When McKinney City Council member La'Shadion Shemwell was cited for speeding Tuesday, he accused the officer of racial profiling, saying he'd been stopped for "being black with dreadlocks."

But after viewing body camera footage of the traffic stop — an incident that culminated in his arrest — Shemwell backpedaled on the claim Wednesday, acknowledging that he'd been antagonistic during the incident.

"I was upset. I'm still upset. I'm still frustrated," said Shemwell, 31, who was elected last year and is only the second African-American to serve on the council. "But do I want to make him out to be a racial profiler? I don't know."

Shemwell was pulled over by McKinney police Officer K. Wilkerson early Tuesday evening for allegedly driving 55 mph in a 35-mph stretch of North McDonald Street. The officer also cited him for having an outdated address on his driver's license.

After Shemwell repeatedly refused to sign the citations, Wilkerson arrested him, according to a police statement. Shemwell paid a $359 cash bond and was released from the Collin County Jail later Tuesday night.

Antoinette Burks speaks during a council meeting at City Hall in McKinney as councilman La'Shadion Shemwell (right) and other council members listen. (Jason Janik / Special Contributor)

"I was embarrassed. I was humiliated," Shemwell said in a phone interview earlier Wednesday before viewing the body camera footage. He has since said he takes responsibility for his "abrasive" and "argumentative" behavior.

The Police Department declined to comment beyond providing its account of the incident.

La'Shadion Shemwell

Shemwell said the officer knew he was a city official and that the arrest was made at the officer's discretion.

But after initially calling the traffic stop just another "instance of a bigger culture of harassment" against minorities, he later said he wasn't so sure.

"I could have handled it differently," Shemwell said. "When you're used to being pulled over. And you're used to being pulled over for no reason ... then I was defensive from the very beginning."

Shemwell has been an outspoken advocate against police brutality.

In 2016, he was charged with disorderly conduct/displaying a weapon in a threatening manner and resisting arrest after he refused to give up his AR-15 rifle during a protest over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black suspect by police, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A Tarrant County jury acquitted him later that year.

Mayor George Fuller said he "begged" Shemwell to wait until the councilman had had a chance to review body camera footage before speaking out against the Police Department. The Dallas Morning News has filed an open records request for the video.

"That's the responsible thing to do personally, and I also believe he's charged with the responsibility for the city," said Fuller, who has since reviewed the footage and said the officer was professional and "by the book."

"If he's going to say something that has a negative impact on the city, make sure it's correct," Fuller said of Shemwell.

According to KXAS-TV (NBC5), Shemwell said the officer used a palm-held electronic citation device and he couldn't read the ticket beyond the signature line. When Shemwell declined to sign it, the officer gave an "ultimatum," telling Shemwell "you sign this box or you're going to jail."

"I was just shocked, and I don't take kindly to threats," Shemwell said to NBC5.

Pete Schulte, an attorney and former McKinney police officer, said it is routine police procedure to arrest someone if they refuse to sign a citation. He said the Police Department didn't do anything wrong and didn't do anything illegal.

"With that being said, a lot of departments tell the officers to use their discretion," he said.

Schulte said it's a lesson that how a person responds to and treats an officer when pulled over matters.

"If you give the police any reason to believe that you're not going to take care of your business, then things happen, you get arrested," he said.