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Luke Weiland was driving his sons and their friend to baseball practice when he was pulled over by a police officer who inexplicably held Weiland and the three children at gunpoint, shouting bizarre orders at them before eventually letting them go with minor citations. Weiland has now sued the police arguing that the officers used excessive force and unreasonably detained him.

The ordeal started on January 29, 2023, when Weilandan attorney in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsinwas driving his two sons, ages 14 and 12, and their 12-year-old friend to baseball practice in a nearby town. According to the suit, around 9:20 am, Weiland noticed a police cruiser behind him with his emergency lights on. Believing the cruiser to be trying to pass him, Weiland pulled along the shoulder of the road to allow the officer to pass. However, after a few minutes, Weiland realized the officer was trying to pull him over, so he turned onto the shoulder of a side road.

However, instead of a typical stop, Officer Rodney Krakow opened the door of his cruiser and began yelling for Weiland to put his keys on the roof of the car and for everyone inside the car to keep their hands on the ceiling of the vehicle.

“Officer Krakow was acting erratically, yelling, and shouting demands that made no sense,” the complaint reads. “His behavior was concerning to everyone in the Weiland truck to the point that they thought something might be wrong with the officer to be behaving in this manner.”

Soon after, a second officer, Douglas Van Berkel, arrived and both began pointing their guns at Weiland’s car. Krakow demanded that Weiland get out of his vehicle and kneel on the ground. At this point, it was only five degrees outside. As Weiland complied, holding his driver’s license and registration, Krakow grabbed the paperwork and threw it on the ground without looking at it.

Krakow handcuffed Weiland, while Van Berkel kept his gun pointed at Weiland. At this point, Krakow asked who the car’s passengers were, and Weiland told him they were his two sons and their friend. Eventually, after a third officer arrived, the officers picked up Weiland’s discarded ID and realized that Weiland was an attorney who was family friends with the local sheriff. According to the complaint, one of the officers even remarked that “he knew Weiland and his family and that they (the officers) would be alright.”

Eventually, Weiland asked what was going on, and Krakow told him that the incident was being treated as a “high risk vehicle stop” because Weiland didn’t immediately pull over.

“This whole ordeal right here with pulling your guns out on me is fucking ridiculous,” body camera footage shows Weiland telling Krakow.

Eventually, Weiland was released and given citations for speeding and resisting/fleeing a scene, though those citations were eventually dropped.

Weiland’s suit, which was filed last week, claims that the officers violated Weiland’s “rights to be free from unreasonable seizures when they detained the Plaintiffs at the scene for substantially longer than was necessary to accomplish the original purposes of the traffic stop” and that the officers used “excessive force by pointing their guns at” Weiland and the children.

Unfortunately, this is far from the first time police officers have held innocent peopleincluding kidsat gunpoint during a routine traffic stop.

In 2020, police in Aurora, Colorado, forced an innocent familyincluding a 6-year-old girlto lie facedown on the pavement at gunpoint after allegedly mistaking their car for a stolen motorcycle. In 2022, two elderly Texas residents filed a lawsuit alleging that a police officer violently arrested them and held them at gunpoint during a traffic stop. And just last year, Texas police apologized over a strikingly similar “high-risk traffic stop” that led police to hold an Arkansas family at gunpoint.

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Utes’ Whittingham reenergized after ’24 free fall

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Utes' Whittingham reenergized after '24 free fall

FRISCO, Texas — A dynamic new quarterback, a new offensive system and two projected first-round picks up front have Utah coach Kyle Whittingham feeling enthusiastic about the Utes’ chances of bouncing back from a disastrous debut season in the Big 12.

Utah was voted No. 1 in the Big 12 preseason poll last year after joining from the Pac-12, but a brutal run of injuries and inconsistency resulted in a seven-game conference losing streak and a 5-7 finish — the program’s first losing season since 2013.

After weeks of contemplation about his future and what was best for the program, Whittingham, the third-longest-tenured head coach in FBS, decided in December to return for his 21st season with the Utes.

“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note,” Whittingham told ESPN at Big 12 media days Wednesday. “It was too frustrating, too disappointing. As much as college football has changed with all the other factors that might pull you away, that was the overriding reason: That’s not us, that’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”

“The bottom line and the final analysis was I couldn’t step away on that note. It was too frustrating, too disappointing. … That’s not us. That’s not who we are. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not want to miss the opportunity to try to get that taste out.”

