Bodycam video shows Mullen talking about plans to get student protesters arrested

Bodycam captures Dusten Mullen incident at protest

We have obtained body camera video of the moments an off-duty Phoenix Police sergeant interacted with teens during an anti-ICE protest in January. FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum reports.

PHOENIX - We have obtained body camera video that was taken at the scene of an incident where the conduct of an off-duty Phoenix Police sergeant has since been placed under scrutiny.

The backstory:

We have been reporting on an incident involving Sgt. Dusten Mullen in recent days.

Per our first report on the incident on April 6, officials with the Chandler Police Department said a teenage girl was arrested on Jan. 30 outside Hamilton High School, and accused of throwing a water bottle at someone supporting ICE.

According to a report we obtained, however, a Chandler Police officer assigned to the protest said when a student pointed out a man with a full-face mask who seemed suspicious, he was seen walking back behind a palm tree. That man was later confirmed to be Mullen.

Dusten Mullen (right)

When the officer approached Mullen, he was arguing with students, telling them to "grow up and act like adults." He told the officer he wasn’t happy about kids flying flags that hit his car. The officer, however, says he never saw any flags touch the car.

The report states that students then became agitated, chanting and following Mullen, who they believed was an ICE agent. The Chandler officer advised him to take his protest elsewhere due to the volatile situation.

On April 10, Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano said an employee with the department has been placed on administrative leave, following "a recent incident involving an off-duty officer in a neighboring city." The statement did not identify Mullen by name.

In the aftermath of Chief Giordano's announcement, an attorney representing Mullen said his client is being punished for protected speech, and called out the chief for implying that Mullen "engaged in misconduct."

The attorney, identified as Steve Serbalik, wants Chief Giordano to withdraw or correct his statement to the media, and lift the administrative leave.

On April 14, we reported that it was Chandler Police, and not Mullen, who notified Phoenix Police about the alleged incident, another aspect under investigation by Phoenix Police's Professional standards Bureau.

What we know:

The video was provided by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, and in accordance with department practices, the video is blurred.

"I would like to file assault charges. I just got hit," a man who was seen walking up to a police officer at the start of the video was heard saying. As mentioned earlier, the video is blurred, but that man was wearing a t-shirt that bore a similar design to the one Mullen was seen wearing at the same protest.

A group of protesters were also seen in the background, and they were heard chanting. The officer was heard telling the protesters to get off the roadway.

 "He's threatening people! He's threatening people!" one of the protesters shouted.

The man who said he wanted to file assault charges at the start of the video was also heard saying the following:

"My plan is legitimately to just let them all assault me, and you guys arrest them all, and I will keep it on film. I also have other people filming from a distance, so my goal would be to get all these kids in jail if they want to break the law," the man was heard saying in the video.

"OK. So, they’re saying that you’re threatening them as well. Were you making any threats?" the officer asked.

"Negative," the man replied.

That interaction happened before Mullen was splashed with water, as described in Chandler Police's report.

What's next:

We have asked authorities to release an unredacted version of the video.