Nebraska man films deputies, causes stir

Police claim suspicious behavior; he says they violated his free speech

Tensions flared after least four Lake County Sheriff ’s deputies arrested a man filming from the sidewalk outside the Lake County Government Center, according to a 10-minute video uploaded to YouTube Saturday.

In an interview with the Post-Tribune, Floyd Wallace, 25, of Omaha, Nebraska, said he was exercising his First Amendment right to film and take pictures from a sidewalk, which is public property. In the video, the sheriff ’s officers state Wallace was baiting them, which Wallace denies.

“They all came to me. I didn’t go to them,” Wallace said. “If they truly thought that, they should’ve just observed. They don’t have to engage me.”

The Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez said in a statement that he “would like to applaud our officers for the way they handled the situation.” The department received calls about “a suspicious person” on the Lake County Government Center property “who was reportedly peering through vehicle windows” and “attempting to record video of VIN numbers.” The video does not show anyone near vehicles and the officers don’t say anything about that to Wallace.

“We are fully aware that there are individuals who visit law enforcement agencies here in Lake County and across the country with the intent to illicit a response from officers that could be deemed to violate their rights,” Martinez said.

According to his Facebook page, Wallace was arrested in February in Texas. In March, a police officer and a civilian pointed guns at Wallace while filming outside a city hall building in Iowa, according to Facebook.

Wallace said he has filmed

“a decent amount” from public sidewalks, and that “most of the time” police officers stop him and “get all aggressive because they don’t want to be recorded.”

“My goal is not to anger anybody. My goal is to exercise my Constitutional rights on a public sidewalk. I am not doing anything illegal,” Wallace said.

In the video, Wallace is seen standing on the sidewalk on the north side of the Government Center along 93rd Avenue in Crown Point next to a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy and stating that the officers violated his First Amendment right in filming from public property.

The video then shows two officers arriving on scene, one of whom is seen walking by Wallace — without saying a word — to other officers in the distance. Wallace calls out asking the officers for their names and badge numbers. One officer identifies himself. Then, Wallace asks “what about this guy here?” pointing to the officer who walked by him when arriving on scene.

“This guy is going to talk to you and get your side and everything that’s going on,” the officer said.

“You’re not getting anything from me, man,” Wallace said.

“All right, then you’re going to jail. Have a nice day,” the officer said.

As the video continues, Wallace asks for what crime. The officer didn’t answer, and the officers discuss a piece of video equipment found in Wallace’s pocket.

In the video, Wallace told officers the object in his pocket is a piece of video equipment. Martinez said “the subject resisted officers attempting to investigate whether he was armed with a handgun.”

Then, the officer who spoke with Wallace, said “he can go.” The same officer said Wallace is baiting the police and that when the officers came out to look into “a suspicious incident” they have “a right to check that you’re not a risk to anybody.”

“But, you don’t want to play along, you don’t want to act like an adult, now you get to go to jail as a child,” the officer said.

Wallace said, “OK, I’ll give you my name” but the officer ultimately said “nope, we’re done” and stated that Wallace was baiting police officers.

“I’m not asking again, take him to jail,” the officer who talked with Wallace said.

As the video continues, Wallace is shown being taken to a nearby police vehicle and giving his name and birthdate. An officer takes his camera and asks whether to put it in evidence.

The camera captures a conversation between the officers and one officer said that he was “worried” the filming equipment in Wallace’s pocket was a gun and that the officer wanted to see what the object was. Another officer is heard on the video saying the police were within their rights because Wallace was “on private property” — later stating that jurors and judges are in the building — Wallace is “playing games” baiting the police and that the officer “gave him every opportunity to discuss it with him.”

“I’m not playing these games. Everyone’s entitled. Everyone thinks they’re special. Now he gets the special treatment,” said an officer.

Martinez said in a typical call of person filming on a public sidewalk, officers would respond to “confront the subject and attempt to confirm there is no threat.” Then, the officers would tell whoever called that the person recording was on public property, Martinez said.

“We are obligated to show up on the scene, figure out what’s going on and determine if there’s a threat of danger or criminal activity,” Martinez said.

Ultimately, Wallace said he was arrested for failure to identify himself and resisting arrest, though formal charges haven’t been filed. The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that charges haven’t been filed and that the office has received calls about the arrest, said spokesman Bradley Carter said.

Executive Director of the Lake County 911 Department Mark Swiderski said Tuesday that since the video was posted — it has been viewed more than 2,100 times — the non-emergency department has received multiple “calls throughout the day” about the arrest. Operators are told to tell callers to call the sheriff ’s department, Swiderski said.

While filming, Wallace said he just drives and then picks a place to film from the sidewalk. He doesn’t typically get arrested, Wallace said, but on few occasions he’s been arrested for “bogus” crimes, he said.

In Lake County, Wallace said he was patted down, fingerprinted and put in a cell. Ultimately, Wallace said he was in jail for “not even a day” and a friend bailed him out.

“They don’t care about my Constitutional rights,” Wallace said of the Lake County Sheriff ’s deputies.

“I felt discriminated towards because there wasn’t any Black cops on the scene, and I felt like if there was Black cops on the scene they would’ve responded more differently. I think I would’ve had more respect,” said Wallace, who is Black. “But, since they’re all white they didn’t see me as a human being.”

Wallace said he doesn’t feel nervous about what he’s doing because he isn’t breaking the law, “but I do get nervous when cops break the law and arrest me for bogus crimes.”

“As a Black man, I feel like they escalate to a higher point,” Wallace said. “They don’t want people like me to exercise their Constitutional rights.”