she says in the video, she was trying to be nice this whole time. WHAT?!
He tries to reason with her. "You don't want to do this in front of your kids". Apparently, she does. (7:57) In her irrational mind, she didn't try to go anywhere (we clearly see otherwise) and she didn't try to speed off (we clearly see otherwise). She KNOWS she did those things, he didn't even mention either until SHE admitted it right there! She even tries to argue that she didn't run away! LOL In what world does this woman live in??
8:23 He pre-warns her that she is going to be pulled out of the vehicle if she does NOT get out on her own recognisance. Yes, she even tries to argue WHERE she will stand when she gets out. Yes, she STILL tries to argue about her future treatment once she gets out! LOL Her rights are definitely GONE at this point.
By now, according to the time stamp, he has been full on arguing with her verbally for a good 14 minutes since she was pulled over for a second time. (11:41) She DOES finally get out of the car, but she continues to either try to play the sympathy card (we're just on vacation, and I didn't MEEEAAAANNNN to) or verbally argue with him.
When he tells her to turn around and face her vehicle, to put the cuffs on her, she walks back to her minivan AGAIN. You can tell she is trying to make yet another escape. He does try to physically restrain her from getting into the car (11:58), when her son AND TWO daughters get out of the car to help her.
Her son immediately takes the thug stance. You can tell this because of a few things. He gets out of the car to interrupt a police arrest, he takes off his hat in preparation for a fight, and he obviously assaults the police officer. You can see him throw a few punches and shoves at the unaware cop. One of the sisters gets out from the side of the van, and then gets back in the van (she was in a fighting stance, but I guess she figured her brother had it handled and got back in the car??). The other sister gets out from the side of the van that their mother is on, and physically tries to block the cop from arresting her. Really? Wow. I can't believe that as a mother, she is okay with one of her daughters/children acting as a human shield of her! This screams of bad parenting all around.
I am really surprised that the boy didn't get tazed again. Once again, I would have tazed his ass just for touching me or coming too close to me while I was arresting his mother. You can also see his mother and sisters (the one who physically blocked the cop, and the other one that looked like she wanted to fight as well) telling him to get back in the car (the cop is saying to get on the ground). But, who does he listen to? The police officer or his idiot mother? Well, duh, he follows the idiot mother's instructions and gets back in the car.
That little punk is lucky that the cop didn't catch him before he shut the car door (12:25). The cop does get the door open once, but the kids close the door and lock it a second time on him. That little boy is lucky the door was locked. But, you can definitely see his bitch ass run as fast as he can away from the cop...because he knew he was in the wrong. 1) Assaulting a police officer, 2) evading arrest, 3) interfering with an arrest...and those are just a few off of the top of my head. I'm sure the little punk could be charged with a lot more.
By this time, back up has finally arrived but they only hinder and make the situation worse...then actually help. You can hear them telling the kid to open the door, and the original cop telling back up that he needs to get the kid out. (12:37) When they don't open the door, obviously the next option for the police is to open it via force. The black cop on the other side of the van, gets out of his own vehicle WITH a gun already drawn. This is bad, as it seems like the black cop is raring for a fight without even knowing what is going on.
(12:43) You can see that as soon as the window is broken open (and I mean within 1-2 seconds), the mother hits the gas and gets outta there for a second time. She obviously didn't want herself or her son arrested, and was waiting to either drive off or continue fighting their case. I want to make this VERY clear: SHE DROVE OFF BEFORE THE SHOOTING STARTED.
While I am still with the cops on this entire situation, I do NOT agree with the black cop. You can clearly see that he jumped out his vehicle with his gun loaded and drawn. He didn't know if there were kids in the vehicle, as the last/only thing said over the radio is: "I'm going to remove the driver from the vehicle". There was no mention of the kids in the car. However, to shoot three times at TWO fleeing felons? I can see why he did it. At that point, he only knew that the person was a felon and was fleeing the scene AGAIN. However, he should have done what the white backup cop did...ASK what is going on and what to do. DUH. Also, I do believe he was aiming too low. He looks like he is aiming at the tires.
