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Officer no longer with department after viral video of arrest at Indianapolis apartments

Posted at 7:47 PM, Aug 28, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-28 19:47:27-04

INDIANAPOLIS – A reserve police officer is out of a job after an off-duty arrest outside an Indianapolis apartment complex was caught on video and shared widely on social media.

Warning: Video contains graphic language:

It shows a confrontation between the officer, who has now been identified as James Reynolds, and 21-year-old Jaquon Dean.

During the video, which was shot at the Creekside at Meridian Hills apartment complex, Dean is inside a car and can be heard refusing Reynolds' request to identify himself. Reynolds, who was working off-duty at the time, tells Dean that he is loitering on the property and wants to see his ID. Dean responds by telling the officer that he’s done nothing wrong, and in fact lives at the complex.

Eventually, two Southport officers show up and within moments attempt to place Dean under arrest.

There is a brief struggle, and just before the video ends it appears that Reynolds stomps on Dean’s phone, which stops the recording.

WXIN reached out to the  Sheridan Police Department who only confirmed that Reynolds is no longer an employee. Reynolds, Dean and the owner of the Creekside at Meridian Hills apartment could not be reached for comment.

In a statement, Southport Police Chief Tom Vaughn said this of his officer’s role in the arrest:

“Even though I have not found where either officer violated any policies or procedures, his demeanor does cause me discord with our standard of community policing. I expect the utmost professionalism out of my officers at all times. “

Under Indiana law, if an officer believes you’ve committed a crime and you refuse to show ID you’re actually considered to be committing another crime. However, in the video, Dean insists he hadn’t broken any laws originally, and therefore wasn’t required to provide his identification.

Dean’s girlfriend Nakia Jackson was also arrested at the time of the incident for battery against a police officer.

She is accused of kicking and hitting an officer during their attempt to arrest Dean. He is due in court in September.