Accusatory documents against Clarence Thompson
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Who is Clarence Thompson?
Clarence Thompson videotaped a disturbing scene of police brutalizing and arresting multiple people of color on the north side of the city on September 15, 2016. For bearing witness, he was also arrested. Below is a story from the Democrat & Chronicle outlining what happened. The accusatory documents against Thompson, above the D&C story, show what he is charged with and the arresting officer's name and badge number along with other relevant facts from the incident.
From the Democrat & Chronicle,
RPD arrests draw scrutiny after video goes viral
A video showing a Rochester police officer tackling a woman from behind as she walked away from him has been viewed more than 300,000 times after being posted on Facebook.
The video shows officers blocking a city street in order to make an arrest, when a nearby crowd gets the attention of an officer, who begins to direct a woman in the area to move from the sidewalk to a nearby property.
"You were told to leave multiple times," the unidentified officer says in the video. "You either go now or you go to jail. Get on the property, now. Go on there."
The woman starts to move to the residence when the officer says, "Oh, too late."
The video shows the officer rush over to the unidentified woman, grabbing her from behind and forcing her to the ground. At least two other officers assist the officer during the altercation.
Clarence Thompson, 41, of Rochester, started to capture the incident on video about 5 p.m. last Thursday from inside a vehicle on Hollenbeck Street, near Avenue A, as police began to block the road to make the initial arrest. The details of that initial arrest, or what prompted it or who was involved, were not immediately available.
Thompson, who continued to video the incident from outside the vehicle as the situation went on, was also arrested. He said he was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and with obstructing governmental administration.
"I don't know what I am going to do," he said. "It all happened so quick. I never thought it would happen like that. It was crazy."
The Rochester Police Department declined to provide further details about the situation. A department spokeswoman said the department is reviewing the incident.
City Hall did not immediately return requests seeking comment.
City Councilman Adam McFadden, however, said he is "frustrated" by the incident, and plans to discuss the video during a public safety committee meeting at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 30 Church St.
"I am not understanding why the officer even engaged with it," McFadden said. "There‘s no law against standing on the sidewalk unless you are blocking somebody from moving down the street, which the lady wasn’t.
"I thought we have all been educated enough to move past at this point."
