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Jakarta Post

'Now I’m scared when I see a cop': Man wrongly arrested by gun-toting police officer

Police claim the wrongful arrest followed the right procedures.

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, November 8, 2019

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'Now I’m scared when I see a cop': Man wrongly arrested by gun-toting police officer A meatball seller was arrested for a crime he did not commit in Cengkareng, West Jakarta. The incident was recorded by a CCTV camera and went viral on social media. (Kompas.com/Kompas.com)

A man was arrested for a crime he did not commit in Cengkareng, West Jakarta and the incident was recorded by a CCTV camera, the footage of which went viral on social media.

The man, identified as AE, was squatting holding a cell phone in front of a shop in the Mutiara Taman Palem Blok B housing estate when two police officers in plainclothes approached him. One of the officers pointed a gun at AE, while his partner pushed the man, making him lie face down on the floor. According to the footage, the second officer then handcuffed AE.

The  CCTV camera recorded no one else on the scene.

The CCTV video was uploaded to the Facebook account of Munx Guevara, who stated that the arrested man was his friend, a meatball seller, who was just using free WiFi at the spot to download files. The Facebook account also claimed that the police planted drugs and accused AE of possessing them.

Later on Thursday, the police claimed the arrest happened because earlier they found evidence of drugs at the shop where AE was using the WiFi that night.

AE said as quoted by kompas.com that he panicked when the police officer pointed the gun at him. "When I was asked if the drugs were mine, I immediately denied it and said that I was just playing with my phone," he said.

The police, however, did not believe him and demanded he take a urine test to prove he was not a user and a drug dealer. The police also checked his cellphone, he said.

"After being interrogated, doing the urine test and having my cellphone checked, they finally released me,” he said

AE said he had not imagined that a video of the incident would go viral and he did not know the person who uploaded it to the internet.

He said he was still traumatized by the arrest because it was the first time he ever dealt with the police.

“I was very unfortunate that day. Now I’m scared when I see a police officer. I was shocked. I didn't want to go there [to the shop] again," he said.

Cengkareng Police chief Comr. Khoiri confirmed the arrest had been a mistake. However, he claimed that it had been done according to law enforcement procedures because the officers were suspicious of AE because he was an unknown person who was in the location associated with the drugs.

“Because he was not far from the evidence we saw him as a suspicious person,” Khoiri said.

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