The National Park Service is investigating an incident in which a visitor was shocked by a ranger by a ranger at the Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico over the weekend.
Darrell House, a Native American and Marine veteran, was reportedly walking his dog in the park Sunday afternoon, where he regularly prays and meditates.
As he walked, he moved off a trail to make room for a group of hikers and to comply with the social distance protocols, he said.
“This park ranger started following me, and he came out of nowhere and he was upset about that,” House told KOB-TV. “I think he was upset about me leaving the track beforehand, you know my prayers for the rocks done.”
I think he was upset about me having left the track before, you know, doing my prayers for the rocks.
A video posted on Instagram shows the ranger asking him for identification, which he said he refused to provide. The ranger says House can be detained until he can be identified.
In another video his sister recorded, House was shocked to the ground with a stun gun by the ranger.
“I have no ID,” House shouted. ‘I’m a peaceful person, sir. Please, what do you want from me? You increase it. ‘
The ranger repeatedly asks him to place his hands behind his back. House raises his hands and sometimes folds them in front of his chest while still asking for help.
House then obeys the orders to sit down and is handcuffed when another ranger arrives.
“You are being held for refusing to identify yourself,” said the unidentified park ranger. “If you resist, I will pursue you.”
House did not return messages from Fox News.
“I did not harm anyone,” he told the television station. “I did not harm anyone. I was not disorderly. I had no drugs. It has been going on for years. I exercise my religious rights on my ancestral land.”
The National Park Service said the matter was being referred to the agency’s internal business unit for review. House was quoted as interfering with agency functions, hiding his identity and being off the track.
“While we are working to gather the facts of this particular situation, we can not speculate about the events that led to what was captured on video,” said Vanessa Lacayo, spokeswoman for the agency.
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In a tweet, Albuquerque’s Equity and Inclusion Office called the video “disturbing” and said it reached out to the NPS and expected a “thorough, transparent and prompt” investigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.