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Officers were called to IHOP at 6655 Arlington Boulevard in Falls Church around 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, after three teenagers got into an argument with an employee. One of the teens lifted his shirt to show what looked like a handgun sticking out of his waistband, the Fairfax County police said in a statement.
The teens ran off after this, but they returned sometime later and demanded the employee come outside into a nearby parking lot. That's when police arrived and detained two of the teenagers, the statement continues, but they did not find a weapon on them.
A man walked toward the officers with a cellphone recording the police as they searched one of the teens. But as he gets near them, one officer yells out, "Hey, stop him" and two others converge on him with their pistols drawn, the video shows.
"Why you pointing that gun at me? Why you pointing that gun at me?" he asks.
"Drop the weapon," one officer replies.
"What weapon? What weapon?" he responds. "You look dumb, brah."
They scream at him to get on his knees, he complies, and the video ends.
Fairfax County police said they are investigating the incident, which is the department's procedure any time an officer points a gun at someone. The officers will remain in their positions during the investigation, officials said in an email to DailyVoice. They did not release their names.
Police did not arrest the teens or charge them, officials said. They were released to their parents.
Debate Rages On Social Media Over Police Actions
The video has sparked a discussion online over how the police should have handled the situation. Some said the officers were wrong to point a gun at someone armed only with a cell phone. While others believed the police were protecting themselves since they did not know his intentions.
"@fairfaxcounty Government and @FairfaxCountyPD — This is NOT okay. This is a violation of the first amendment and needs to be addressed immediately. Active steps need to be taken to ensure this never happens again. Police should NEVER be pointing guns at bystanders holding cameras," one person commented on the video.
"(Living and working in Fairfax right now) Fairfax is the most over-policed city. Been pulled over and yelled at by cops for literally nothing (said I was swerving, I absolutely was not and was totally sober)," another person wrote.
"This is ridiculous and uncalled for. You can't attack & pull guns on someone for filming. Beavis and Butt-Head immediately started yelling the man with the camera had a weapon & that was a total lie. What were you all doing, and why were you afraid of him recording it? Hmmm?" someone else chimed in.
But the officers had defenders.
"I am glad you have filled all of us in with the details and circumstances around the situation instead of jumping to some wild-a** conclusion. (The officers) have no idea who some rando is approaching them. Could be a gang-related arrest and they can't have other possible members shooting," someone else posted.
"With cops under constant attack and someone comes up from behind, the police were only acting precautionary by pulling a weapon. I see nothing wrong when being approached from behind with a person holding an unidentified object," another person tweeted.
Third Recent Violence Incident With Fairfax County Police
The incident at the Falls Church IHOP is the third violent altercation involving Fairfax County police officers in two weeks.
Police shot and killed a wanted man during an arrest in the parking lot of the Springfield Mall on June 30. Officers at the scene said he pulled a gun on them, and investigators found a pistol in his car.
Fairfax County police shot and killed another man on Thursday, July 7, at a McLean home. He threw a tribal mask at them and ran at officers with a bottle in his hand, police said at the time. Two responding officers used their TASERS multiple times to stop the charging 26-year-old, but a third fired several shots into the man's chest. He died at the scene.
Fairfax police detectives are investigating the shootings, which is protocol.
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