Dallas activist claims he was treated unfairly during traffic stop

The man once wrongly identified as a suspect in the Dallas ambush on officers in July was arrested Monday morning for a traffic violation.

Mark Hughes was recording the interaction with a Dalworthington Gardens police officer on Facebook when he says he was treated unfairly.

The traffic stop happened around 1:30 a.m. and ended with Hughes in handcuffs.

“The officer was very aggressive, I kept my hands in the air and I told him that I wasn't going to take my seatbelt off and reach for it, that he was going to have to do it for me,” Hughes recalled. “I kept my hands up the whole time.”

Hughes says the officer deleted his Facebook post once Hughes was in custody. The video was recorded by Hughes' brother, who was watching the live stream.

“That's why the recording is still circulating right now,” Hughes said. “If he didn't do that, there would be no evidence of the recording.”

“That is completely not true. There is nothing to suggest that based on our inquiry that anything was done besides securing the phone,” said Dalworthington Gardens Police Chief Aaron Ausmus.

And after reviewing the officer’s body cam footage, Ausmus says he believes the officer acted within reason.

“The officer escalated his voice, displayed his taser. But he did not deploy his taser just to get compliance, and it worked,” the chief said.

Ausmus also says the officer didn't know about Hughes’ activism in the Black Lives Matter movement or that Hughes was wrongly identified as a suspect shortly after the ambush on officers in downtown Dallas in July.

But Hughes believes the officer recognized his name and plans to file a formal complaint with the department.

Hughes says shortly before the Dalworthington Gardens traffic stop, he was pulled over by a different officer in another city for having a headlight out. He says the officer gave him a verbal warning, told him about the traffic warrant and sent him on his way.

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