The incident happened on Oct. 31, Halloween morning. Police in Columbia County Florida saw an older man walking down the street with something in his back pocket that they though could be a weapon. They stopped him and the situation quickly turned into an argument.

According to the arrest report, the deputy stopped 61-year-old James Hodges, because she thought he may have had a gun in his back pocket.

Hodges objected to being stopped, and shortly after deputies confirmed he was carrying a walking stick. Hodges refused to provide his ID to the deputies, while objecting to being detained.

“He repeatedly refused to allow identification of the object in his his pocket as well as refusing to identify himself,” the arrest report says.

That’s what happened but it really doesn’t convey the sense of the encounter. Things started off civil with a “Hi there” from the female officer and a “Hey” in response from Hodges. “What’s this in your back pocket?” the officer asked. At that point, Hodges got a bit hostile. “It’s a navigational aid. What’s the problem are you a tyrant?” he replied.

The officer also seems to have abandoned her professionalism by responding in kind “Yeah, I am actually,” she said. It’s downhill from there.

Hodges does some sidewalk lawyering, refusing to give his name and asks what probably cause the officer had to stop him. She explained that it appeared he might have a gun which was not being carried properly. At this point, Hodges pulled out his folded walking stick and showed it to the officer. It turns out he is legally blind though officers didn’t know that at the start of the encounter.

Having established that there was no gun or other weapon involved (and therefore no probably cause to suspect a crime), that ought to be the end of it. Hodges seems content to walk on but the officers aren’t willing to let it go. Instead they handcuff Hodges and pull out his ID. He asks for their names and badge numbers but he’s not resisting in any way. Other than turning his head he’s not moving at all.

When police realized he’s legally blind they asked why he wasn’t using the stick to walk. Hodges replied that he doesn’t have to use it all the time but did need it earlier when he walked to jury duty because it was dark out.

After running his license a voice on the radio says the word “green.” The female officer then said to Hodges, who was still in handcuffs “All right Mr. Hodges was that that hard?”

“It’s gonna be. I want your name and your badge numbers,” Hodges replied. Now he’s not letting it go but he’s still perfectly calm.

The second officer snaps, “You know what, put him in jail for resisting.” And that’s what they did. Here’s video of the arrest.

The clip wound up on Reddit and Twitter and has been viewed millions of times. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office put out a statement today about the clip.

We are aware of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office body camera video involving the arrest of Mr. James Hodges on October 31, 2022. Sheriff Hunter is troubled by what he has seen in the video and the matter is being addressed. An administrative investigation was initiated on November 3, 2022 when the incident was brought to our attention. If policy violations are sustained at the conclusion of that investigation, appropriate action will be taken. While we understand the frustration and concern associated with this event, please know we are working to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

I have no idea what the Sheriff’s office will decide or whether this is just an attempt to make it sound like something is being dealt with until it blows over. My own take is that these officers were out of line. It’s true that Hodges was a bit rude to the female officer but she should have maintained her professional demeanor and not responded in kind. And once it was clear that a) he had a cane not a gun and b) he’s legally blind and has need for the cane, this should have ended it. Taking him to jail for resisting arrest when he never once resisted arrested is just an abuse of power. At least that’s how I see it.

I’d like to think that if the police had just politely apologized for the stop and let him go on his way rather than handcuff him, Hodges wouldn’t have made a big deal of it. Instead, I’d be willing to bet he’s going to hire a lawyer and this definitely will not be the end of it.