Nationwide — David Cunningham, an African American police officer from Mobile, Alabama, was arrested at a Disney resort in Florida and charged with kidnapping after he handcuffed and detained a man at a house party in Mississippi, a state where he had no official police authority.
Cunningham, 22, was arrested in Orange County, Florida, on June 3 after a warrant was issued by Harrison County, Mississippi. He faces one felony count of kidnapping connected to an incident on May 24.
According to People, Cunningham was off-duty when he detained a 21-year-old man at a house party in Mississippi. The man had reportedly shot the homeowner’s dog during a round of “recreational gunfire.” Cunningham handcuffed the man, put him in the back of a Prichard Police Department vehicle, and drove away.
Since Cunningham had no jurisdiction in Mississippi, deputies from the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office stopped him shortly after the incident. He wasn’t arrested on the spot, but investigators later ruled his actions met the legal definition of kidnapping. They issued an arrest warrant days later.
A passenger in Cunningham’s vehicle, Kristin Allen, is also facing charges. Authorities say she gave misleading accounts of the incident and may have obstructed the investigation. She turned herself in on June 2, while Cunningham was arrested the next day at the Disney resort.
At the time of the incident, Cunningham was employed by the Prichard Police Department. The department said it was not aware of the out-of-state incident until June 2. An internal investigation is now underway to determine if Cunningham violated department policies, including the use of a city vehicle across state lines.
Cunningham is being held in Florida on a $500,000 bond and is awaiting extradition to Mississippi.