Man behind video faces criminal charges

DeKALB – The man behind the widely viewed video of a police officer losing his temper at a police safety checkpoint last weekend is 27-year-old DeKalb resident Ryan S. Taylor.

Taylor, of the 800 block of West Hillcrest Drive, declined to be interviewed by the Daily Chronicle, but court records show he has had a few run-ins with DeKalb police in the past 2 years.

Taylor was charged with driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol content of 0.165 percent Nov. 28, 2012, after a DeKalb police officer noticed him turning into an oncoming lane of traffic, court records show.

Prosecutors recently tried to revoke his court supervision in that case, and he since has been charged with unlawful use of a credit card and domestic battery.

Taylor posted a video of his encounter with two Illinois State Troopers as he drove through a police checkpoint set up Saturday night into Sunday morning in DeKalb.

He posted the video on a Facebook account with the profile name of Ryan Scott and the URL identifier of facebook.com/ryanstaylor87. The video also was posted on a YouTube account of Ryan Taylor.

In the credit-card case, Taylor is accused of making a payment to his Paypal account with a woman’s credit card without her permission in June 2013, court records show.

In the domestic battery case, Taylor is accused of punching his roommate twice in the face on June 27, court records show. Both cases are next due in court Oct. 22.

“I think people are thinking I am just some punk kid with a malicious agenda,” Taylor said. “In the case of my video ... it was a peaceful protest. It was a demonstration of how to exercise your constitutional rights. I was not there to instigate anyone or make anyone angry or anything.”

The checkpoint video, which had more than 540,000 YouTube views by Wednesday afternoon, shows Taylor asking an Illinois State trooper if he is being detained. The trooper states he is legally able to stop Taylor, and Taylor says he believes the stop is unconstitutional. Taylor says he is not obligated to provide his driver’s license and registration to the officer.

Then, a second officer opens Taylor’s door and yells, “You are obligated. Get out now. Get out now. Driving is a privilege, not a right. I’m telling you to get out right now.”

Taylor says he is not resisting, and hands over his license and registration as the officer continues to talk to him with the door open. Taylor eventually says he would like to exercise his Fifth Amendment right. The officer asks if Taylor knows what that means, then shuts Taylor’s door.

Illinois State Police say more than 270 cars were stopped during the checkpoint, which was operated in cooperation with Northern Illinois University and DeKalb police. There were 16 citiations issued, two written warnings and no DUI arrests, police said.

Police could not confirm the identity of the person in the video, saying there was no reason to document the license a trooper reviewed during the encounter. State police officials have said they would continue to review the incident, although they said in a statement Monday that, based on the information available at the time, it did not appear that the officer violated any policy.