By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

SOUTH WHITLEY — A South Whitley Police Department officer is facing criticism for his response during a traffic stop.

SWPD Officer Brian Schimmel, who began working at the department in October 2023, pulled over Vivian Augustus, who was 18 at the time, on Jan. 24.

Vivian’s father, Brent Augustus, posted video footage of the traffic stop to YouTube on April 12, with the video having over 31,000 views as of April 16. In the video’s description, Brent states, “South Whitley Police Officer Brian Schimmel claims the driver (my daughter) refused to identify and resisted arrest after being pulled over for speeding.”

Vivian was taken into custody on Jan. 24 and is currently facing misdemeanor charges for refusal to identify and speeding.

A social media post on the South Whitley Police Department Facebook page states the following:

“The social media post and comments suggest a uniformed local officer acted unreasonably in his interaction with a driver pulled over for speeding on Jan. 24. The incident resulted in a criminal charge and judicial finding of probable cause that the driver committed a crime…It is a crime to refuse to identify yourself if stopped for a traffic infraction.”

“Further, a law enforcement officer is authorized to arrest an individual who commits a crime in the officer’s presence. The reasonableness of this officer’s conduct during this arrest is being reviewed. To ensure the fairness of the process to all parties, the town’s attorney has advised that it is inappropriate to comment on the underlying facts of this incident while they are being reviewed.”

Vivian’s criminal case is currently pending and is set for jury trial in October.