MAYES COUNTY, Okla. – An Oklahoma police department is investigating after video of an arrest of an alleged drunk driver started circulating on social media.
Video of the arrest shows an officer with the Pryor Creek Police Department approaching the door of a white SUV around 8:25 p.m. Monday.
The officer can be seen approaching the vehicle and telling the man inside, “Let me see your hands.”
The man, identified as 37-year-old Charles Burrow, puts his hands up for a second and then goes to turn off the vehicle. The officer tries to open the door as the man turns off the vehicle, and Burrow is seen grabbing the door and slamming it shut again, saying “no.”
Burrow then opens the door as the officer backs away, and the officer immediately points his gun at Burrow and says, “Let me see your f****** hands right now. You want to get shot right in the f****** face? Do you want to get shot in the face? Because I’m fixing to.”
Burrow then exits the vehicle and says, “You want to go there?”
“Yeah, let’s go there,” the officer could be heard responding. He then shoved Burrow to the ground and arrested him for Actual Physical Control of a motor vehicle, a charge also known as a DUI.
PCPD Chief Dennis Nichols told KRMG, “This is a situation again that we’re looking at. You have to realize that anytime we deal with a situation like this, it can turn violent at any second. The individual apparently at that point was not complying with the officer’s commands, and he did pull his weapon.”
The department released a partial video of the incident, which can be viewed in the media player above.
PCPD also shared a media release that notes three separate callers reported a “drunk driver” prior to the officer pulling up to Burrow’s vehicle.
One caller said Burrows went through three stop signs and almost hit two cars. The second caller said he “woke up” Burrows at a stop light before Burrows drove into the convenience store parking lot. The third caller was a clerk at the store who said, “They had a drunk at their store,” according to the release.
Burrows was booked at the Mayes County Jail on Monday and was released Tuesday.
The officer has been placed on modified duty while the department investigates the arrest.
Do you have any newsworthy photos or videos to share? Upload them to KSAT Connect online or through the KSAT Weather App.