STOCKTON, Calif. — The Stockton Police Department is reviewing a traffic incident caught on video where an off-duty officer detained a man at gunpoint on State Highway 99.
The video shows off-duty Officer Kevin Hachler standing over 26-year-old James Weaver with his gun drawn, while Weaver asks "You tried to run me off the road and pull a gun out on me, and you're a cop?"
It happened on May 25. According to police, Hachler was driving his personal pickup southbound on Highway 99 near Cherokee Road in Stockton when he said he spotted an SUV towing a U-Haul trailer driving wildly.
Hachler said Weaver at one point swerved across several lanes of traffic. After getting onto westbound Highway 4, Hachler said Weaver “intentionally swerved at him,” at which point he said he called California Highway Patrol dispatch.
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As he was speaking with dispatch, Hachler said Weaver exited toward downtown Stockton and pulled to the side of the road. Hatcher said he followed and pulled over behind Weaver where he said three people got out. Weaver, according to Hachler, started walking toward his truck with his hand in his pocket. It was at this point that Hachler said he told the people he was a police officer, pulled his gun, and held the driver at the scene until on-duty officers arrived.
Weaver was arrested on complaints of assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving.
Weaver told a completely different version of the events to Stockton news website 209 times.
In a Facebook post with 209 Times, Weaver said he was heading to Stockton to buy a Dodge Charger to restore. According to 209 Times, Weaver said he was near Roseville when he saw a pickup driving behind him, but felt he was far enough ahead to change lanes. Weaver said he turned on his blinker and started to change lanes, but when he did, Hachler sped up and started “flipping them off.”
Weaver said he tried to brush it off and continued toward his destination but said Hachler continued to follow him. Weaver said he heard a noise coming from the trailer, so he pulled over to check it out and Hachler pulled in behind them but did not get out or say anything. They continued driving but as they were getting into Stockton, Weaver said his friend said the truck was still following them. Weaver said he pulled off the highway in Stockton and stopped when the altercation with Hachler happened.
According to 209 Times, all charges from this incident were dropped on May 31, after Weaver bailed out of jail.
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