Police explain why a bicyclist was arrested Wednesday near campus

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - College Station police are providing more details and context of an arrest near campus Wednesday that was caught on a cell phone camera and shared on several social media sites.

In the 2-minute video, College Station and Texas A&M police are seen chasing after a man on a bicycle along University Drive near Northgate in the middle of the afternoon. When they finally get to him, a police officer forcibly removed the man from the bike and onto the sidewalk where he’s warned by the officers to stop resisting arrest.

A College Station police officer warned the man he would be tased if he didn’t stop resisting. Moments later the video shows the man being tased in the back as officers struggled to put him into handcuffs.

In a statement released to the public shortly after the arrest, College Station police said the 34-year-old man was arrested and charged with evading detention, resisting arrest, and resisting transport.

Police said at 1:04 p.m. the bicyclist was seen running through a red light at University and Nagle Street.

“Bicyclists on the roadway are required to follow the same rules and responsibilities as motorists.,” said CSPD spokesman Officer Tristen Lopez. “The bicyclist initially stopped when one of our officers initiated a traffic stop, but then continued riding. The officer followed the bicyclist until other officers arrived and they were able to take the bicyclist into custody.”

“A large percentage of crashes can be avoided if motorists and cyclists follow the rules of the road and watch out for each other,” said Officer Lopez.

Per department policy, an ambulance is dispatched anytime someone is tased by an officer, and in this case, the man complained of injuries and was transported by medics to a hospital, police confirmed.

Police said it’s also department policy for supervisors to automatically review any case that involves a taser being deployed.

“When an officer deploys his or her taser it’s a use of force, and all cases are reviewed by the department,” said Officer Lopez.