18 AUG 2015
A man was tackled to the ground by a police officer as he stood outside a restaurant singing the Beach Boys’ hit Barbara Ann.
Jim Ochse, 61, was approached by police in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as he blasted out the popular tune outside the Shula steakhouse.
One video of the incident shows Mr Ochse stop singing to converse with the policeman before he turns to leave – and is suddenly wrestled to the floor.
He can be heard shouting “police brutality” several times as onlookers film the incident on their mobile phones.
He also appears to claim that he has a permit to be singing in the area.
Security guards are seen in the clip, although they do not get involved in the incident.
Reports suggest the walkway where Mr Ochse was stood was private property.
Ochse was arrested and taken to a holding cell where he remained for 90 minutes.
He claims he was told he would be issued a notice of violation by mail but did not know what the charge would be.
One witness who is reported to have caught the incident on camera is Sarah Varjassy, who uploaded the clip to Facebook.
On her social media account she wrote: “I would like to make this very clear to everyone.
“I have nothing but the UTMOST respect for law enforcement officers and all that they deal with and encounter on a daily basis to protect us.
But she added: “I feel as though the prior situation was handled incorrectly so I took to social media. Maybe I was wrong. I just want the world to be a fair place and maybe that is naive of me.”
Sarah’s video has now been viewed more than 60,000 times on Facebook.
Mr Ochse has told the Allentown Morning Call that he now intends to sue the police department.
Capt. Tony Alsleben said the Allentown Police Department cannot comment because it is reviewing the matter. He would not identify the officer.
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/shocking-moment-police-tackle-man-6273618