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Encounters with police officers can quickly escalate, and in some cases, they can take a troubling turn. That appeared to be the case in a short video shared by an Indiana woman, who claimed her husband was mistreated by an off-duty officer. The footage shows the officer forcefully ripping her husband’s shirt off and throwing it to the ground. As the situation unfolded, the woman informed the officer that she was recording the interaction, while her husband repeatedly asked, “What are you doing?” The video later shows multiple police officers arriving at the scene as the woman continued explaining what had occurred. Describing the incident, she claimed, “They pulled him out of the car, ripped his shirt off, for asking the officer why he pulled us over because he had no reason to pull us over.”
The Indiana woman then turned her camera on the officers who arrived after the incident had already taken place. According to her, none of them asked to see the video that allegedly showed their fellow officer mistreating her husband. She also claimed that the off-duty officer had placed her husband inside his vehicle. Growing increasingly frustrated, the woman called out to the group of officers and asked if they wanted to see the footage. She then questioned why her husband had been taken into custody, accusing them by asking, “you guys beating the [expletive] out of him?” She repeatedly demanded an explanation, asking why her husband was arrested for “nothing.” In the video, it does not appear that any of the officers provided her with a reason. The clip ends with the woman filming the off-duty officer’s car as he drove away with her husband inside.
The Sheriff Responding
The video quickly went viral, sparking widespread outrage and prompting a response from the Sheriff of Henry County, Indiana, where the incident occurred. Sheriff John Sproles addressed the situation in a Facebook post, where he came to the defense of the off-duty officer and described the husband and wife as “typical law enforcement agitators.” He went on to praise the officer’s character, saying he was a good person, a sentiment that was echoed by several commenters on the post.
The sheriff also offered his version of events, claiming the husband had attempted to unlawfully change lanes, something that was not visible in the video shared online. He further alleged that the couple had been waving their hands before stopping, which prompted the officer to pull over and check on the situation. According to the sheriff, the couple then began driving again, leading the officer to follow them with his emergency lights activated to question them about what he believed was a near crash.
The sheriff continued by claiming that once the Indiana couple was pulled over, they began yelling obscenities at the officer. According to him, when the officer was finally able to obtain their driver’s license and returned to his vehicle to run it, the husband exited the car and followed him in an aggressive manner. The husband eventually returned to the vehicle after being instructed to do so. However, when the officer came back to return the license, the husband, identified as Brian, allegedly opened his door and shoved it into the officer.
The officer then attempted to restrain Brian, which the sheriff said was the moment when Brian’s shirt was pulled off, as seen in the video. The sheriff further claimed that the officer went to call for backup but was again followed aggressively by Brian. At that point, a deputy arrived on the scene and assisted the officer. Together, they handcuffed Brian, who the sheriff alleged continued kicking them as they escorted him to a vehicle.
The sheriff concluded his explanation by stating that Brian later apologized to both officers while they were being transported to jail, telling them he had been having a bad day. He also claimed that once at the jail, Brian asked an officer to shake his hand as an apology, and the officer agreed. Brian is now facing several charges, including resisting arrest.
However, the off-duty officer was not wearing a body camera during the arrest, leaving no video evidence to support this version of events. As a result, some viewers believe the situation has become a “he said, she said” scenario.
People Reacting to the Video of the Off-duty Indiana Officer
While most comments under the sheriff’s video supported the Indiana officer, the case was different for the video filmed by the wife. Many believed that the officer was in the wrong here and that he was being aggressive. This is why one person wrote, “Sue the department, city, and him.” A TikTok user agreed and said, “YOU GOT A BIG LAW SUIT – LOOK FOR A LAWYER.” Since the video showed all the police officers at the scene gathered for a moment, another person claimed, “This is a meeting. They’re all getting their stories straight, to justify the one officers actions.” This made someone else reply, “welcome to full blown republiclan fascism.”
Others weren’t as quick to criticize the Indiana officer, as they wanted to know what happened before the video started. “Yea where is the beginning? I’m not saying I agree or disagree, but the video started after he was being apprehended. What happened before?” one person asked. Another person then stated, “there’s a whole lot of this video missing.” Someone else added, “Something tells me there’s A LOT more to this story.” Others kept arguing over whether off-duty cops are allowed to make traffic stops. Now that there are two sides to the story, people will have to choose which one they believe.
