Bodycam Footage Released
Watch: Bodycam Footage Shows Lawrence Police Arrest at Walmart
Source: WISH-TV / WISH-TV
LAWRENCE, Ind.- Lawrence police released bodycam footage showing what led to an arrest attempt that turned into a scuffle.
It started around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in a Walmart parking lot near Pendleton Pike. An officer spotted a white Ford Explorer parked in a fire lane and pulled up behind it. William Jerome Armstrong was standing nearby.
What happened next was caught on video and quickly spread online, racking up over 100,000 views. The footage shows officers punching Armstrong as things escalated.
According to police, Armstrong walked toward the officer with clenched fists and refused to comply when told to stay put. They say they feared he might reach for a gun in the SUV. Later, they found an AR-style rifle in the back seat, but it’s unclear if they knew about it at the time.
Police say Armstrong resisted arrest, punched two officers, and threw one to the ground.
Bodycam footage shows Officer Roberto Santiago pulling up and telling Armstrong, “Stop walking up on me.” Armstrong responded, “What you mean, ‘walking up on you’?”
Santiago then told Armstrong to stand by the SUV while he called for backup. A second officer, Morgan Lowe, arrived and began speaking with him.
Armstrong was taken to jail but later released without charges.
