Police defend cop after video of confrontation with black man goes viral
DALLAS -- A police supervisor in Texas is defending the actions of a constable who was in a confrontation last week with a young man. Millions have seen the cellphone video, and some believe the constable crossed the line.
The cellphone video captures a moment when a Harris County constable stopped 20-year-old Marlin Gipson as he and his brothers were passing out business cards for his lawn service last week.
"I'm kind of busy, I'm trying to make money," Gipson can be heard saying in the video.
The officer then says, "Yeah, but when I saw you, you were going from door to door."
Gipson did not have an ID card on him when asked by the officer.
Then, the situation got tense, after Gipson asked the constable for his information.
"Tell you what," the officer says. "Just turn around and put your hands around your back."
"For what? Hey! Nope," Gipson says.
He instead left the scene.
Gipson spoke with CBS News and showed us the business cards he was handing out.
"I would still be doing this right here," Gipson said as he fanned out the cards in his hand. "Lawn service, making money that's the goal… trying to support our family."
Constable administrator Alen Rosen said Gipson left because of an outstanding misdemeanor assault warrant.
"So when originally stopped and questioned by the officer, that was why he really didn't want to say who we was," Rosen said.
Constables came to his house later that day. Gipson recorded that, too. He said constables broke down his door, tased him and sicced a K-9 on him that left bite marks on his arm.
"I can't even lift certain stuff no more," Gipson told us. "My arm is still numb in certain spots. I can barely lift it up."
But Rosen says his officers did nothing wrong.
"We gave Mr. Gipson, before the police dog went upstairs, we told him four different times, we even yelled, 'police dog, police dog come out,'" Rosen explained.
The Harris County constable says they have body camera video that backs up their side of the story, but they have not released it.
