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Police in Pearl, Mississippi arrested journalist Ron Durbin for filming while conducting a public records request, despite an officer explicitly telling him moments earlier that his activities were legal. The incident mirrors a recent case that resulted in an officer's termination, yet Pearl PD proceeded with the same unconstitutional arrest.
The Deception That Started Everything
Durbin was quietly filming with his iPhone inside Pearl City Hall, making a deliberate effort to keep his voice down and remain respectful. When he directly asked the arresting officer whether he would be arrested for continuing to record, the officer clearly stated "no." The officer then turned away, spoke briefly with a city employee who objected to being filmed, and immediately placed Durbin in handcuffs.
The charge: disturbing the peace. The evidence: a city worker's personal discomfort with being recorded while performing her taxpayer-funded duties.
Fifteen Officers For One iPhone
Pearl Police responded to the "threat" of a single journalist with his phone by deploying approximately fifteen officers to the scene. The massive show of force for a non-violent records request raised immediate questions about proportionality and whether the department was attempting to intimidate other journalists present.
The arresting officer admitted he had seen the recent video of a colleague being terminated for an identical arrest. When asked why he would repeat the same mistake, he doubled down, claiming this situation was somehow different because the employee "didn't want to be filmed."
Medical Emergency Complicates Detention
As temperatures soared past 80 degrees, Durbin began experiencing what appeared to be heat-related medical distress while in custody. Witnesses reported heavy sweating and visible distress, prompting a call for emergency medical services. The situation took a bizarre turn when officers initially released him for medical treatment, then immediately re-detained him.
Durbin, who has a history of heart problems and takes blood pressure medication, was transported to St. Dominic Hospital under police escort. The medical emergency highlighted the physical toll of what many observers called an obviously retaliatory arrest.
The Warrant That Never Came
Hours into the detention, no warrant had been signed. Officers admitted they were waiting indefinitely for a judge to review the case, a practice that violates established limits on how long someone can be held without formal charges. The extended detention appeared designed to find any possible justification for an arrest that even the involved officers seemed to know was legally questionable.
The case presents a clear pattern: government employees uncomfortable with transparency, officers willing to arrest first and find justification later, and a system that treats public accountability as criminal behavior.
What the Video Reveals
The full confrontation, captured on multiple cameras, shows the moment-by-moment breakdown of constitutional policing in Pearl, Mississippi. From the initial deception to the medical emergency to the desperate search for charges that might stick, the footage exposes a department willing to repeat the exact mistakes that cost their colleagues their careers.
Watch the complete footage to see how this constitutional crisis unfolded and whether Ron Durbin walked free or became another casualty of the feelings police.
