An online video captured by
resident Mike Arman reportedly shows Wilson refusing to allow him to record the
incident and threatening to 'lock (his) a-- up.' Wilson arrested Arman on Oct.
28, 2013 for failure to comply but the charge was later dropped.
BY JOEL LANDAU
The Ferguson, Missouri officer
who killed an unarmed 18-year-old is featured in an online video taken by a man
who said Darren Wilson unlawfully arrested him and violated his rights.
The 15-second video shows an
officer alleged to be Wilson in uniform in the middle of a conversation with
resident Mike Arman, who made the brief recording.
Resident Mike The video begins
with Arman asking the officer his name, and Wilson replies, "If you wanna
take a picture of me one more time, I'm going to lock your a-- up."
Arman replies he is not taking
a picture but recording the incident, then Wilson walks several feet toward
him.
Arman asks Wilson if he has the
right to record the incident and Wilson replies "no" and says
"come on" as the video comes to a shaky end.
The video shows only a small
glimpse of the encounter but Arman writes in the description of the video
posted Friday that Wilson violated his First Amendment rights, arrested him
unlawfully and lied on the police report.
Wilson is the officer at the
center of the fatal Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Wilson has
said he was threatened by Brown and said the teenager tried to grab his gun.
But witnesses said Brown had surrendered before Wilson shot him.
A grand jury is currently
mulling whether to indict Wilson and the decision is expected soon.
The incident has sparked months
of protests in the St. Louis suburb as well as national attention and debate on
police brutality and racial profiling.
If you wanna take a picture of
me one more time, I'm going to lock your a-- up.
A police report of the Arman
incident written by Wilson states he went to the home on Oct. 28, 2013 because
Arman had multiple derelict vehicles on his property, which violated a local
ordinance.
Arman told The Guardian he
believes Wilson lied on the report and should have been allowed to record the
incident. He said he began filming moments after the officer approached his
home.
The Ferguson Police Department
declined to comment on the video and a spokesman told the newspaper he did not
believe it was Wilson though the officer's name appears on the police report.
The officer wrote he told Arman
he would issue him a summons when the resident became upset and claimed the
city was harassing him.
The officer then stated Arman
took out his cell phone and Wilson said only a voice recording of the
conversation would be acceptable — but Arman told The Guardian he was only told
that after he was already arrested.
He also wrote he told Arman he
would not give him his name and that he could read it off of his nameplate. He
also said he told Arman to remove the camera from his face.
Wilson then charged Arman with
failure to comply and transported him to county jail. He wrote in the report
that Arman laid on the floor for about 10 minutes and said he was having
trouble breathing and was unable to feel his arms and legs before being booked.
Wilson wrote Arman later calmed down and acted normally.
Arman told The Guardian the
charge was dropped after he told his lawyer he had video footage of the
incident. Wilson also charged him with violating local pit bull regulations but
those charges were also dropped when Arman showed his canine was actually a
bulldog, the newspaper reported.
The 30-year-old told the
newspaper he was working on his porch and was being cordial, but wanted to
record the conversation to safeguard himself.
