‘I Stood My Ground’: Black Navy Veteran Pulled Out of Car, Arrested After Recording a Cop In Public, But They Didn’t Expect the Fight That Came Next
Napoleon Jones spent a few seconds recording a traffic stop from more than 30 feet away earlier this year in Wisconsin before the cop pulled him over in a parking lot for “suspicious” behavior — even though recording police in public is protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Waukesha County sheriff’s deputy Brandon Shayhorn also pulled him over for not having a front license plate, which is the law in Wisconsin, but Jones was driving a new car with a temporary license plate on the back window, which is also legal.
Knowing he was being retaliated against for exercising his constitutional rights, Jones refused to provide his identification and asked Shayhorn to speak with his supervisor.
But Shayhorn refused to call his supervisor and, with the help of a second deputy, Brett Kromrey, pulled Jones out of the vehicle and arrested him on charges of resisting and obstructing.
Jones ended up spending five hours in jail before he was released with no charges against him after a supervisor noted it was an unlawful arrest.
On Dec. 1, Jones filed a lawsuit against the two deputies, accusing them of violating his First, Fourth, and 14th Amendment rights by retaliating against him for recording, then forcing him out of the car and arresting him. The deputies are also accused of assaulting and battering Jones.
“Plaintiff is a Navy veteran who suffers from diagnosed PTSD. He has had to seek psychiatric support and intervention because his PTSD was triggered by the encounter with Deputies Shayhorn and Kromrey,” the lawsuit states.
Watch the video below:
‘This is Retaliatory’
The incident took place on May 4 after Jones began recording Shayhorn from a private parking lot where he had parked his car and stepped outside.
Jones said he began recording because the deputy was driving a patrol car indicating he was from the town of Lisbon but the car he was pulling over was in the village of Sussex, which neighbors Lisbon.
However, both Lisbon and Sussex are patrolled by the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office, since they do not have their own law enforcement agency.
The video shows the deputy looking at Jones before stepping back into his patrol car, which is described in the lawsuit as a “nasty look, a/k/a ‘mean mugging.’”
Jones stepped back into his car and began driving out of the parking lot when Shayhorn turned on his emergency lights to pull him over before Jones exited the lot.
“Now he wants to pull me over,” Jones said into his camera as he was recording. “This is retaliatory.”
Shayhorn told him he was pulling him over for having an obstructed license plate.
“Can you get your supervisor out here?” Jones asked. “And what’s your name and badge number?”
“Deputy Shayhorn, badge number 9404,” the deputy responded.
“I need an ID from you,” Shayhorn continued.
“I’ll wait until your supervisor gets out here,” Jones responded.
The deputy then opened his car door.
“Why are you opening my vehicle?” Jones asked.
“Cause you’re not giving me ID,” the deputy said.
“Did you request your supervisor yet?” Jones asked.
“I don’t have to,” the deputy responded.
Shayhorn then said he would pull him out of the car if Jones did not provide him with an identification.
“I’ll give you the ID but can you request your supervisor first?” Jones asked.
“I’ll give you a card, you can call him after,” Shayhorn said.
“Can you back up?” Jones asked. “There’s no reason for you to be opening my vehicle, there’s no reason for you to be grabbing my door.”
By then, Deputy Kromrey arrived, which was when Shayhorn opened Jones’ door and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the car.
“I want to know what you’re pulling me out for,” Jones said.
“I said, ‘give me your ID,’ and you’re refusing,” Shayhorn said.
“So get out of the car, place your hands behind your back ….”
The video then cuts out as Jones is being arrested.
“They pretty much were shoving me on the car and doing whatever they could to restrain my arms to force them behind my back,” Jones told WTMJ-TV.
‘Not … a Lawful Traffic Stop’
Nathaniel Cade Jr., the Milwaukee attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Jones, obtained internal memos from the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office, including one prepared by Shayhorn, who tried to justify the arrest by saying Jones was acting “suspicious.”
But Lt. Kent Krause, who is the supervisor for both deputies, spoke to Lt. Kyle Haferman about the case and learned the traffic stop and arrest should never have happened.
According to the memo included in the lawsuit:
“Lt. Haferman began to review Shayhorn’s report and then asked me questions regarding it. Lt. Haferman advised that the traffic stop took place in a parking lot for a vehicle registration violation. Lt. Haferman and I called Shayhorn to inquire about the details regarding the stop and arrest. Shayhorn advised he was on a different traffic stop when he observed a male filming him from a parking lot.
Shayhorn advised the parking lot was to a strip mall of businesses but was open to the public. Shayhorn observed the vehicle had no front plate and a temporary plate that was illegible. Shayhorn stated he got behind the suspect vehicle, which then stopped prior to exiting from the parking lot, at which point he activated his emergency lights.
Shayhorn was asked if the suspect interfered with his previous traffic stop which he stated the suspect did not. Shayhorn stated that he thought he could enforce the traffic laws in a parking lot since it was public. I advised him that the parking lot was not public property, that it was privately owned but open for public use as its for business and not gated or secured.
With that, Shayhorn was reminded that according to Wisconsin statute, that there are only a few traffic laws that can be enforced in a situation like that: Operating While Impaired, Reckless Driving, parking on a fire hose/fire lane violation, and handicap parking violations.
Shayhorn confirmed that none of those violations were observed. Shayhorn was advised that he did not have a lawful traffic stop thus the suspect could not be compelled to produce his identification and it was not a consensual encounter since he activated his emergency lights.”
The lawsuit goes on to say that a public records request determined that Waukesha sheriff deputies were tracking Jones weeks after the initial stop using a license plate reader.
In addition to the above, materials provided by the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office pursuant to an open records request included a photograph of Plaintiff’s vehicle dated May 30, 2025 using a Flock Automatic License Plate Reader, clearly indicating Plaintiff was being tracked in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right of recording a traffic stop.
“I was extremely frustrated,” Jones told WTMJ-TV. “I stood my ground because I wasn’t in the wrong, and I’m not shocked that it happened, but I’m disappointed that it did.”