Woodridge, IL Police Pull Over Wrong Driver and Threaten to Shoot Innocent Married Father in the Head

In an epic fail, Woodridge, IL police pulled over the wrong driver and threatened to shoot him in the head, after reading only part of his license plate or none.

What Happened

Married father Derrick House had gone to Costco to get some items for his family. After completing his shopping, House was violently pulled over and put in handcuffs by Woodridge, IL police, and it has taken a year for this bodycam footage to be released.

“Come up with anything, I’m going to shoot you in the head…”

In the video, sirens wail in the background, as two officers point their weapons at a SUV. The driver pulls over, and before he is fully able to comply, the officers begin yelling at him. As the man attempts to comply, one of the officers continues to scream orders. This has to be disorienting to House, the driver, because he is complying in the video, but these officers are so amped up, it seems they will shoot him without even perceiving that he is complying. One officer says, “Come up with anything, I’m going to shoot you in the head,” too casually amongst all of his other yelling. This officer’s threat doesn’t come off as just serious but as something likely to happen that he is wanting to happen.

Eventually, Derrick House exits his vehicle with his hands up and is immediately placed in handcuffs without explanation. House is confused and wants to know why he’s being pulled over. The officers don’t seem interested in informing him of what’s going on.

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Shortly thereafter, the cops finally go check the license plate, something that’s usually done before having the driver exit the video. It’s usually confirmed before pulling over a car that’s being pursued. These cops checked only after screaming and yelling at this married father and threatening to take his life. This is not a “miscarriage” of justice; this is an example of justice in certain parts of Illinois. It is a place where police officers, from small “suburbs” like Harvey to Dolton to the big city of Chicago, use excessive force as a course of regular behavior in their work.

The cops didn’t just get the plate wrong. They were supposed to be in pursuit of a black vehicle of a different make that had two occupants. The vehicle they pulled over was a different color and had one occupant. So, they got the plate wrong, color and make or model of the vehicle wrong and the number of occupants in the vehicle wrong. Again, before pulling House over and threatening to shoot him in the head, the police had an opportunity to look at the plate and the color of the vehicle. The question is why they didn’t.

He’s suing for false arrest, excessive force and false imprisonment.

Because of their incompetence, House and his lawyer have filed a lawsuit against the five officers involved in House’s arrest and the police department. He’s suing for false arrest, excessive force and false imprisonment. These are all reasonable accusations, taking into account the dangerous actions of these sworn officers of the law caught on bodycam.

That noted, Derrick House is right to file a lawsuit for what the Woodridge cops did to him. There has to be action as well regarding the training of these officers. We always say they need more training, and they do, but there also needs to be a shift in the culture of excessive force so often displayed by some cops.

See the full video of this incident below.

The Takeaway

Woodridge police officers pulled over the married father Derrick House, and they threatened to “shoot [him] in the head.” They then put him in handcuffs and later decided to check the license plate. This is where the cops realized their incompetence, but the damage had already been done. Incidents like these are not uncommon, and they speak to the greater need in police policy and training overhaul. Cops who behave the way they did in this video are more of a danger to society than the innocent people they engage.

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block, who also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new articles and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human. Subscribe and share. Email TheReedersBlock@ReedersBlock.com with any questions.