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham on going 5-7 in 2024

Whittingham and Utes defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley conducted a national search for a new offensive coordinator and quickly zeroed in on New Mexico‘s Jason Beck. Then they managed to land Devon Dampier, Beck’s first-team All-Mountain West quarterback, via the transfer portal.

After finishing 11th nationally in total offense with 3,934 yards and 31 total touchdowns and putting up the fourth-most rushing yards (1,166) among all FBS starters, Dampier followed his coach to Salt Lake City and immediately asserted himself as a difference-maker for a program that had to start four different QBs in 2024.

“He’s a terrific athlete,” Whittingham said. “He’s a guy that, if spring is any indication, he’s an exciting player, and we can’t wait to watch him this season. … He’s got that ‘it’ factor. He’s a leader. Needless to say, very excited to see what he does for us.”

They’ve surrounded Dampier with 21 more newcomers via the transfer portal and will protect him with two returning starters at tackle in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, who are projected first-round NFL draft picks by ESPN’s Matt Miller.

“We feel they’re the best tandem in the country,” Whittingham said. “The offensive line in general, I feel, it’s the best since I’ve been there. And that’s quite a statement. We’ve had some really good offensive lines. We’ve got two first-rounders and three seniors inside that have played a lot of good football for us. That better be a strength of ours, and that’s what we’re counting on.”

Whittingham has previously said he did not want to coach past the age of 65. Now that he’s 65, he acknowledges that he might’ve arrived at a different decision about his future had the Utes ended up winning the Big 12 in 2024. He is reenergized about getting them back into contention, but he’s not ready to say whether this season might be his last.

“The best answer I can give you is, right now, I’m excited and passionate about going to work every single day,” Whittingham said. “As soon as that changes, I’ll know it’s time. I’m just counting on knowing when the time is right. I can’t tell you exactly what the circumstances will be other than losing the fire in the belly.”

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MLB to utilize ABS challenge system during ASG

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MLB to utilize ABS challenge system during ASG

The automated ball-strike system is coming to the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.

MLB officials added the feature to the annual exhibition game knowing it could be a precursor to becoming a permanent part of the major leagues as soon as next year.

The same process used this past spring training will be used for the Midsummer Classic: Each team will be given two challenges with the ability to retain them if successful. Only a pitcher, catcher or hitter can ask for a challenge and it has to happen almost immediately after the pitch. The player will tap his hat or helmet indicating to the umpire he wants to challenge while any help from the dugout or other players on the field is not allowed.

MLB officials say 72% of fans who were polled during spring training said the impact of ABS on their experience at the game was a “positive” one. Sixty-nine percent said they’d like it part of the game moving forward. Just 10% expressed negativity toward it.

MLB’s competition committee will meet later this summer to determine if ABS will be instituted next season after the league tested the robotic system throughout the minor leagues and spring training in recent years. Like almost any rule change, there were mixed reviews from players about using ABS but nearly all parties agree on one point: They prefer a challenge system as opposed to the technology calling every pitch.

As was the case in spring training, once a review is initiated, an animated replay of the pitch will be shown on the scoreboard and the home plate umpire will either uphold the call or overturn it. ABS uses Hawk-Eye system technology which tracks the pitch trajectory and location in relation to the strike zone, providing an instant assessment which can be relayed to the home plate umpire.

The All-Star Game will be played at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday.

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Royals sign former Cy Young winner Keuchel

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Royals sign former Cy Young winner Keuchel

The Kansas City Royals have signed former Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel to a minor league contract, the team announced Wednesday.

The 37-year-old left-hander will start at Triple-A Omaha and will earn a prorated $2 million salary if he reaches the big leagues, sources tell ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Keuchel has not pitched in the majors for nearly a full calendar year. He elected to become a free agent on July 18, 2024, after being designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers.

In four starts with the Brewers last season, Keuchel had a 5.40 ERA in 16 2/3 innings without a decision. In 13 major league seasons, the 2015 American League Cy Young winner with the Houston Astros is 103-92 with a 4.04 ERA in 282 appearances (267 starts).

After pitching his first seven seasons with the Astros, Keuchel has made appearances for six different teams since 2019. He won a World Series with Houston in 2017 and is a two-time All-Star selection and five-time Gold Glove winner.

Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.

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