ELPD officers now work in Jacksonville FL

Lane Pittman said he was playing his electric guitar around 3 p.m. Saturday on 1st Street and Margaret Street, in front of his friend's home. He said a sergeant from the Neptune Beach Police Department came by and told him to move out of the street or he would go to jail.

Pittman said he politely asked if he could play on the sidewalk instead, and the sergeant said he could.

He moved to a nearby sidewalk and then played “The Star-Spangled Banner,” drawing a crowd of about 200, who cheered him on and chanted his name.

Video of the performance has received more than 8,000 views on YouTube. Toward the end of the video, officers can be seen approaching Pittman and asking to speak with him. Pittman puts his guitar away and goes with the officers.

Pittman said what happened next took him completely by surprise. The officers handcuffed him and drove him to the police station.

Pittman said he tried to respectfully explain that another officer had told him it was OK to play on the sidewalk. He said the officers were rude and would not tell him what he was being arrested for. He said they never read him his rights.

Pittman said he was charged with breach of peace, which is a misdemeanor, and was given a notice to appear, which is a written arrest.

Pittman said the officers told him they wanted to charge him with inciting a riot and take him to jail to keep him overnight, but they didn't have the resources to take him Downtown.