PLANTATION, Fla. — Newly released video obtained exclusively by Local 10 News of Friday shows a confrontation between a man recording police and a Plantation Police Department officer at a shopping center, prompting city leaders to acknowledge missteps and say officials will “do better.”

The officers, who are part of the department’s homeless outreach team, was responding to a situation at a shopping center when one of them noticed a man recording.

“Hi … you good?” an officer is heard saying on the video.

Moments later, the tone escalates.

“You want to get arrested,” the officer says.

“Why am I being arrested?” the bystander responds.

“You’re interfering with my investigation,” the officer says.

“No, I’m not,” the bystander replied.

Video shows the man standing more than 25 feet away as officers ordered a woman, who officers described as someone frequently seen at the shopping center, to leave the property.

The situation intensifies when a bystander asks, “What did she do?”

“You don’t know the law,” the officer is heard saying repeatedly.“You’re gonna be trespassed from this property. If you return, you’re gonna be placed under arrest.”

Plantation Mayor Nick Sortal and the city’s police chief said from the outset that recording from that distance is within a person’s rights.

“You can’t come up to people and put your finger in their face and say stop videoing,” Sortal said. “I wish that whole part hadn’t happened.”

Officials noted that the officer had a point after referencing that the bystander was obstructing traffic, but that observation came after the initial confrontation.

Police supervisors have since counseled the officer involved, and city leaders say they are taking accountability.

“If we messed up, we’re going to tell you to your face, we messed up,” Sortal said. “We’re going to try to do better.”

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