It's been a rough week for Darien Long, the Atlanta mall cop who shot to fame after his videos of stun-gun rife confrontations with patrons went viral.
The so-called "Kick Ass" mall cop was arrested in Atlanta on Thursday night, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. According to police, Long faces battery charges after allegedly tackling a person at the Metro Mall in downtown Atlanta, where he works as property manager.
Police spokesman John Chafee told the station that Long said he'd warned the victim not to return to the mall, but he could not back up his claim.
WSB-TV reports that police reviewed video footage from the mall and determined that Long was the aggressor.
Long appeared before a judge Friday and was granted a $2,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court again April 4, according to a separate Fox 5 Atlanta report.
Earlier this week, Long told news organization Right This Minute that he had lost his job at the mall and that his last day would be March 31.
In a phone interview with The Huffington Post on Thursday afternoon, Long said that although he'd officially been let go because of declining revenues at the mall, he believes there were "political reasons" behind the loss of his job. Long claimed that his videos, which he filmed with a GoPro camera strapped to a bullet proof vest, made the Atlanta police look bad.
"If they get rid of me, the videos stop coming out of that area," Long told HuffPost.
Earlier this year, Long became the beneficiary of a $23,000 crowd-sourced fundraising campaign organized by members of the Reddit social news community after one of his videos went viral. The drive was intended to provide him with the means to buy better gear. As property manager, Long carried a Taser stun gun, firearms and handcuffs on the job.
Long is known for his aggressive attitude toward individuals he thinks are a threat to mall security. While he has his supporters, others think that Long's approach is inappropriate.
More From Fox Atlanta:
Related
Before You Go
