A day after the media expressed shock over a video of a man in a New Mexico national park being tasered by a United States Park Service ranger, expanded footage revealed today showed the victim lying and refusing police orders for seven minutes.
In the expanded footage, Darrell House, who gave a different name to the officer, repeatedly refused to identify himself and walked away despite requests to stay with his friend and dog.
What began as a friendly interaction and request by the officer on Sunday to avoid the area sacred to Native Americans ended when House began filming the officer, refused to put his dog down as asked, and started yelling, “Help!” At that point, the unidentified officer tasered House.
Even after he was tasered, House refused the ranger’s orders.
The National Park Service released the video today and said, “While the incident remains under investigation, we are sharing more details and the facts as we know them in an effort to provide as much transparency as possible. Prior to the officer using his electronic control device, or taser, the officer attempted to resolve the interaction with an educational contact and simple warning. During this initial interaction, both individuals provided fake names and dates of birth to the officer.”
Secrets has been told that the officer has received threats due to the initial reporting of the incident. Many outlets have suggested it was a brutal interaction and did not have the earlier video. What’s more, they have played up that House is a veteran and Native American.
House was hit with three charges. He was identified in the media, not by the National Park Service.
“In consultation with the United States Attorney’s Office, the male received citations for being in a closed area off trail, providing false information and failing to comply with a lawful order. The female individual received citations for providing false information and being in a closed area off trail,” the National Park Service said.
Correction: An earlier version said the officer was part of the U.S. Park Police. They patrol urban areas while rangers have jurisdiction in the parks.