BYSTANDER TAKES PHONE CAM VIDEO THE SECOND A THIEF IN COP CAR YELLS ‘STOP CHOKING ME’

UNT police say man was likely faking seizure in viral video showing him shaking in squad car

By Dana Branham

The Dallas Morning News
January 25, 2019

University of North Texas police released 39 minutes of footage Thursday after a viral video drew questions about officers' conduct during an arrest.

The video, posted to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, showed a man shaking in a police car with an officer leaning over him. UNT police said the video "misrepresents the professional actions our officers took to prevent the suspect from seriously harming himself."

The UNT student who recorded the footage atop a campus parking garage, Carissa Simpson, said she started filming when she heard the man in the car say, "Stop choking me."

A statement from police Chief Ed Reynolds said two officers "grasped the suspect below his jaw to control his head movements and prevent him from biting," noting that his airway was still clear as he spoke to officers.

Then, the man in the car began to shake his entire body, "mimicking the symptoms of a seizure," Reynolds' statement said. The officers determined that he appeared to be faking the seizure, the statement said.

A university spokeswoman identified the man in the video as Peyton Ryan Long, 19, and said he was a UNT student. He was booked into the Denton County jail on a theft charge after police said they had received multiple reports of thefts at the Willis Library on campus.

He also had an outstanding warrant out of Euless on a criminal-mischief charge, jail records show. Long posted bond shortly after the arrest.

In the video, Long said he was in the library when he picked up a backpack that wasn't his by mistake. It's unclear whether that led to the theft charge.

In footage from inside the car as Long is being taken to the jail, he tells an officer: "All of them choked me," apparently referring to the police officers involved in his arrest.

"Oh, that was disgusting," he said.

He is also seen repeatedly beating his head against the safety cage of the vehicle.

"To ensure his safety and prevent further self-harm attempts, officers transported the suspect immediately to the jail and requested medical support," Reynolds said in the statement.

Simpson said she had never met Long before she filmed him in the police car, but he told her Thursday that he blacked out during the arrest. She said his seizure looked real, despite what police said.

"I wanted to record for everyone's safety and definitely when I hear someone say, 'Stop choking me,'" Simpson said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I earned both my degrees (BS 1952, MHPER 1954) at UNT. Back then the university had three unarmed security guards. Any crimes on campus were investigated by the Denton police department.