The incident unfolded while Santiago had two friends riding around in his police cruiser with him — which was against department rules — and the officer claimed that Cunningham was parked illegally.
“We think, unfortunately, what happened is that he was showing off for his friends,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks stated.
Cunningham stated during the trial that the memory of the day still haunts him. “I thought I was going to die right there,” he said. “I just thought it was over.”
In the video, Cunningham says, “He put a gun to my head. He put a gun to my head,” before freezing in place for a long moment with Santiago’s weapon in
his face, the Washington Post reported.
Though it could not be heard in the video, Cunningham and witnesses both asserted that Santiago had also threatened him, saying, “we’re PG police, and we shoot people.”
Cunningham said that he hopes the video will serve as a lesson in what not to do for other officers, and that people will be inspired to stand up for themselves when their rights are violated by law enforcement.
“If anytime you feel your rights are being violated, you should step up to the plate and say something,” he told the Washington Post.
