Bodycam footage shows shocking altercation between college student and police over ‘misgendering’
Body-camera footage from the University of Central Florida shows a confrontation between student Jarrett Vick and campus police that escalated after an officer used male pronouns for Vick. The video has drawn attention because it combines questions of gender identity, police conduct and the use of force during a volatile encounter.
Police had reportedly attended an unrelated incident in February 2025 when Vick became involved in an argument with officers. The footage shows officers warning Vick to calm down before using pepper spray and a Taser, then arresting Vick; the Daily Mail reported that Vick, 27, later pleaded guilty and the case was closed.
- UCF student arrested after pronoun dispute escalated
- Footage shows pepper spray and Taser use
- Case reportedly closed after guilty plea
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Bodycam footage refers to video recorded by a camera worn by a police officer during an incident, and such footage is often released or leaked afterwards to show exactly what happened during a disputed encounter. Police forces in many countries now use these cameras routinely, partly to record evidence and partly to provide an independent record when there is disagreement about how an interaction unfolded.
"Misgendering" means referring to someone using a name, pronoun or term that does not match their gender identity, for example calling a transgender person "he" when they identify as "she", or vice versa. It has become a contentious issue in recent years, particularly on university and college campuses, where debates over gender identity, free speech and institutional policy frequently intersect.
Incidents involving police, students and questions of gender identity tend to attract wide public attention because they touch on several sensitive and widely debated issues at once: how officers should handle disputes involving identity and language, the boundaries of free expression on campus, and the reliability of bodycam footage as a record of events. Such stories often become flashpoints in broader arguments about gender politics and policing, with different commentators drawing very different conclusions from the same footage.