Benjamin Beard, the Miami social media personality known online as BenDaDonnn, said during a livestream Monday night that he intends to take legal action over his arrest in the Northgate District early Sunday. In a Tuesday statement, the city said the incident "remains under investigation and review" and declined further comment, KBTX reported.
As of Tuesday morning, no case involving Beard appeared in Brazos County's online court records, the Houston Chronicle reported. Beard did not say whom he planned to sue.
His account
Speaking on a stream that ran nearly three hours, Beard, 34, said he had followed an officer's order to move onto the sidewalk and did not try to evade anyone. He acknowledged objecting out loud to how the officer was moving people along, and he said his security guard knocked the officer's arm aside.
Beard said he was then told he was being detained and was shocked with a Taser twice, in the arm and then the torso.
"I do believe that I was racially profiled," Beard said, according to KBTX. He said he learned of the evading charge only after reaching the jail and estimated he was held about 14 hours in all. KBTX reported that Beard otherwise spoke well of the other officers he dealt with in the city.
What police said
College Station police said Sunday that officers were trying to move patrons off the street outside a bar and a group ignored their commands. Police said the encounter turned physical and that the security guard shoved an officer to the ground.