Obviously, they chase the mother again (14:20). She is now going over 96 mph, as you can see on the dash cam video. You can clearly see her driving in the opposing traffic lane for a bit (16:16). Thankfully, they only pass two big wheeler trucks, three trucks, four suvs, and six cars along the way - some are pulled over because they see the cop lights/hear the siren (I lost count at 15:20...that's as far as I got with my counting). I personally love the doozy move at 16:37. She does a complete diagonal
cut off of traffic, while continuing to evade police. If we weren't
being dangerous before, we definitely are now! She has no care for the
general public OR her kids, at all!
She actually leads them on a high speed chase for over 5 minutes. On the dash cam, the chase starts at 1:51:44 (12:39) and finally ends at 1:56:22 (17:17). I would also like to mention that if she was truly trying to "get to
somewhere with more public, and safe"...she had plenty of places she
passed that she could have stopped at. She just thought she could get
away, and when she realized that she couldn't...well then she stopped.
If they didn't have their guns drawn before, they definitely do now. Her son and her finally do get out of the car (she opens the window first, by mistake? Or maybe she was going to try to argue her way out of this too). Ironically, the son is the first to have the handcuffs put on, and she is the first one to be dragged away in handcuffs. Sadly, all of the other kids in the vehicle are also made to get out of the car and onto the ground.
A final note, at 17:57 the back left tire seems to be a bit low. Not enough to be out of air, but enough to be low.
She is eventually arrested for:
- Five counts of abuse of a child
- Aggravated fleeing an officer
- Resisting an officer
- Reckless driving
- Possession of drug
paraphernalia
Her son is eventually arrested for:
- Battery of an officer
Here is her letter to the Taso News Center:
After witnessing uniformed police officers fire shots at a van carrying my five children, I have learned that the value of their lives only matters so much as criminal charges against me are concerned. A uniformed officer can shoot three bullets at my van and be considered to be “doing his job”, but my doing what I can to get my own children away from such a terrifying individual has been termed “child abuse” and “endangerment,” according to New Mexico law.
An officer can use a baton to smash a glass window directly into the faces of my four young sons who were riding in the backseat, but somehow my attempts to protect them from further harm are dismissed because the perpetrator wore an official “state uniform,” and has been hired to “protect and serve.” The media has been given authority to defame my character and to erroneously report partial facts pertaining to my case because an officer of the law was said to be “doing his job.” Injustice at its best.
For the past 16 years of my life, I have devoted my everyday to parenting and to educating my wonderful children. Anyone who knows me will tell you this. I graduated my daughter from high school at the age of 15 as her home educator. I have educated all five of my children for the duration of their educational journey. I have shaped my entire life around their well-being.
Serving and protecting them is something that I do naturally — without pay. Being a “peace officer” is who and what I have been out of my obligation and responsibility as a parent. Law enforcement — I do that too within our unit every day.
As a single, African-American mother of five in this country, things are tough enough I should not have to endure harassment at the hands of someone who has been hired to protect the citizens of this land over an alleged “speeding offense.” No one should.
As a tourist who came to Taos, New Mexico, with the intention of supporting the wonderful sights and offerings of this city, I should not sit in jail right now for continuing to do the best by my children as their mother.
There are hundreds of people across the world who can attest to the great commitment I have to the health, well-being, and safety of my children. I am considered a mothering mentor to many, and a model parent to most.
This realization did not come at the hands of my incarceration, this is the reality of my life. So much so, that even in the Taos Adult Detention Center, the women view me as an encouraging mother/sister figure who loves on and cares about even those who society unfairly casts aside. I write none of these things to pat myself on the back, rather to paint a true and accurate picture of who I really am — not what a system that knows nothing about me portrays me to be.
Ask the superintendent of Memphis City Schools who I am. Or you can inquire about my person from the many Memphis City Police chaplains that I have worked alongside in various capacities. You can always speak with the families of the homeschool groups that I have run, as well as the many community service agencies I have worked and implemented programs with. Any number of these individuals will tell you that I am a most loving, caring and peaceful person who helps others daily, and that my own children are at the top of that list.
I hope that someone reads this editorial and comes to know more about the real me, and not the one misportrayed and demonized by the Taos media. I hope that someone takes the time to think about how this ordeal is affecting myself, and most importantly my children. They do not deserve this and neither do I.
