Viral video shows Purdue University police officer aggressively arresting Black student

Purdue University faces wide condemnation after video posted Wednesday of a school police officer aggressively arresting a Black student made national news.

The video, posted Wednesday evening on Instagram by victim Adonis Tuggle, shows the officer pinning Tuggle into a snow mound last Friday. The officer, identified as Jon Selke, at times seemed to put pressure on Tuggle’s neck and head. Tuggle repeatedly told Selke, “You’re choking me!”

 

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A post shared by Adonis Tuggle (@cozy_tuggle)

Nicole Dubish, Tuggle’s girlfriend and the one who filmed the video, tried to intervene; Selke threatened to tase her if she touched him again.

Purdue Police told the Purdue Exponent that Selke was responding to a call placed around 8 p.m. of Tuggle and Dubish having a domestic argument. Police logs say the caller told police Tuggle was holding a woman against her will. After the struggle, Tuggle was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting law enforcement, according to TMZ.

“He didn’t follow instructions,” police spokesperson Capt. Song Kang told the Exponent. “It was a simple resisting case.”

The department refused to hand over body cam footage to both Tuggle and the Exponent, citing it was an active internal investigation. Kang also refused to watch the video after an Exponent reporter offered, saying he didn’t know “whether or not that’s going to have any value.”

Tuggle wrote in a private social media group the police department said Selke was cleared after an initial internal investigation.

“U literally have VIDEO evidence both on my end and even the body cam footage of the officer,” Tuggle wrote. “With me SCREAMING on your choking me and I did NOTHING to give reason for him to attack me. And still this man get to keep his job and go about his day like nothing happened!!!!!”

Tuggle’s Instagram post garnered over 30,000 likes as of 3 p.m. Thursday. A town hall meeting about the arrest will take place Thursday at 7 p.m. EST at the university’s Black Cultural Center.

Follow Austin on Twitter @AuLinfante