Too far or just what he deserved? It's a heated debate that has been splitting sides on social media after a Mesa man was pinned to the ground after he resisted arrest, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
In a cellphone video, you can hear the piercing screams of the suspect, 34-year-old Marc LeBeau, as he pleads for help from the heat after he was restrained on the asphalt near Loop 202 and Brown Road on Monday.
LeBeau spoke to ABC15 from his Mesa home Tuesday afternoon. He claims that he never resisted arrest. The only thing that he says he did was bounce up and down on his feet on the hot pavement, since he was barefoot.
DPS said that everyone knows the Arizona pavement is hot and that is something they can't control.
"We do not pick and choose where fights occur," DPS Capt. Damon Cecil said.
Cecil said LeBeau did not listen to troopers’ commands.
"Our trooper wanted to take Mr. LeBeau into custody as quickly as possible, and that's all I can really do,” Cecil said. "We can't just not do our jobs because somebody decides to not wear shoes."
LeBeau said that is all he kept asking for was his sandals during the altercation with troopers.
"He kept telling me, 'No,’ and you know, I'm up against the car, hands behind my back," LeBeau said. "I was like that for more than two minutes. He had more than enough time to cuff me."
Austin Maxwell captured the video and said that he is not taking sides. He said he simply wanted to get it out there.
"Just by me posting the video, people were going - 'No, this is showing police in a bad light,' and no - the video was never posted with that intention at all," Maxwell said. It's my Facebook. I posted what I was doing throughout the day. It was a lot more eventful than posting a picture of my food," Maxwell said as he laughed.
As for LeBeau, he has a few extreme blisters and scratches to heal. His biggest scar may be the one to his record, as he is facing a few charges, including DUI and resisting arrest. He told ABC15 that he will fight those charges.
