CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WVEC) -- An argument between a couple and an off-duty Virginia Beach police officer turned physical inside Farm Fresh off Kempsville Road in Chesapeake Thursday night, and it was all caught on camera.
The man who recorded the confrontation, Chris McVey, is facing multiple charges, including assaulting a police officer. This incident has sparked an internal investigation at Virginia Beach police.
13News Now has the video McVey recorded, but blurred the face of the off-duty officer because he isn't facing any charges.
McVey feels he shouldn't be facing any charges.
The confrontation started off verbal, but ended with McVey in handcuffs after things got physical. He and his wife, Susan Taylor, said they were at Farm Fresh Thursday night. They felt the cashier was being rude because he didn't greet them, and they commented on the customer service.
"My wife said something about his poor customer service, to which there was a chuckle and a look on his face, as if my wife wasn't making any sense," said McVey.
He said that was when the man in the blue shirt seen in the video stepped out from the back of the line and told the couple to leave.
"He pulls out a wallet that has a badge, flashed it at me, then quickly put it away and announced he was a police officer," he told 13News Now.
Virginia Beach police confirmed to 13News Now the man is, in fact, one of their officers who was off duty at the time. But, McVey claims when he asked for the officer's name and badge number, he didn't get it so, he called police, while the officer also made a call.
He said the officer then started recording him, and that's when McVey started doing the same.
Just seconds after McVey's video starts, the officer can be heard telling McVey to back away multiple times. McVey replies with a stern "No," and said that's when the officer lunged.
"Instinctively, I tried to defend myself from this person that's attacking me and telling me he's a police officer," he said.
Chesapeake police confirmed they got a call for a disorderly person at Farm Fresh.