The above video is a snippet of the entirety of bodycam video released Friday. The full video of Mayor Henry’s arrest can be found at the end of this article.
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry announced Friday morning that police bodycam video of his October 2022 arrest for OWI would be released after previously refusing to do so.
The mayor made that announcement during a Friday morning press conference.
“I am not better than any other citizen,” said the mayor who also indicated he was embarrassed by the video footage.
Shortly after Henry’s statement, the video was released to media outlets.
Multiple media outlets, including WANE 15, had requested the release of the video captured by Fort Wayne police officers after they responded to a crash on Old Mill Road involving a car driven by Henry and another vehicle. A chemical test found Henry’s blood-alcohol-content was .152%, according to a probable cause affidavit, and he was arrested on two misdemeanor charges of operating while intoxicated.
A plea agreement was reached in early November which required Henry to pay $3,166 in restitution as well as a $25 fine and nearly $800 in court costs and filing fees. The plea agreement also called for Henry to not drink and submit to random alcohol or drug tests for 365 days.
City of Fort Wayne officials, however, have previously refused requests to release the arrest video.
In early December, Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt said in a report he believes the City of Fort Wayne violated the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) by failing to disclose investigatory records and police footage from Henry’s arrest.
APRA is a state law that says records held by government agencies are “presumed to be
accessible for inspection or copying by any member of the public unless exempted by law.”
In his report, Britt says unless Fort Wayne provides a “credible and justifiable reason for exercising discretion, it should release records.”
Following the release of Britt’s report, City spokesman John Perlich provided the following statement to WANE 15:
“We’re reviewing the counselor’s opinion and will have a formal response in the near future.”
That response came Friday with the release of the video.
Timestamps
- 1:00 – Mayor Henry tells police his side of the story as to how the crash occurred.
- 7:00 – FWPD officers discuss whether Mayor Henry had been drinking.
- 8:00 – Mayor Henry says “this is what I get for going to fundraisers.”
- 9:05 – Mayor Henry asks for his wife to receive a ride home because she is ill.
- 27:00 – Mayor Henry takes a breathalyzer test.
- 27:45 – Mayor Henry learns his BAC is nearly twice the legal amount.
- 28:00 – Officers place Mayor Henry in handcuffs with his hands behind his back.
- 28:50 – Mayor Henry asks police “you’re gonna actually take me in?”
- 33:20 – Mayor Henry says “I won’t forget this” after being placed in handcuffs and put in the backseat of a police vehicle.
- 34:00 – Officers switch Mayor Henry’s handcuffs from the back to the front.
- 35:30 – Mayor Henry tells officers at the scene “you all work for me” and to get his wife home quickly for her medical treatment.
- 41:30 – Officers discuss some preliminary details of the Mayor Henry’s crash.
- 44:00 – Officers notice Mayor Henry is on his phone and confiscate his belongings.
Timestamps
- 11:10 – Mayor Henry attempts to make a phone call to someone, but the person does not answer.
- 12:50 – Mayor Henry makes another call where the other person does answer. Henry talks for about two minutes before police notice and take the phone away.
