Methuen Police Officer Investigated After Pulling Over Man At Gunpoint
METHUEN (CBS) - An independent investigator is now looking into a March incident when a Methuen Police Lieutenant pulled over a car at gunpoint.
Video of the incident surfaced recently on social media. It shows the Methuen officer pointing his gun at the driver of a Mercedes Benz sedan and telling the man not to move. The man questions whether the officer will handcuff him as he shows the police officer both of his empty hands.
David Nin, 20, from Lawrence, says he is the man in the video. He told WBZ that he was driving home from work just after midnight in early March when he saw an unmarked police cruiser driving slowly.
Nin claims he tried to pass the cruiser and that is when the officer put his lights on and pulled the cruiser across the road. Nin says the officer exited his cruiser with his gun drawn.
"When I tried to pull over to the side he just came out with his gun, telling me not to move. He told me not to move at all," Nin said, "I took my hands right out the window I was like, yo chill, don't shoot."
Then, Nin's girlfriend started recording the incident.
"And he was telling her to put it down so, like, I got scared. I like thought he was going to light off," Nin said.
Nin said he left the car willingly and was handcuffed for roughly 15 minutes before he was released without being charged.
Methuen police say they were in the area fearing retaliatory gang violence after a shooting that occurred earlier in the day.
Police say the driver, "did not stop initially upon the activation of the officer's blue lights, and the vehicle suddenly went into reverse and began to change directions."
"Officers on-scene ultimately deescalated the situation, and the driver was released without charges," a statement from the police continued.
Twenty-six minutes of the incident was captured by a body camera worn by an officer on the scene.
Nin says a calmer approach from the officer could have changed the outcome of the encounter.
"Actually pull me to the side. Not just block the street. Actually come up and try to talk to me," he said.