Wausau Police Dispute Allegations Of Racial Profiling In Arrest

The Wausau Police Department is pushing back hard against allegations of racial profiling raised by social justice activists about the November arrest of a black man.

The department has now released the squad car video of the incident. In the footage, Officer Jacob Chittum asks 30-year-old Pavion Phillips for his real name, after Phillips had given him a fake one, and a fake date of birth. Then, the officer arrests Phillips and subdues him with pepper spray.

Phillips can be heard saying, “I didn’t do anything,” while Chittum says, “You’re under arrest. Stop resisting!”

Wausau Police released the video in response to allegations of racial profiling raised by Pastor Laurie Bushbaum of the First Universalist Unitarian Church and members of the social justice group NAOMI.

“He was not engaged in any illegal activity at the time. He was standing outside a bar that was closed, and waiting for his ride,” said Bushbaum. “If that had been two white people, would the same thing have happened?”

Wausau Police Chief Jeff Hardel insists his officers did nothing wrong.

“There’s a business right there, a bar. He didn’t know if they were casing the place. So he had every right to stop and investigate,” Hardel said. “They were very patient with him, and they continued to instruct him to stop resisting.”

In a statement on the Police Department’s Facebook page, Hardel called Bushbaum’s words “inflammatory.”

Bushbaum said she was speaking for herself, and not for her church. She said she believes most of the area’s police officers are “professionals with integrity.”

Phillips received eye injuries the night of the arrest that later required hospitalization. Police say he violated the terms of his bond in another case by drinking that night.