BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Authorities have released body cam footage of a viral arrest video where an officer was seen throwing a man on the ground at a busy Brunswick intersection.
Glynn County Police Department said a "physical confrontation" occurred at the intersection of Altama Avenue and the Altama Connector.
Police said an officer approached the man standing "dangerously close" to the road and the man approached the officer while in the roadway despite the officer telling him to stay on the sidewalk.
Police say the officer attempted to de-escalate the situation, but efforts were unsuccessful leading to a verbal confrontation with the man keeping his left hand behind his back and concealed from the officer.
The man then began to walk away from the officer, as the officer then attempted to "secure" the man in order to prevent him from possibly walking into traffic, police said. After a brief "struggle," the two men released each other, but the man continued to verbally confront the officer while the officer radioed for additional support to come to the scene.
While the officer was calling for backup, police say the man grabbed the officer with his right hand, then released him, and then used his right hand to "make a signal that the officer feared may be a signal for other people to come to his assistance and potentially overwhelm the officer."
The officer tried keep the man's hands away from the officer's duty belt. Attempts to deploy a taser on the man were unsuccessful.
Once the man was "secured," his mother arrived on scene, police say. She told officers that her son suffers from "severe mental illness" and officers learned that he had previously been charged with crimes related to obstruction and fighting with officers, a press release stated.
The unidentified man faces one felony charge of obstruction or hindering a law enforcement officer, the release stated, as the incident is under an active investigation.
The Glynn County Police Department issued the following statement:
"The Glynn County Police Department thoroughly reviews all responses to resistance (use of force) incidents through multiple layers of supervision in order to ensure the amount of force used is reasonable and in accordance with agency policy. This incident with Officer Dustin Shipskie is currently under review and will consist of supervisory level and executive reviews.
"To maintain transparency, accountability, and trust with the community we serve, the body-worn and in-car videos showing the encounter will be released once they are properly formatted to protect the identity of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents who came to assist Officer Shipskie. This is being addressed promptly with appropriate concerns for both the public interest in viewing the video along with ATF agents’ identification security concerns."
Officer Shipskie will remain on duty.
The video of the arrest was shown to First Coast News Crime & Safety Analyst Mark Baughman, who says he believes the officer's actions are justified.
"We aren't health care clinicians," said Baughman referring to police officers on patrol. "We have to do something right away in one particular moment to make sure he's safe and the public is safe, he could have easily run into traffic."