I hope that the city of Taos chooses to be fair in judgment of this situation, and that a light be shed on the true injustices of this horrifying nightmare.
Finally, I speak a word of peace to the officers and other officials involved. It is my prayer that your families never be made to endure that which mine has, as a result of this terrible situation. May you never be put in a position to protect your children from your “own kind.”
—Oriana Farrell
Her letter....is just appalling. You can tell she is trying to place
the race card, single mother card, and the cops are TERRIFYING card.
She tries to lay it on thick. She is truly patting herself on the back, and trying to tell the world
that she is a model parent, role model, and really just wanted a
vacation with her kids! Her letter stinks of: well, if they don't buy
into the many cards I have laid out...then use one of these reasons to
stop hating on me!
Look at me! I homeschooled my kids, I'm a model parent for others out there that love me, hundreds of people watch my videos, I volunteer for our Memphis City Police Chaplains (eh??), I pretend to help SO many other families with home schooling, I just wanted a vacation with my children, the superintendent knows who I am, and I even volunteer for churches! Love me!
Let me just say this: She makes parenting videos and submits them online. She is not a role model for ANY parent, as clearly seen by her actions on the previous video.
"As well as her music, Farrell’s site promotes the “holistic education”
of the True Skool Akademy and its “K-12 Homeschool/Unschool Curriculum,”
with Montessori-style learning and African-centered teaching."
Racist much? Not only does she home school, but she ONLY home schools black children/families. I find it highly ironic that your final words in this letter include "own kind", and you throw the race card out in your letter...yet you ONLY teach black children. Imagine that. Reverse racism at it's finest. It's also VERY ironic that you offer parenting and life coaching, because we ALL know that you're the best role model for that. LOL
As per her home schooling her children, I am neither for nor against home schooling. Obviously, her children have been raised with the wrong type of role model. It is very clear that your children have missed out on a lot, or have been taught the completely wrong things at home. Also, your daughter graduated HERSELF, you didn't graduate her. Stop trying to take credit for something that YOU didn't do. You may have been your daughter's teacher, but SHE did the work and SHE graduated on her OWN. I am appalled that you have been running home schooling groups with other families and spreading your ignorance around. Who knows how many other kids you have fucked up in the process!
As per your not getting paid for raising them and teaching them? WAH for you. It's called being a parent. You don't deserve a medal or recognition for being a mother. It's your JOB. If you shaped your entire life around their well-being, then you should
have taught them to have respect for authority or at least respect for
the police. They have neither. As per being a self-described peace officer in your own home? Welcome to being a parent, once again!!!
I am positive there are people out there that think you are an amazing parent, however, as shown by their actions and yours...it is quite obvious that you are not. Some people may believe your fake "family" that you have created for the outside world, but today they got a glimpse at how your entire family REALLY acts. Just because outsiders see the good side (or your videos show a perfect happy family), that doesn't mean you REALLY are one. Nor does that attest to anything about your character, especially after this.
I also don't think that you should even be mentioning that people at the Taos Adult Detention Center find you as a good role model and parent. You do realize that there are women there who have raped, killed, beaten, and done even worse then you right? I'm also sure that you have tried to manipulate everyone you have met, or argued with them, until they were on your side. Just because a bunch of criminals think you are a good mother/role model, doesn't make you one.
She also has her facts incorrect as to "getting away from such a terrifying individual". She drove off not once, but twice. She resisted arrest, and her son assaulted a police officer. She drove her car away from the police the first time, without reason (aside from not wanting to get a ticket, OR maybe it was the drug paraphernalia they found in her car?).
If she was truly trying to "protect them from harm", then she would have just accepted her ticket OR her arrest gracefully. Instead, she lead police on two high speed chases and her children attempted (or did) assault a police officer. She also was trying to help her son evade capture, as well. She is the reason they were in harm's way.
I should also correct some people on their assumption that the glass breaking could actually cause massive injuries to the children inside. Actually, majority of car windows are built so that they break into stone-like crumbles instead of shattering like a normal glass window. If you look at the video, this is exactly what happened. You can see that the glass didn't actually shatter, it broke into little tiny pieces (almost like gravel). If her son hadn't of assaulted a police officer, and she didn't try to evade arrest/ticket...none of this would have happened.
