‘I’m glad you see it now’: Gee responds after Jonathan Choe admits Vegas arrest changed his view on policing

After Jonathan Choe, an independent journalist in Seattle, was arrested in Las Vegas for jaywalking, he spoke out against the strict policing in Clark County and how one of the arresting officers “was on a power trip” in an interview on “The Jason Rantz Show” on Seattle Red 770 AM.

Choe said after he was arrested during a “No Kings” protest, he was strip-searched, and spent more than 12 hours in jail beside a DUI suspect, an accused wife beater, and a homeless drug addict.

Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin, co-hosts of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, commended Choe for speaking up and being critical of law enforcement, despite Choe’s strong support for police.

“Something that was interesting to me was when he said, ‘I’m still pro police, but for the first time in my life, I now know what over policing and a power trip looks like.’ That stood out to me,” Gee said. “Jonathan, I’m glad you see it now. There’s a lot of things that happen that people only read or hear about, and they still don’t get it. When you are as old as Jonathan Choe is, and by the way, I’m glad you’ve never had to experience this, and it is unfortunate that you did get to feel that.”

“Unfortunately for some, it takes having it happen to themselves before they would ever believe it, and it’s unfortunate that that’s the case. Sometimes you just have to listen,” Ursula responded.

Jonathan Choe arrested, strip-searched, jailed 12 hours at Las Vegas protest

Choe was arrested for stepping onto the road while covering the “No Kings” protest, and claimed he was warned multiple times by law enforcement to stay on the sidewalk. Choe noted the chaos in the area made it nearly impossible to hear said warnings. After Choe was arrested, he was strip-searched and spent more than 12 hours in jail.

Gee noted how strict the police can be in Las Vegas, stating he was not surprised he was arrested for something as minimal as jaywalking, though he did hope this incident served as a lesson to be learned.

“In Las Vegas, this is what people don’t understand. They are very, very strict. They will get you and nab you. I’m not shocked that he got arrested for jaywalking,” Gee said. “Three things I was shocked about: One, what he said about over policing and power trips, shocker. Two, being strip-searched, and three, being in there for 12 hours. I’m not laughing that he got arrested.

“I hope this serves as a lesson, because sometimes people get arrested who don’t have the means, and sometimes they might get into the system and stay in the system. Whereas someone else has the means to be in a better situation,” he continued. “So here is someone who says, ‘Oh, man, for the first time in my life, I now know after experiencing it.’ Again, I’m taking this time to give Jonathan Choe a shoutout for actually coming out here and admitting these things.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.