San Diego Police Respond to Viral Video Showing Arrest in Gaslamp Quarter – NBC 7 San Diego

A video of a wild arrest in the Gaslamp Quarter over the weekend made the rounds on social media and drew criticism. Now, San Diego police are explaining what they say happened and how overwhelmed officers are trying to deal with the large weekend crowds downtown.

On Friday, San Diego Police motorcycle officers violently subdued a man in a downtown parking lot at the corner of 6th and E. Police reported he fled from them when they encountered a person beaten unconscious near the Omertà nightclub in the Gaslamp Quarter. Bystanders captured the video and posted it to an online media site.

Captain Ryan Hallahan spoke to reporters Thursday after the video went viral.

“He knew we were police officers and said he was scared so he ran,” Hallahan said, describing the entire incident.

The video shows a man dropping and sitting down between two cars while surrounded by several police officers on bicycles who jump off their bikes and lean over him, putting their weight on him. They aggressively pull his hands behind his back and force his head into the concrete.

Dozens of people on social media agreed. One person tagged SDPD and wrote, “Learn how and when to use appropriate force in certain situations. And stop letting cops get away with violence.”

Another Instagram user pointed out that the violence was unnecessary as the suspect appeared to be cooperative.

And another person expressed support for the officers, saying in part: “Crime will not be tolerated. The suspect should have given up and allowed himself to be handcuffed.”

Police say they review each incident and will not investigate this one further. They told NBC 7 they believe they followed use-of-force guidelines.

“He's putting his hands up, but he's still not cooperating. So we're not just going to sit there and wait. 'Hey, put your hands behind your back.' He was ordered to lay on his stomach, but he refused,” Hallahan said.

Some Instagram users argued that the man was physically unable to put his hands behind his back because the officers were holding him down.

Hallahan described what led to the video, when a suspect fled from police, specifically the crime scene. Hallahan stressed that the video does not show the pursuit, as officers identified themselves and ordered the suspect to stop.

But SDPD Lt. Dan Meyer told NBC 7 that the body-worn camera video clearly shows this, even if they are not releasing it.

Hallahan described how an officer might process the incident while approaching a suspect.

“We still don't know why he ran. So the question is, was he running toward something? Was he trying to get rid of something? A lot of things go through your mind in situations like this,” Hallahan said.

Officers handcuffed him, but eventually let him go with a charge when a witness could not connect him to the original crime. Meyer reiterated that this incident was still under investigation and that this did not mean that the man they handcuffed was not a suspect or was not connected to the assault offense. They charged the man with obstructing a police officer in the performance of his duties.

Hallahan said the motorcycle teams would immediately move on to the next incident, as there are plenty of them.

“Every night you're on the verge of chaos. So the challenge for our cycling team is that we're completely outnumbered and we're busy all night, especially at the bar break,” Hallahan said.

According to SDPD, around 50,000 people go to the Gaslamp Quarter on Friday and Saturday nights and crime against people has increased, so they've beefed up their bike teams, deployed more patrols and even borrowed officers from other precincts. Hallahan also said they're reviewing their body-worn cameras to make sure they're all compliant.

The SDPD does not release body-worn camera videos and only does so in critical incidents.

The original crime, which involved leaving a victim unconscious in the street, is still under investigation. Meyer told NBC 7 it's unlikely police first encountered the man in the parking lot.