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A blind man was arrested and spent 26 hours in prison after Florida police thought his cane was a gun.
James Hodges, 61, was arrested by two officers for ‘resisting arrest without violence’ on October 31.
Even though Mr Hodges immediately proved it was not a weapon, the two officers, one of whom is Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy Jayme Gohde, refused to back down and decided to arrest him.
It took more than a day for the 61-year-old to be released, who then uploaded the bodycam footage onto YouTube.
The Sheriff’s Office have confirmed they are now conducting an internal investigation into the matter.
In the video, Deputy Sheriff Ghode can be heard telling the blind man she had stopped him as she thought he had a weapon in his pocket.
However, Mr Hodges called her a ‘tyrant’ and informed her it was a ‘navigational aid’.
He said: ‘What’s the problem, are you a tyrant?’
The 61-year-old made clear his navigational cane was not, in fact, a gun
James Hodges spent 26 hours in prison despite not having done anything wrong
Shockingly, Ghode replied, ‘yeah, I am, actually,’ before asking, ‘what’s your name and date of birth?’
She insisted she was suspicious he was carrying a weapon illegally, and threatened to place Mr Hodges in handcuffs.
When the cane was held up to her face, she said: ‘Well you don’t have to be a d*** to me.’
Deputy Jayme Lee Gohde admitted she was a ‘tyrant’ and told Mr Hodges to stop ‘being a d***’
A second police officer arrived who then began to arrest Mr Hodges
Ghode then detained Mr Hodges, who asked to speak to her supervisor who arrived at the scene.
The second un-named officer pressed to see ID, but Mr Hodges refused and was suddenly put in cuffs.
Ghode said: ‘Alright, Mr Hodges, was that hard?’
Hodges responded: ‘It’s gonna be. I want your name and badge number.’
Losing his temper, the second officer decided to place him under arrest.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office released a statement on social media, saying: ‘Sheriff Hunter is troubled by what he has seen in the video and the matter is being addressed.
‘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.’
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The 61-year-old man spent 26 hours in prison, despite doing nothing wrong.
