Police arrested a man for openly displaying a weapon at Acacia Park last month.
/ Courtesy: YouTube
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey will launch a review of an arrest in Acacia Park after the suspect claimed he was within his rights to openly carry a gun.
Officers arrested James (J.R.) Sorenson on charges of openly displaying a firearm in a public park during PrideFest July 21 downtown. According to a video taken by Sorenson's partner during detainment that day, officers had stopped him because of the visible gun. Sorenson said in the video he had been at the park for three hours with the gun, and nobody had said anything to him about it.
Sorenson was later released and posted video of the incident to YouTube.
The video at one point shows Sorenson calling police headquarters saying, "I need a leiutenant or someone in charge."
"I thought these officers were in the wrong and I wanted somebody above them, and then I got someone that was above them and he was just as ignorant of the law as they were," he said.
According to the Colorado Springs City Charter, it is illegal to fire a gun in a city park, but it does not say anything specifically about displaying one.
In 2003, the city amended its possession of guns law in conjunction with new state and federal laws permitting and regulating the sale and possession of firearms.
Mayor Steve Bach's office released a statement Monday announcing the expedited review of the arrest.
Sorenson says he was treated unfairly. In the video, you can hear Sorenson accuse officers of threatening to taze him, and an officer states, "You're about to get the s*** kicked out of you."
He says he's been in touch with CSPD just once to tell him there was a review, but he wants more.
"I just want a sincere apology from all the officers," he said.
Sorenson and his partner made it a point to state they didn't plan or intend to cause a scene. They say they were calm in the beginning, but when they believed officers seemed too aggressive, that's when the cell phone camera started rolling.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM