A video posted online showing two Austin, Texas, police officers pulling a man off his bicycle, tasering him and handcuffing him for allegedly running a red light, is causing an uproar on social media, forcing College Park and Texas A&M police to issue a statement.
In the video, the man is tasered in less than one minute after the officer, who appears violently angry, pulled him off the bike, and about 12 seconds after he is told, “you’re going to get tasered.”
The officers claimed the bicyclist was resisting. From the video, however, the man does not appear to be resisting arrest once police forcibly removed him from his bicycle.
“In a statement released to the public shortly after the arrest, College Station police said the 34-year-old man was arrested and charged with evading detention, resisting arrest, and resisting transport,” local CBS affiliate KBTX reported.
None of those charges are crimes until the police are involved. In the video the man denies running a red light. The initial crime was allegedly running the light a simple traffic citation. One which in many states is delegated to cameras. From the police statement, which they posted to Twitter, it does not appear he was cited for that violation.
Watch the video and some of the reactions below (the clip does not appear to capture the initial run through the red light or the initial police stop.)
Police in Texas go on a power trip and tase someone for jaywalking on a bike pic.twitter.com/ueVBG0aDRd
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) May 7, 2021
Police in Texas go on a power trip and tase someone for jaywalking on a bike pic.twitter.com/ueVBG0aDRd
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) May 7, 2021
He was thrown down, tased and handcuffed because "Police said at 1:04 p.m. the bicyclist was seen running through a red light at University and Nagle Street." Not drugs, not weapons, not theft, B&E, not assault. Riding a bike through a red light. SMH
— Im_Mature 🇨🇦🏴🏴 (@grammapipes1) May 7, 2021
They took him down like he had just murdered 3 people. These cops have way too much power.
— Laura Resists and is Vaxxed (@name_is_lala) May 7, 2021
This is why people hate the cops. Right here. SMH.
— Morgan Attwood (@morganattwood) May 7, 2021
I love how they keep yelling “Stop resisting!” To make it SEEM like he’s fighting them.
— Mare / Equal Rights For All 💪🏼💪🏾 (@KittyKittay) May 7, 2021
OMG. Elbow blows to the head, knee blows to the calf, and tased for a traffic violation. I assume the bicyclist is supposed to be grateful he didn't get shot dead.
— 🐾⚾️͏k͏o͏r͏b͏e͏l͏r͏e͏n͏o͏k͏i͏a⚾️🐾 (@KorbelRenoKia) May 7, 2021
As someone who cycles a lot, I would not have thought a cop car with sirens was coming after me. I’d assume they were using resources to go to an actual crime scene.
— PDX’er (@davidjohnsonpdx) May 7, 2021
It’s obvious and I know intelligent folk know this, but police academies need to stop teaching ‘us against them’, ‘you life is on the line’ and the other confrontational bullshit. All lives are on the line everyday in today’s America. Teach to perform the job correctly.
— GunnyJ (@GunnyJ) May 7, 2021
At this point, it's like they're out there hunting for victims.
— JKDAnthony10 (@JKDAnthony10) May 7, 2021
