Talk:Royse City, Texas

First Amendment Audit, Summer 2019
A Royse City police officer's dashcam footage was obtained by an individual named Justin Pulliam showing the arrest of Winston Knowles (AKA "Otto the Watchdog") sometime during the summer of 2019. Knowles was arrested while standing on the corner of a busy intersection holding a protest sign. An officer apparently responded to one or more calls from an individual or individuals who had seen the sign and complained about the profanity written on them. Two more officers appeared at the scene including the supervisor. Knowles was informed by the first officer at the scene that he was doing something illegal. The second officer on the scene asked Knowles what was written on the second sign lying on the ground next to him. Knowles refused to answer. The second officer knocked the sign out of Knowles' hands and kicked the sign as it fell to the ground. Knowles then told the officers that "I don't consent to any searches."

The officers then informed Knowles that he was being arrested for disorderly conduct. When told to put his hands behind his back (to be handcuffed), Knowles instead fell to the ground and rested on his back. The officers then rolled Knowles over onto his front and handcuffed him. Knowles refused to identify himself. He was then informed that failure to identify was a crime. The host of the video presentation (James Freeman News) emphasized in his commentary that failure to identify in Texas applies to lawful arrest, the implication being that this was in fact an unlawful arrest.

The magistrate (Mark Russo) signed off on the probable cause affidavit. A judicial complaint was filed but the original determination by Russo was upheld.

The day before his court appearance, Knowles was camping with his children near the court house. That night he was arrested for felony child endangerment (camping without running water and electricity) after a call that concerned the use of laser pointers.

This story may be of interest in the main article as it chronicles a potential landmark civil rights case, and an important item in the city's history.

James Freeman News with commentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoyREI_fsXs

Knowles at the Royse City Police Department requesting records https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2TXTOLSdMg RRskaReb talk 00:49, 2 September 2019 (UTC)
 * For anyone using the admin-colorizing script, please note that despipte the similarities of the background on their sig, RRekaReb is not an admin. They refuse to change the color. Beyond My Ken (talk) 22:15, 4 September 2019 (UTC)