JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. — A Kentucky man is pushing for charges against him, from an encounter with two Jeffersontown officers, to be dropped. Meanwhile, an internal investigation has been launched but with a 48-hour quiet order in place, investigators are not making any comments on the case.
The incident happened on Wednesday, November 25 while Joseph Bennett was live-streaming what looked like a crime scene in a McDonald's parking lot. Two officers approached Bennett and things escalated when they asked for his ID and said he had been pointed out as being part of the crime.
"I was on my way home from work on my normal route and I pulled behind the McDonalds," Bennett said.
Jeffersontown police and the mayor have both gone on record saying Bennett was not part of the investigation involving check fraud. And they said an internal investigation is ongoing into the altercation between Bennett and the two officers.
Bennett said he started to live stream and that's when two officers came up to him.
"Given the climate that we live in today, I was inclined to pull over and observe, it's the first time I'd ever done something like this," Bennett said.
Monday, WHAS11 learned a 48-hour quiet order has been implemented on the internal investigation. That means that we aren't learning any more about the Jeffersontown Mayor Bill Dieruf or the Jtown Police Department won't be answering any questions or publicly talking about the incident.
"Given the climate that we live in today, I was inclined to pull over and observe, it's the first time I'd ever done something like this. All of a sudden, I'm hit. A left hook to the eye," Bennett said.
In a press release, Mayor Dieruf said that three people were being arrested for a check fraud scheme. One of them pointed out Bennett as being involved. The Mayor confirmed on Saturday that Bennett was not involved.
However, Bennett was charged with resisting arrest and menacing and was released at the scene. Bennett said he wants the charges dropped.
He says the officer was trying to take his phone.
"They were literally pulling my fingers up off the phone."
Mayor Dieruf said in a statement that he'd be reaching out to Bennet to tell him that this incident is being taken with all seriousness. He also said he fully supports the internal investigation.
"I was taken aback and in no way did I think this would be the result of me pulling over to observe something,"
Bennett tells WHAS11 he has since hired lawyer Sam Agiar to represent him.
"I'm lucky because I'm okay, this could have been a lot worse and it should have been a lot easier," Bennett said.