BALTIMORE (WMAR) — In a video, that's now gone viral -- a Baltimore Police officer is seen arresting what's believed to be a high school student.
According to a police report, officers were alerted to a possible armed robbery at a McDonald's on Falls Road in Hampden. A male wearing a gray shirt and a red hat was said to have had a 'revolver' and an officer spotted a person who matched the witness description.
The officer in the video says when he saw the male matching the description, he stopped, questioned, and then frisked him.
That's when a student at the Academy for College and Career Exploration or 'ACCE' High school up the road, pulled out a camera and 'shoved a cellphone' into the officer's face.
Not knowing what it was, the officer says he felt threatened -- leading to what's seen in the video.
"We've had some incident,s, recently, that are pretty troubling. People in the community are concerned about it and we want to help get ahead of it at the school. It's positive for the student, it's positive for the community. We just want it to be a good thing," Matthew Stegman, Hampden's Community Council president, said.
He says while the video didn't spark the idea to meet with the school's principal, it certainly adds to the community's case.
"Rather than have people take into their own hands, have an opportunity for people who don't always feel like their concerns are heard or haven't been heard directly by the school, by the police, members of the city council -- you know help bring everybody together," Stegman said.
The student was ultimately arrested and cited for hindering.
Preventing the officer from conducting a more thorough search with the male with the red hat who is spotted right here in the video -- who police say didn't have a gun on him.
The Hampden neighborhood council plans on meeting with the school's principal and those in the community at the end of the month.
