SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Body camera video released Tuesday shows the controversial arrest of an 18-year-old bicyclist on fleeing and resisting charges after Seminole County deputies say the teen didn’t stop at a stop sign.
Records show Javier Lopez Ayala was arrested Saturday in rural Seminole County while riding his bike with a group of about a dozen other cyclists.
Video shows two deputies were posted at the intersection of Florida Avenue and Van Arsdale Street with a radar gun, clocking motorists as they went by.
[Watch the body camera video below]
The first 30 seconds of the video does not have audio, but it shows the deputy gesturing toward Lopez Ayala and his friend as they turn the corner on their bikes. It’s unclear if the deputy said anything to the two cyclists or if the cyclists saw the deputy motion at them.
The deputy then gets into his truck, activates his sirens and follows the two men.
“Pull over. Pull over,” the deputy says from his truck while approaching the cyclists.
The deputy slows in front of the cyclists to get them onto the shoulder of the road, then turns his sirens off and immediately approaches.
“I told you to stop and you kept going,” the deputy says.
“I stopped,” Ayala Lopez replies.
“No you didn’t,” the deputy says.
At that point, about a minute and a half into the video, the deputy grabs Ayala Lopez’s arms and starts to put them behind his back while he’s still on the bike.
When Lopez Ayala questions what’s happening, the deputy says he’s being put in handcuffs.
“Do not fight me. Stop resisting me right now,” the deputy says. “Do you understand me?”
Other cyclists in Lopez Ayala’s group see what’s happening and ask why the teen is being taken into custody. The riders who were with Lopez Ayala said they didn’t hear the deputy ask them to stop because of the wind, their gear and their headphones.
“Today’s not the day for roadside jury. Y’all can move on,” the deputy says.
Close to seven minutes into the video, the deputy tells the cyclists that they are interfering with the investigation.
“Here’s the deal: He went by I told him to stop, he didn’t stop. I said, ‘Don’t make me come try to pull you over’ and he kept on going,” the deputy says.
“I stopped, you never said that,” a cyclist replies.
“It’s all on body camera,” the deputy says.
The footage, which did not contain audio in the first 30 seconds, does not show the deputy threatening to pull Lopez Ayala over.
The deputy also claims that Lopez Ayala pulled away while he was being put in handcuffs.
Lopez Ayala’s father says his son is a “good boy” and a college student who moved to Florida from Puerto Rico to receive treatment for a brain tumor.
About 20 minutes into the video, the deputy begins driving Lopez Ayala to the Seminole County Jail. The deputy is seen using his phone seconds after driving away from the scene.
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Bob Kealing said it will be up to the State Attorney’s Office to determine whether charges are appropriate in this case.
A representative said the State Attorney’s Office has not yet received the case file.