Dashcam Video Of Vet’s Arrest For ‘Rudely Displaying Rifle’ Reveals The Context Everyone’s Been Waiting For
Jason Howerton
Officials in Bell County, Texas, have released the dashcam footage of a police officer in Temple, Texas, disarming and arresting decorated veteran C.J. Grisham while he was on a hike with his son in March. The officer is seen grabbing the dad’s gun and then seemingly attempting to unlatch it from the man’s sling without telling him why or asking for permission.
Video recorded by Grisham and his son went viral earlier this year, but it did not show the moment the dad was approached and disarmed by the officer. He was later charged with “interference with duties of a public servant,” though the officer is heard in the video from March telling Grisham he was stopped for “rudely displaying” his rifle.
On Nov. 19, Grisham was found guilty by a jury of three men and three women of “interference with duties of a public servant” and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. In an email to TheBlaze, the veteran said he plans to appeal the decision.
In the newly released dashcam video, officer Steven Ernis can be seen flagging down Grisham and asking him, “What are we doing?”
“We’re hiking,” Grisham replies.
Ernis, without warning, grabs Grisham’s AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and examines it.