TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - When it comes to reporting what looks to be criminal or unfair, some people pull out their phones and start recording.
Several recent incidents in Tallahassee have been shared on social media, leading to some sort of direct action.
The most recent incident has gone viral. Tallahassee police say Don Crandall flashed a gun at a group of FAMU students trying to visit a friend.
Isaiah Butterfield was one of those students. He started recording the incident and shared it on Twitter.
When asked why he pulled out his phone, Butterfield said, "Because this doesn't happen. Stuff like this doesn't happen, and I knew something was going to happen. So, out of really reflex, like, hey, this is something you record."
The video has about half a million views on Twitter, and it's gotten the attention of national media.
Crandall has since been fired from his job as a local hotel manager. He's also been charged for "improper exhibition of a firearm." Tallahassee police say Crandall hasn't turned himself in to Leon County authorities.
Blake Dowling, CEO of Aegis Business Technologies, says social media has turned into a huge platform to show the good and the bad, but it's also a way to document potential crime.
"The internet is forever," he said. "Who is law enforcement going to believe, right when they come on scene? Well, if there's video evidence, it's not someone's word versus someone's word. It's fact, and it's a powerful tool to defend yourself or to present evidence."
"Evidence" is a key word, and several viral videos have resulted in actual change.
Brett Taylor was arrested and charged in connection to an incident outside a McDonald's in the Lake Jackson area last month. A video shows Taylor screaming profanities and holding a gun, calling on someone inside the fast-food restaurant to come outside.
An Uber driver by the name of "Michael" was removed from accessing the app after he was heard on a Snapchat post calling a black rider a racial slur.
"Social media and video content, in particular, has become a mechanism for whistle-blowing," Dowling said.
In addition to phones, body cameras are another tool to document crime that Tallahassee police will use soon.
TPD declined to comment for this report, since the case involving Crandall is still open.
