Members of the LAPD make their way along Temple St. in downtown Los Angeles.
Members of the LAPD make their way along Temple St. in downtown Los Angeles.
Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
  • William Gude is a policing documentarian who films the Los Angeles Police Department's responses to calls.
  • Gude filed a complaint against one of his arresting officers on September 10.
  • Gude and local activists believe he was arrested in retaliation for his filming work.
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On Monday afternoon, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers arrested William Gude, a policing documentarian known to thousands on Twitter as @FilmThePoliceLA, for alleged criminal threats against a homeless individual.

LAPD Capt. Brent McGuyre told the Los Angeles Times that the arrest was made around 1:30 p.m. near Las Palmas Avenue and Leland Way after Gude and the homeless individual got into a dispute "over the victim throwing trash in the street," after which Gude was accused of making threats. No other witnesses had been identified as of Monday evening, McGuyre told the Los Angeles Times.

Local activists mobilized to support Gude after a tweet was sent from his account around 4 p.m. by someone identifying themself as "William's helper," who stated that he was being held at the LAPD Hollywood Station on bail for $50,000. A user replied that Gude had filed a complaint on September 10 against one of his arresting officers, who local activists accused of arresting Gude in retaliation.

After being released from the Hollywood Station around 8 p.m., he quickly took to Twitter to give his account of events.

"Let it be known I have an ACTIVE complaint against the arresting officer (NELSON). This is all about retribution," Gude tweeted.

Gude said that he was arrested while filming LAPD's response to a call about a man with a knife, who told officers that Gude had threatened him earlier in the day. Gude disputed this, stating that the man pulled a knife and another weapon on him earlier in the day after Gude yelled at him for throwing furniture and bottles at cars.

The Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Division declined to comment on the incident. Gude did not respond to a request for comment.

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