‘Don’t Lie Like That!’: Man Records Cops Handcuffing Man, Falsely Accusing Him of Stealing His Own Package, Prompting Police Chief to Issue Apology
Pennsylvania cops said they were responding to complaints about stolen packages from homes Wednesday when they aggressively handcuffed a man, falsely accusing him of stealing his own package from a front porch. But the package turned out to be his, prompting York City Police Chief Michael Muldrow to issue an apology after video of the detainment went viral on Facebook. “You should read the box and my ID before you detain me,” said Carlos Vargas as he was being handcuffed by three police officers while a fourth officer sat on the sidewalk trying to console the man’s crying daughter who was holding a dog. Pennsylvania cops detained a man after falsely accusing him of stealing his own package, prompting apology from police chief. (Photos: facebook.com/adonijahtherealjc) In his written apology, Chief Muldrow said Vargas was “temporarily detained for safety,” accusing Vargas of having escalated the situation but not going into details as to how he escalated the interaction with police. The video begins after Vargas was being handcuffed and does not capture what led to the detainment but the man with the camera accused the cops of escalating the interaction. ‘Deserves Better’: Catholic School Forced to Apologize Months After Expelling Black Boy Who Was Called the N-Word and Having Police Remove His Parents “As a concerned citizen, can I know why four officers are here?” repeatedly asked the man recording who goes by Jack Oswald White on Facebook, which is not his real name but a name attributed to the Joker, the fictional villain in the Batman comic book and movie series. The video has been viewed more than 200,000 times as of this writing which is less than 24 hours after it was posted to Facebook. More than 700 have people left comments, mostly praising the man recording, with one commenter saying “John Cruz for Mayor,” indicating that is likely his real name. “Thank for recording and exposing them,” said another commenter. “Good job camera man,” said another. “That’s how you police the police,” said a fourth commenter. “The man recording ty for stepping up and knowing what your talking about,” said a fifth commenter. Vargas told the York Daily Record that he plans to file complaints against the officers. Chief Muldrow confirmed in his statement that a complaint has already been filed. "All he had to do is check the box and my ID," Vargas told the Daily Record, adding that he was “really scared” for his daughter, who appeared to be younger than 10 years old. Watch the video below. ‘Police Lie Too Much’ The incident took place on Oct. 8 as York City police officers were “conducting increased patrols” in the area to combat crime, including stolen packages from porches but also drugs, prostitution, vagrancy and public drunkenness after receiving complaints from residents, according to Chief Muldrow’s statement. They spotted Vargas walking down the sidewalk with his young daughter and their dog and watched him pick up a package from a front porch and walk away. According to Muldrow’s statement: Being proactive (as I've always asked of myself and my people), Officers subsequently engaged the individual and began questioning and investigating a "Suspected Package Theft". During this encounter, while trying to gather information, determine the ownership of the package, and make reasonable attempts to prevent the "suspected Theft"; the individual escalated and was temporarily detained for safety, while Officers continued to investigate. Once calmed, Officers were able to identify the individual as the proper owner, at which time he was released without further incident. With that said (as they were serving under my authority) I take full responsibility, and I would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused. “Is it the city's position that random people should be stopped just because?” asked one commenter responding to the chief’s statement on Facebook. “Will citizens be stopped while retrieving items from their vehicles, as there is no proof it's their vehicle? Will people be subjected to sobriety tests when leaving restaurants, simply because they could be drunk? Are police going to stop individuals leaving stores to check receipts?” In his interview with the Daily Record, Vargas said he recently moved into a new apartment with his daughter after staying at a homeless shelter and had been purchasing new furniture with Amazon gift cards. He said a local religious leader allowed him to use the address of a local mosque to receive his package since he was in transition of moving into a new apartment. The package had his name on it so he walked by with his daughter and picked it up. As they were walking, the daughter asked him if the package contained her dresser or his dresser and he put the box down momentarily to check which dresser was in the box. They then continued walking down the sidewalk which was when the cops detained him, accusing him of stealing the package. The video shows Vargas' personal items he was carrying were strewn all over the sidewalk as they were handcuffing him. Chief Muldrow said Vargas became agitated as he was being questioned but it is not clear at this time if the cops had given him a chance to provide his identification to prove the package belonged to him. Judging by Vargas’ comments in the video and to local media, they never gave him that opportunity. And the man with the camera also said they never gave him a chance to provide identification. “That is incorrect policing right here,” he told the cops as they were removing the handcuffs from Vargas. “The correct way for cops to do an investigation is you stop him, ask him is that your package, present the ID and then you let him go. You don’t do this.” But one of the cops claimed they did just that, acknowledging he was also recording with his body camera, but that video has not been released. “You didn’t ask him that,” the man recording said in his video. “No, you wasn’t ’cause I was f_cking watching.I was watching, that’s why I’m recording now.” “Don’t lie like that, police lie too much.”