The sad part about this letter? She is so entitled and skewed in her logic, that she is entirely blaming the police department of Taos for the outcome of the situation. She has deemed the police out of control, terrifying, and using their badges for "injustice". Are you kidding me?!
To add salt to the wound, she even blessed the police's families with her final passive aggressive statement. You may think you are being subtle in your insults to the police and their families, but you weren't. Your last paragraph was insulting and you know it. (Protect people from your own kind? In what world do you live in, that you really and truly believe you are a police officer? Or did you mean to protect their children from the same race as them? Are you trying to be racist here?)
No, bitch, it's ALL your fault. You are the reason your children were put in danger. You are the reason your children chose to behave like this. You are not some model citizen. You were a pain in the ass from the get go, and now you have been arrested for the MANY illegal things you and your son have done. YOU are to blame. YOU are not above the law. YOU cannot do the many things you did. YOU are not a saint or angel, regardless of how you wanted to make it appear with this letter. I just want you to know, that if you were a truly good person (even though you said you didn't want to pat yourself on the back, that's exactly what this letter is about), you would NOT need to write a letter like this NOR would you and your son have been arrested.
My final thoughts on this? She was completely to blame for the ENTIRE ordeal. She escalated the situation time and time again. While I don't agree with the shooting and agree with the black cop being fired, I believe the police acted completely appropriately in this situation. However, if there were no kids in the van - I'd say shoot at the felon who has been evading arrest twice. She is a menace and danger to society, no matter how much of an angel she wants to paint herself. So, I agree with the cops 100% in this case. I think she is a bad parent, bad role model, and needs a serious reality check. Her letter only furthers my opinion of her being a narcissistic, manipulative, race/single mother/etc card pulling bitch. She is so far into her own little "me me me" world, that she doesn't even see that she did anything wrong. Lock her up, take away her kids, and throw away the key.
PS. The NAACP has gotten involved, and is looking for a safe place for her and her children to live. Four of her children currently reside in Santa Fe, NM and are under the care of Rebecca Cohen who runs a home school classroom. Ferrell has also admitted in one of her online videos that she needs EBT for food, loves the bible, and uses the facebook name "Crowncelor Oriana Lee Iam". Ferrell is currently live in Santa Fe, NM but no known location has been found - and she doesn't want to speak to reporters, police or anyone else. She will be tried in April for her many charges. The NAACP has also taken up as her legal counsel.
Her facebook: https://www.facebook.com/orianalee
Her blog: http://orianalee.blogspot.com/
Her
School/Music: http://orianalee.wix.com/orianalee (it also has links at
the very bottom to all of her accounts on youtube, linkedin, etc)
Most of her pages actually disgust me. They are either filled with racist undertones (and in your face racism), bashing our society, bashing marriage, or they are filled with shit about Christ/Jesus (I get that you love your religion, but holy shit...dial it down a bit, it's okay to be married and not have Christ as your soulmate.). Even her home schooling information is VERY racist, and her comments on her own home schooling meetings are very racist too.
Fave posts from her blog?
"I have not publically carried a slave name since 1994, though I am legally registered by my married name (Farrell). I am not a slave, so why would I use the erroneous name given to my ancestors by a slave master...this is my own personal perspective. Until I learn more definitively about my heritage, I will refrain from adopting any other surname, and will actually be legally changing my name to just "Oriana Lee" in the coming months."
"I was most disappointed about the lack of American-African representation all together - from vendors to lecturers to curriculum."
"I was terribly disturbed at the lack of cultural & ethnic diversity." (In this same post she says they had array of alternative-Christian lifestyle options (i.e. vegetarianism, Amish, holistic health, etc.) represented, but nothing specific to the minority....but it wasn't ALL about African Americans...so they should have MORE!)
Yup, she's not racist at all.... Her entire blog is filled with racist comments, quotes, videos, and pictures. Even if traditional public schools have entire history classes centered around African Americans, slavery, etc...this woman would NEVER be happy. Personally, I believe that slavery ended over 100 years ago...and I'm dead tired of hearing about it. I'm also tired of Black History month. Compared to the US Census from just last year, WHITES are actually turning into the minority. I'm damn tired of hearing about how unfairly blacks are treated, when she is getting SO much help from the NAACP right now (white people don't have anything like this!) when she is very CLEARLY racist.
