Police: Video on social media misrepresents facts of arrest

Texarkana, Texas
Texarkana, Texas

A video of Texarkana, Texas, Police officers arresting George Cummings Jr., 28, of Prescott, Ark., was posted on social media Sunday amid allegations of the officers using excessive force. Police claim the video only showed part of the incident.

Cummings was arrested at a local apartment complex Sunday on charges of criminal trespassing and resisting arrest, said Shawn Vaughn, spokesman for TTPD.

Vaughn said the video that was posted Sunday is only a partial video and the incident has been reviewed by the department's supervisory staff.

"As with all incidents where officers use force to make an arrest, this incident was reviewed by the department's supervisory staff. They determined that the officers involved used only the reasonable amount of necessary force to effect the arrest and Cummings suffered no injuries as a result of this arrest," Vaughn said in a TTPD news release.

Officers were dispatched Sunday to the report of a disturbance at Town North Apartments where a man was allegedly assaulting a woman in the parking lot. When they arrived, an apartment complex employee pointed out Cummings as the man who was fighting and told officers that he was recently banned from the property. The employee said that he wanted to file charges for criminal trespass.

When the three officers attempted to place Cummings into custody, he immediately began to pull away from them and a struggle ensued, Vaughn said. They went to the ground where Cummings continued to resist. Despite repeated commands to place his hands behind his back and the use of pepper spray, Cummings continued to lock his arms under his body, Vaughn said. Officers also used several strikes with their hands and forearms to Cummings' back and side. Additional officers responded to assist taking Cummings into custody and keep the increasingly aggressive crowd from interfering with their efforts. Officers were eventually able to handcuff him but were forced to carry him to the patrol unit after he refused to walk on his own, Vaughn said.

Officers transported Cummings to an ambulance that was waiting a few blocks away to be evaluated as a result of his exposure to the pepper spray. After he was determined to not have any medical issues, he was transported to the Bi-State Jail.

"The video, which was circulating on social media, appears to misrepresent the facts as it only shows a portion of the actual event. It starts after Cummings was on the ground and officers were struggling to place him under arrest," Vaughn said.

Cummings' bond was set at $3,000 for the criminal trespass charge and $5,000 for resisting arrest.

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