A video of a man furiously confronting Black Lives Matter protesters at an intersection in Plano, Texas, earlier this week has been viewed more than one million times.
The video was taken during a protest on May 2 to honor the life of Marvin Scott III, a 26-year-old Black man who died in March while in police custody at a Texas jail. Last week, Scott's death was officially ruled a homicide.
Protesters on Sunday marched through Plano and Frisco, Texas, and at one point, some demonstrators stalled traffic while heading toward a Chick-fil-A parking lot, the Dallas Observer reported. At that time, video footage captured a tall white man storming at protesters while screaming obscenities.
The man can be heard yelling "get the f*** out of my way" repeatedly at groups of protesters. He could also be seen approaching a younger Black woman and swatting her phone out of her hand while screaming "Get out of here!"
WARNING: Video below contains language that may be objectionable.
Texas Residents At Breaking Point: Citizens angry with BLM protesters blocking traffic. pic.twitter.com/MvITK943UW
— New Granada (@NewGranada1979) May 7, 2021
During the altercation, Civil Rights Attorney Lee Merritt, a representative for the Scott family who was present during the demonstrations, can be seen calmly approaching the man, according to the Dallas Observer. In response, the man angrily shoved Merritt and put up his fists as if he was about to strike him.
An officer present on the scene then stepped in to usher the man away. Meanwhile, the man could be heard cursing and pleading with the officer to get the protesters out of the road. Before finally leaving the scene, the man can be seen pointing at several demonstrators and screaming "you're an a**hole," repeatedly.
By Saturday, the video was viewed more than 1.1 million times.
Hava Johnston, a community advocate who was present during the altercation, told the Dallas Observer that she believes police treated the man favorably because he was white.
"The question is: Why wasn't that guy treated the same way that a person of color would have been treated?" she said.
The following day, a Twitter account called "Official Justice for Marvin" criticized the responding officer and noted that he never reached for his Taser or weapon during the altercation. It called on the public to call the Plano police chief and demand why the officer allowed "this insane man to leave after witnessing his assault on protesters."
"Ask him if a 6'5 275lb black man had approached a group of white women, children and men, if that man would be alive right now," the tweet read.
Ask him if a 6’5 275lb black man had approached a group of white women, children and men, if that man would be alive right now. Demand David Godber’s arrest. And the firing of Officer Jemil.
— Official Justice for Marvin (@MarvinDScottIII) May 3, 2021
Newsweek contacted the Plano police department for an additional comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
Over the past week, protesters have been staging nightly sit-ins at the county jail where Scott was killed, while other demonstrators have been taking to the streets to demand the arrests of eight officers involved in his death, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Scott died at the Collin County jail on March 14 after being restrained by police during several mental health episodes related to schizophrenia, Merritt said. Schizophrenia is a condition that can negatively distort a person's thoughts, emotions, behaviors and perception of reality.
An autopsy last week confirmed that Scott died from "fatal acute stress response in an individual with previously diagnosed schizophrenia during restraint struggle with law enforcement," according to the Collin County medical examiner's office. He had been arrested by police earlier that day for possessing possessing less than two ounces of marijuana.
"Instead of responding with medical professionals, instead of helping Marvin to a facility that would be able to treat him, he was brutalized. He was maced. He was restrained physically. He had people, several officers kneel on top of him," Merritt said, according to NBC-DFW.
Seven of the detention officers involved in the incident were fired, with an eighth officer resigned at the start of the ongoing investigation, The Dallas Morning News reported. So far, none of the officers have been arrested.
