When officers with the Dallas Police Department cuffed street preachers, the video caused a social media firestorm. Now, the preachers are telling The Dallas Express that the detention was “unlawful,” and they are speaking with an attorney.
“I came up and said that was unlawful, we didn’t have to move from the public sidewalk to be forced to go across the street, and that we had a right to be there,” said Landon Thurman, founder of the ministry “Testimonies of God,” to The Dallas Express.
One of the officers reportedly issued a citation to street preacher Will Dieterich for a noise ordinance violation, according to Thurman. He said Attorney Rob Hogan of Hogan Law is representing the preachers.
“We handed this over to our attorney,” he said.
Dallas police detained the preachers on December 18 outside American Airlines Center, while the Mavericks played the Pistons, as The Dallas Express reported at the time.
A video of the incident went viral, showing officers – including Assistant Chief Richard Foy – cuffing two preachers and sitting them down outside the arena. Libs of TikTok posted the video on X on December 23, racking up more than 668,000 views as of publication.
The video showed officers placing both men in handcuffs, with an officer stating on camera that the arrest was for “interference with public duties.”
Dallas police Senior Public Information Officer Corbin Rubinson previously told The Dallas Express the department usually does not comment on social media posts, but made an exception here.
“Neither individual was arrested or formally taken into custody,” Rubinson said at the time.
‘Threw Me In Handcuffs’
Thurman told The Dallas Express that a group of preachers with the ministry went to “proclaim the Gospel” on the sidewalk outside the entrance of the basketball game.
“We had some wonderful and fruitful conversations with a few fans who were walking to the game before it officially started, who were drawn in from the preaching,” Thurman said.
He also said they distributed roughly three Bibles that night, along with Gospel literature.
“Brother Will Dieterich was last to preach and happened to be standing on the ledge of the planter area just at the sidewalk, which turned out to be American Airlines Center’s property,” Thurman said.
The incident was on “private property” near 2600 Victory Ave., Rubinson previously said. Off-duty officers hired by a “third party” reportedly saw a group of people, including one on a large planter, using a loudspeaker “in violation of the City’s noise ordinance.”
“A nearby resident had asked the group to lower the volume, and officers also requested that the volume be reduced,” Rubinson said at the time. “During the interaction, several individuals attempted to antagonize the officers.”
Someone complained, and Dallas police showed up, according to Thurman. At that point, he said he was at a different entrance, but could see something going on and people filming. He returned to the area and found other preachers trying to speak with Foy, the officer in the viral video, who had just spoken with Dieterich.
“He was asked to not just step foot back on the property, but was told to take all of our belongings that were on the public sidewalk and preach across the street,” Thurman said.
He objected.
“That’s when Officer Foy threw me in handcuffs and then Will after me,” he said. “He sat us down [on] the ledge of the planter, threatening to take us to jail and spend the night there.”
Foy reportedly asked a squad car to come down, but it took roughly 45 minutes to arrive, according to Thurman.
Officers “temporarily detained” the preachers for officer safety and issued them criminal trespass warnings from a private business, Rubinson previously said.
“Both individuals could have been arrested, one for violating the noise ordinance and the other for Interference with Public Duties, but officers ultimately exercised discretion and issued a citation to the individual using the loudspeaker,” Rubinson said.
Foy allegedly gave the preachers an “ultimatum” that if he let them go, they would have to go across the street, according to Thurman. They did not agree to the terms, but said they would leave due to the time.
“He let us go and issued a citation to Will for what he claimed was ‘anti-noise ordinance,’ but no ordinance number was cited or enforced on the citation,” Thurman said. “We handed this over to our attorney.”
Rubinson previously said the interaction took place on private property, not a public sidewalk.
“The Dallas Police Department remains committed to protecting the First Amendment rights of all individuals and groups while also enforcing applicable city ordinances and state and federal laws,” he said at the time. “Property owners also retain the right to request that individuals leave their property if they are causing a disturbance.”
Soon after the incident went viral, state Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, posted that his office would be “demanding answers” from Dallas police. He tagged Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice, Harmeet Dhillon.
“The 1st Amendment must not be violated in Texas,” Harrison wrote.
