BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The man who was tackled and arrested by police during a protest in Buffalo earlier this week is speaking out.

Myles Carter didn’t mince words when he appeared before reporters Friday and addressed the incident, which was caught-on-camera.

“The charges that the Buffalo Police Department have brought against me are [B.S.],” said Carter, 30, who resides in the Town of Tonawanda.

During an interview with News 4 Monday night, Carter, a father of five children, was rushed and tackled to the ground by police on Bailey Avenue.

The incident was caught on camera and has been widely viewed on WIVB.com and shared on social media platforms.

Carter, who’s black, was protesting with others, in what he calls a “peaceful, non-threatening” way.

His arrest happened less than a minute before an SUV drove through a police line, injuring three law enforcement officers. 

“We were a group of protesters. We weren’t throwing bottles. We weren’t burning garbage cans. We didn’t break a curfew,” Carter said about the activities that night.

He also says he was arrested “unlawfully,” and claims police used “excessive force.” 

Now, he’s calling for authorities to admit they made a “mistake.” 

“They zip-tied my hands behind my back as if I was some type of terrorist in the streets of Buffalo. The city that I help. I try to help as much as I can every day,” he added.

Here’s what a New York State Police spokesperson told News 4 earlier this week about Carter’s arrest as the protester was being interviewed for a television story.

“He was identified much earlier than that interview took place as a protest antagonist. This is someone who actively gets the crowd involved or does certain things that could put other people in danger,” said State Police spokesman Trooper James O’Callaghan.

Carter was charged with obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct, according to a Buffalo Police incident report.

During an early evening news conference Friday, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown was asked about the arrest of Carter.

He told reporters that the crowd control unit involved “state police officers,” and not Buffalo police officers.

The state police were assisting Buffalo on the Bailey Avenue detail.

O’Callaghan says police didn’t realize that Carter was being interviewed, and says they waited until he was away from other protesters with his back to police, before making a move.

“You’re not going to do that unless it’s absolutely necessary. And they took that opportunity, unfortunately, right when you guys were interviewing. But they took that opportunity to make sure he was taken in custody peacefully,” O’Callaghan explained.

Carter, a business owner, says while he’s hired an attorney because of the arrest, he won’t let the incident deter him from community advocacy.

“My goal every day in this city is to make the lives and the livelihoods of the individuals living here better,” he said.

“You all think Buffalo doesn’t have problems. You all think we’re looking at George Floyd. Buffalo, you got problems. That’s the truth.”

Mayor Brown said that the city was informed that Carter was trying to “spark up the crowd of people.”

“According to what has been reported to me, that individual was a key and major instigator of people engaging in those kind of activities,” Brown told reporters.

News 4 has reached out to Buffalo Police and the New York State Police for reaction to comments made by Myles Carter.

There’s been no immediate response from either agency.