Clayton County PD responding to 'viral video' about encounter with man
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - The Clayton County Police Department is speaking up about allegations against one of their police officers in a "viral video" posted by We The People University and Florida Produxtioz.
The YouTube video is titled "Cop Dares A Man To Enter His Home | Then Grabs Him By The Throat. It has been viewed more than 280,000 times and received almost 2,000 comments.
CCPD have posted their own video in response to the viral video.
The video is related to an incident on Dec. 15 involving two women who are in an ongoing dispute. According to CCPD, the "victim" called them after the other woman brought several people to her home and they allegedly caused several thousand dollars worth of damage to a vehicle on the property.
CCPD were able to locate the vehicle believed to have been used during the incident. As an officer was looking at the car, which had been parked behind a house, a man appeared on the scene.
The police officer's body camera video records the man refusing to answer the officer about his possible ownership of the car. After a couple of minutes, the police officer heads to the front yard to inform the other officers about the car parked behind the house.
A woman then comes out of the house and also declines to answer questions. Both she and the man are told several times that by refusing to answer the officers who are there because of an active investigation, they could be charged with obstruction.
Eventually, the man yells that it is not his car and moves toward the front door. At this point, the police officer tells that man that if he takes a step into the house, he will drag the man out and put him in handcuffs.
"Watch this, watch this, watch this. I dare you to take a step inside that house," the police officer, who has not been identified, said.
As the man begins punching numbers into the lock, the police officer explains again that they are there because of an investigation involving the car parked behind the home, and they have an obligation to answer their questions.
The man finally appears to get the door to the home open and the police officer grabs him by the neck as other officers jump in to help subdue the man.
Initially, the man continues to refuse orders to get onto the ground, but the police officers are finally able to put him into handcuffs. The man continues to argue with police officers as he is placed into the car.
The video posted by We The People University only shows a small part of the total interaction between police officers and the man who was arrested. The video doesn't start until the final warning by the police officer before the man attempts to enter the house.
According to We The People University, the couple was not involved in the investigation.
We The People University describe the police department's actions as tyranny.
The video also brings up the past history of the Clayton County Police Department and former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill. In fact, they use a police report about Hill by FOX 5 Atlanta in their video.
The man was released after the incident, according to the Clayton County Police Department. However, they have not said that he is completely cleared of any involvement with the original incident.
We The People University ends their video by saying they are pretty sure that all the violations and laws broken by CCPD are clear in the video.
We The People University claims that it is dedicated to helping people protect their rights during police encounters. The man in their videos, Abiya Israel, is a former police officer and sheriff's deputy who has dedicated his life to educating citizens, according to their website.