A Florida man was repeatedly tased by police officers and arrested for refusing to identify himself, but instead of apologizing, the Casselberry Police Department insisted it would use footage of the incident for training purposes.
The video begins with police accusing Zikomo Peurifoy of jaywalking before they demand to see his identification.
The officer is asked by Peurifoy what statute requires that he show his ID, to which he responds, "Give me your ID or you're going to go to jail."
When Peurifoy refuses, two officers grab him while the man warns he will press charges for assault because he has committed no crime. Requests for a supervisor to be called are ignored.
After cops attempt to handcuff Peurifoy, he resists before a taser is used repeatedly while Peurifoy yells, "You are assaulting me."
Peurifoy still manages to escape the clutches of police before he is repeatedly tased again before he finally falls to the ground and is arrested.
Far from apologizing for the incident, which appears to clearly show cops over-reacting, the Casselberry Police Department defended the actions of police and told WFTV, "That their officers followed policy so well that they're going to use the video for training."
Peurifoy faces charges of "resisting with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer," despite the fact that the video shows Peurifoy did not attack any of the officers at any point during the confrontation.
In order to detain an person and demand their ID, police need to have reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is taking place.
Aside from the dubious contention that Peurifoy was mandated to show his ID because of alleged jaywalking, this video seems to speak more to the fact that police now believe citizens are legally required to follow their every order.
This myth crops up again and again when citizens are told by law enforcement that that filming police officers is illegal, when a 2011 First Circuit Court of Appeals decision confirmed that it is not.
Despite the law saying that recording police officers on duty is a First Amendment right, numerous incidents have occurred where citizens are intimidated and arrested for doing so, arising out of the false premise that failing to obey an order from a police officer, despite that command being unlawful, is itself a crime.
