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

Posted at 8:25 AM, Aug 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-29 08:26:01-04

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 Jaquon Dean, 21.

During the video, 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 off-duty at the time, tells Dean that he is loitering on the property and wants to see his ID. Dean respond tells the officer that he’s done nothing wrong and, in fact, lives at the complex.

Eventually, two Southport officers show up and within moments try to arrest Dean. There is a brief struggle, and, just before the video ends, Reynolds appears to stomp on Dean’s phone, which stops the recording.

WXIN reached out to the  Sheridan Police Department, which 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’ areconsidered 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.

Dean is due in court in September.