While they were in the store, Moncrief said, he spotted a man in a jail outfit outside. Moncrief said he thought the man was an escaped prisoner.

“The guy was acting desperate,” Moncrief said. “It looked extremely real to me. It wasn’t funny.”

Moncrief said his son saw the man outside and the boy asked, “Dad, Dad, what do we do?” Store employees let the boy stand behind the counter so he’d feel safer.

“The poor kid was frightened,” Moncrief said.

Moncrief said he decided to intervene because he didn’t want the man to get into the store and harm his son or other customers.

“You need to get on the ground right now,” Moncrief can be heard saying in the video. “Do not move. Do not move.”

Moncrief said he studied criminal justice in college but has never worked in law enforcement.

Mitchell, in an interview, said he bought the jail outfit at a party store. He said he had left a costume party Saturday when he decided to stop at the convenience store to film a “social experiment” to see what would happen when a black man in jail clothes asked for a ride.

He said most people thought it was a prank right away.