Boston Police Officer, Upset at Being Filmed, Waves Gun in Attleboro Man's Face

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In the midst of heightened tensions between police and citizens across the country, a Boston police officer finds himself under investigation after he was captured on camera waving a toy gun in an Attleboro man’s face.

Sgt. Henry Staines, upset at being filmed by the man at a crime scene in Roxbury, can be seen shoving the gun inches from the man’s face. The gun was an authentic-looking airsoft pistol.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans deemed the behavior inappropriate because the man filming Staines had every reason to believe the gun was real. Staines is now the subject of an internal investigation.

The investigation was launched after the anti-police group CopBlock posted the video on its website. Authorities verified the video is real.

The Attleboro man, who has not been identified, comes across about six police officers who have a teen on the ground in handcuffs in Roxbury. The teen reportedly was walking around with the airsoft pistol and someone in the neighborhood called police.

Staines sees the man filming and suddenly makes a beeline for him.

“Do you just like filming?” Staines asks.

“Yeah that’s it.” the man replies.

“You wanna jump in the cruiser with us some day?”

“Why you say that?”

“I don’t know. Just thought you might be interested in getting some real-life footage.”

“No...is anything wrong with this (filming)?”

“No. I always question when you’re taking a video of us. (Point at the camera.) Turn it that way, turn it that way. I’m not kidding. You don’t have permission to film me.”

“All I’m doing is filming.”

“Where do you live?

“Attleboro.”

“Nothing like that goes down in Attleboro?”

“I’m here giving my condolences to a friend who just died.”

“Pass along mine too,” Staines says, storming off to the crime scene.

About 10 seconds later, Staines shouts at the man and holds up the pistol.

“See this? No, don’t put the video down. Put it up. This is why we’re here. (Holding gun.)

“Get an up-close video of this. See that? See that? (Shoving gun inches from the man‘s face.) That’s why we’re here. Have a good day.”

“OK, thank you.”

The teen in handcuffs can be seen standing up. Staines then shouts at the man, “He’s not a consenting adult. He’s only a juvenile. He doesn’t appreciate you filming him.”

That’s where the video ends.

Massachusetts law generally allows bystanders to film police as long as they don’t interfere. Filming police has been in the national spotlight since a bystander last month filmed a white South Carolina police officer shooting an unarmed black man to death as the man ran away from him. The officer was charged with murder.

Tensions between police and the public hit a fever pitch this week in Baltimore after a black man died in police custody. Six officers were charged in connection with the man’s murder.