Fairfax Police Pointed Weapons At Teen They Assumed Was Armed: Audio

FALLS CHURCH, VA — A video posted Wednesday to the Fairfax County Police Department's YouTube channel includes audio of the police dispatch related to the incident in which officers pointed their guns at a juvenile outside a Falls Church IHOP on Saturday night. The audio may provide context on why the officers reacted the way they did.

Police say that around 7 p.m., three to four juveniles entered the restaurant at 6655 Arlington Blvd. They threatened the hostess and one of them raised his shirt to show a handgun sticking out of his waistband.

The group left the restaurant but returned around 11 p.m, and tried to coax the hostess outside and into the parking lot, according to police. When officers arrived on the scene, they stopped two people, but did not find any weapons.

What happened next was caught on a video that went viral on Monday, after it was posted to social media. The video, which contains language that may be offensive to some people, shows a third juvenile walking up to the officers and using a cellphone to record their actions. Two officers spotted the juvenile approaching and pointed their service weapons at him.

This is how the police incident report described what happened:

"While detaining them, a third subject, who the officers believed to be involved, approached with something in his hands. Due to the nature of the call and not locating a weapon, officers ordered the subject to the ground at gunpoint. Officers determined the juvenile was holding a cell phone and filming."

RELATED: Video Of Fairfax Officers Pointing Guns At Man At IHOP Goes Viral

The police dispatcher told officers before they arrived at the restaurant that weapons might be involved in the incident they were responding to, according to the YouTube video released by police on Wednesday.

"The caller is stating that there are about 10 males outside in reference to a weapon that was flashed earlier, about three hours ago," the dispatcher says, on the radio. "[The caller] has not seen one tonight. Nothing was discharged ... concealed. The caller is now saying that they are surrounding the windows from outside of the building."

The dispatcher then tells the responding officers that the caller saw the subject who flashed the handgun earlier standing outside one of the emergency exits and pointing a handgun at them directly.

The audio appears to support FCPD's assertion that the officers did not at first recognize the juvenile was holding a cellphone. Having not found the handgun reported by the dispatcher, they reacted to his movement toward them and drew their firearms in case he was the person the caller saw with a handgun.

Police detained the three juveniles, before releasing them to their parents. A detective from the Criminal Investigation Division was assigned to investigate the incident, according to police.

Following departmental procedure for incidents involving officers pointing firearms, this incident is under review, according to the report.