Video circulating on Facebook and TikTok showing a Decatur Police Officer attempting to arrest an individual at a Walmart has gone viral.
Decatur officials say the individual the officer was attempting to arrest was Marquez Daniel Lewis. Lewis reportedly had an outstanding warrant with the Morgan County Sheriff's office.
The event occurred on December 8 around 4 p.m. with an off-duty uniformed officer working a security detail at the Walmart. The video has just recently been making waves on social media.
In a statement, police say Lewis sat in the driver's seat of a car and refused to get out after the officer requested him to exit the vehicle. The officer then broke the window, and a fight ensued, with Lewis "Actively" resisting arrest.
The video shows the officer struggling with Lewis and being antagonized by Lewis' mother and another woman during the video. At one point, the officer's protective vest seemed un-fastened, hindering his ability to subdue Lewis even more.
Another officer arrived on the scene and assisted in taking Lewis into custody before the incident escalated.
Marquez Lewis was charged with second-degree assault, resisting arrest, attempting to flee and elude, and third-degree criminal mischief. He was booked into Morgan County on a $15,900 bond.
Tonda Rochelle Lewis, seen in the video taunting and harassing the officer, faces a charge of obstruction of governmental operations and was booked into the Morgan County Jail on a $300 bond.
Decatur Police Chief Todd Pinion stated, "If you believe an arrest by an officer is not valid, submit to the arrest and take legal action after. Resisting arrest creates a great danger to everyone involved and is illegal. And while anyone can record a police officer in public, they cannot do it in a way that interferes with the officer or jeopardizes their safety."
The officer, whose name has not been released, suffered a broken orbital bone after allegedly being punched in the face by Lewis at the beginning of the altercation. He is currently on paid leave recovering from that injury.
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