MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Miami Beach police officers over the weekend forcibly arrested a black man who pretended to have a gun and said he wanted to die at the hands of a white police officer, authorities said.
A bystander recorded the rough arrest from a nearby condo building, but police said the force was necessary because Jervis Chapman, 24, of Brooklyn, New York, ignored their commands and resisted officers’ attempts to arrest him.
"An initial review of the reports shows the officers displayed excellent restraint and showed compassion for someone with a possible mental illness," said Ernesto Rodriguez, spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department.
According the incident report, officers responded to a report of a man threatening a woman with a gun around 1:30 p.m. Sunday at 18th Street and Collins Avenue. When officers arrived, Chapman had his hands underneath his shirt, the report said. One of the officers ordered Chapman to show his hands and get on the ground, but he ignored the instructions, the report said.
Chapman then lifted to shirt to expose a black square object, which appeared to be a cellphone.
"Mr. Chapman was yelling that he was ready to die and he wanted me to pull the trigger and shoot him so his life can end," Officer Jacklyn Gutierrez wrote in the report.
Gutierrez and another officer pulled Chapman's arms behind his back and attempted to pull him to the ground. Chapman resisted the officers’ efforts to restrain him. A third officer struck Chapman in the chest with his fists as Chapman continued to struggle and ignore commands.
Eventually, the officers handcuffed Chapman, the report said. The officer said Chapman's girlfriend, Reina Zafar, tried to stand between the officers and Chapman, and she yelled repeatedly that the object in Chapman's waistband was a cellphone.
Zafar later told officers that Chapman, who is black, said he wanted to die at the hands of a white police officer, the report said. Zafar told officers that she and Chapman had been drinking for several hours and got into an argument about infidelity issues.
After he was handcuffed, Chapman continued to say he wanted a police officer to shoot and kill him.
Police later determined that the initial 911 call was made by Chapman. Because of his suicidal statements, Chapman was taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center under the state's Baker Act law, which allows for involuntary commitment, the report said.
Chapman and two of the officers involved had minor cut and scrapes from the struggle, the report said.