Kevin Allen refused to show his drivers license to the state trooper who stopped him for speeding on Interstate 4 in Florida on Saturday. The trooper replied that this was grounds for arrest. Allen responded that this was unfair. The trooper grabbed his arm to arrest him. Allen gripped his steering wheel. The trooper grabbed his pepper spray.
Then Allen Casselberry reached for his cellphone and called the cops on the cop who was trying to arrest him. "I'm being assaulted by an officer on I-4," Allen shouted to 911 dispatchers. Please call my wife!"
Allen also demanded that dispatchers summon the news media to the scene. "This is not cool!" Allen shouted.
It was an atypical response to an arrest, said Sgt. Kim Miller, a Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman. "In 15 years, this is the first time I've heard of this." An agency review determined the trooper followed department procedures, Miller said.
Allen was treated at the scene for pepper-spray exposure and taken to the Orange County Jail. He faces three counts of resisting arrest with violence and one count of battery on a law-enforcement officer. He was released on $2,700 bail.
The stop took place after a trooper noticed Allen was tailgating his marked patrol car. The Dodge Caravan passed the trooper, who clocked him at 72 mph and then pulled him over. Allen refused to hand over his license, registration or proof of insurance.
During the 911 call, Allen gave dispatchers a play-by-play of what he described as an "assault."
"He's dragging me out of my car. Goodbye," he told dispatchers.
"Dude, I'm not even fighting you," he told the trooper.
A dispatcher asked him to comply. The trooper shouted for him to get down.
Allen screamed: "Owwww!"
When the pepper spray cleared, Allen revealed why he didn't show his license. " 'It was a matter of principle.' Those were his exact words," Miller said. (info from The Orlando Sentinel)
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