VIDEO: Silver Spring Man Arrested After Helping Neighbor

SILVER SPRING, MD — A video that shows a man being arrested after reportedly helping an intoxicated neighbor is going viral on social media. The 18-minute clip has so far amassed nearly 37,000 views on YouTube and more than 6,900 likes on Instagram.

Samir Ahmed, the man being arrested in the video, told multiple news outlets the incident occurred around 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17. The Silver Spring resident said he found a neighbor passed out near his front yard and helped him get back home.

When he returned, he said he was confronted by Montgomery County police officers, who were looking to assist an intoxicated man. A neighbor had called the police for help with the unconscious man, Ahmed said.

The video begins with four officers pinning Ahmed to his sister's car. The arrest was recorded on a neighbor's phone, according to Ahmed.

"He lives here. This is our neighbor," someone yelled in the video.

"We know that, ma'am. "He's under the influence," one of the officers replied.

"No, he is not who we were calling about," somebody shouted. "He is not under the influence. What are you talking about? He lives here."

Another person tried to explain that Ahmed was helping the man.

"We get that, and [Ahmed] told us that," the officer said.

"You're not helping the person who needs the help. The man is unconscious on the floor over here," somebody later said, referring to the man Ahmed brought home. "Why aren't you helping [that person]?"

After more officers arrived on the scene, and Ahmed was escorted to a different area, police explained to the crowd what had happened. Police said an officer "smelled an odor of marijuana coming from [Ahmed]."

According to court records, Ahmed was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting and interfering with a lawful arrest, obstructing and hindering a law enforcement officer in the performance of a duty, and willfully failing to obey a reasonable and lawful order that a law enforcement officer makes to prevent a disturbance to the public peace.

Ahmed is scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 7, 2019.

The video, which was posted on Ahmed's YouTube account, is below.

Warning: This video contains profanity.

Image: Screen grab from a YouTube video posted by Samir Ahmed

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