"Just as I would encourage you not to lie, steal or commit adultery, I'm encouraging you to pray about how valuing this commandment along with the others might further bless your life."
Yeah, because we didn't lie or break any other laws/commandments, right? She also talks a LOT about morals and following in Jesus' footsteps/the bible's teachings. But didn't the bible say to follow the laws of the land?
On that same post, she also states the US is a capitalistic society and how everything is structured around capital and how much we earn. Apparently, she forgot she was on EBT, because she actually doesn't provide anything for our society, and leeches off of the general public's capital...all while evading the police. I think unless you are actually earning a wage, paying taxes, and supporting yourself...you really should have ZERO say in how our society works...especially if you aren't paying like the rest of us to live in this society.
She also praises herself for having 5 different baby daddies, and how being a single mother is a FANTASTIC achievement for her. She also lectures/writes a lot about how being a single mother is something to STRIVE for, and a lot about the divorce rates (like she would be the person to go to about that, right? I'd rather talk to a married couple that had been married 50+ years, then a single mother with 5 kids all with different dads...but I guess that's just me.). While I will agree that being a single mother is difficult and I have a lot of respect for single mothers - it is not something that should necessarily be celebrated, nor rewarded, more then being a dual parent. It is not something to strive for. It is not something that should be rewarded anymore then being a parent in a two-parent household should be. Having 5 baby daddies and being a single parent on EBT, does NOT qualify her to discuss marriage. I think her logic is skewed in this instance, simply because while there are some fantastic single parents out there - she is NOT one of them, nor should she EVER be talking to, about or for other single parents. (She also feels that Christ is the only one that can fill her "love tank", aka not a spouse. Instead of a spouse providing words of affirmation, receiving gifts, acts of service, quality time, and physical touch...she feels that Christ is the only one that can provide those things to "fill her love tank".)
As you will notice, if you continue to read her blog or skim through it, she never says "I"...it is always "eye". It may just be a pet peeve of mine, but her changing the word really irritates me and makes me feel like she is an uneducated, ignorant person. It isn't cute, and it doesn't make people think you are a better "poet" or "artist". It just makes us feel like you are an idiot.
Ironically one of the books she suggests for her unschooling/home schooling is: "Come and Listen, If You Dare! Etiquette for Teens". Seems to have worked out REAL well with all three of your children that tried to help you evade the law.
Update:
She recently asked the judge to drop the charges against her. It was denied.
These were her three reasons for wanting the charges dismissed:
1) The district attorney failed to give Ferrell a notice of intent to bring the case before a grand jury
2) The District Attorney's Office failed to read general intent instructions to the grand jury
3) The District Attorney's Office dismissed a juror even though only district court has the power to do so.
Thankfully, the charges weren't dropped. This woman needs to learn she cannot behave the way she did. Yes, her attorney was certainly inventive about WHY to dismiss the charges...but it was a bunch of hot air. All she can really do at this point is delay the inevitable.
Update 2015:
Her trial has now been postponed TWICE now. We are STILL awaiting her outcome of the case. She has plead not guilty and seems to want to drag this out.
http://krqe.com/2015/04/07/trial-postponed-for-oriana-farrell/
Update 2017:
Under the plea deal, Farrell will now do just six months of probation, 40 hours of community service and a special “restorative justice” program.
http://krqe.com/2015/07/13/mom-in-chase-where-police-fired-at-van-of-kids-to-face-judge/
She is also suing for her "lost income", when she never worked in the first place and bragged about being on EBT in her YouTube videos.
http://krqe.com/2016/02/08/oriana-farrell-files-federal-civil-rights-lawsuit-against-state-police/
" She seeks punitive damages for herself and her children, for excessive force, civil rights violations, assault, failure to train, malicious abuse of process, and negligent hiring and supervision.
Named as defendants are the three officers and the state police."
http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/10/30/police-sued-for-shooting-at-van-full-of-children.htm
Hopefully, she loses and the court takes her children away from her. She got off with a slap on the wrist, when she endangered too many lives. I want the white police officer in the video to sue her, for slander and defamation...along with the assault.
