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Oklahoma lawmaker arrested, claims officers can't detain him: 'You chose the wrong person'

OKLAHOMA CITY – Police have released additional footage from the Thursday arrest of Oklahoma state Rep. Dean Davis that shows him continue to insist officers were constitutionally prohibited from arresting him while the state legislature is in session.

In four excerpts of video footage released late Friday by the Oklahoma City Police Department, Davis, 50, is handcuffed in the backseat of a patrol car, arguing with Sgt. Timothy Brewer. He had been arrested on complaint of public intoxication at a bar in Oklahoma City around 2:15 a.m. Thursday.

"You chose the wrong person, congratulations!" Davis, R-Broken Arrow, can be heard telling the officer, while also claiming that he had been unfairly singled out of the group he was with that night.

According to an arrest report Brewer wrote early Thursday, he and a police lieutenant were headed back to the police station when they saw several people on the patio of a bar, which is against the law after 2 a.m. When police approached the group and told them to leave the bar, three men would not comply. Davis "became argumentative" and pulled out his wallet to show his legislative credentials, the report said.

Davis "tried to show us a credential and stated to the effect of you don't know how bad you messed up(,) you will find out tomorrow," Brewer wrote. "At this time I advised (Davis) to put his hands behind his back."

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A bartender told the police lieutenant accompanying Brewer that she told the men to leave the patio several times because the bar was closed, according to Brewer's report. The witness said the group kept saying they were representatives.

Davis demands officer calls superiors

During body camera footage and patrol car footage from the arrest, Davis also demanded Brewer call his superiors.

"Your (Fraternal Order of Police) officer and your supervisor need to be called now," Davis said while in the back of the patrol car. "Do you understand that?"

Mark Nelson, president of the Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police, issued a statement Saturday in support of Brewer, saying he "acted professionally the entire time."

"The detention and arrest of Rep. Davis were completely justified," Nelson's statement read. "Our officers must deal with circumstances that are difficult and require much patience. We are proud of how Sgt. Brewer represented himself and the police department."

State Rep. Dean Davis apologized Thursday afternoon to fellow lawmakers for an "unnecessary distraction" following his arrest.
State Rep. Dean Davis apologized Thursday afternoon to fellow lawmakers for an "unnecessary distraction" following his arrest.

Davis disputes arrest

Patrol car camera footage shows Davis continued to dispute his arrest Thursday as Brewer prepared to drive to the Oklahoma County jail.

Davis argued officers did not have the authority to arrest him while the state legislature was in session. A section of the Oklahoma constitution says: "Senators and Representatives shall, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the Legislature, and in going to and returning from the same, and, for any speech or debate in either House, shall not be questioned in any other place."

After being told he would be taken to the jail on complaint of public intoxication, Davis can be heard asking, "How is that even possible? Because you never even tested or did anything. Why won't you answer me on that one?"

"There's nothing to answer," Brewer said during the video. "Your speech is slurred, you've got the smell of alcohol on your breath and you can't understand or obey simple instructions."

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Davis also told the officer he had Coca Cola in his cup, not alcohol. That's close to what Rep. T.J. Marti – a fellow Broken Arrow Republican who was among the group police encountered Thursday – told NonDoc Friday when he was questioned about the incident.

"He didn’t have a drink when they showed up," Marti said. "He had a Dr. Pepper."

Marti also claimed Davis's red eyes were due to allergies and that he had "pulled out his phone to get an Uber," according to his NonDoc interview.

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Attempts by The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network, to reach Davis were unsuccessful. But the lawmaker addressed the incident Thursday in a brief statement on the House floor.

"I dispute any wrongdoing," Davis said. "However, I do want to take this opportunity to apologize to this body for creating this unnecessary distraction from the important work of the House."

Second arrest while in office

This is the second time Davis has been arrested since taking office in 2019. Davis was placed on probation last September for a 2019 case in which he pled no contest to driving while impaired, speeding and obstructing a police officer.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma lawmaker Dean Davis arrested for public intoxication: Police