A Holdenville man was sweating and was in “fight or flight mode” before he was arrested by a state trooper during a scuffle last week, an incident report states.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol released the report Friday on an Oct. 3 arrest in Holdenville that led to two troopers’ being put on paid administrative leave.
The release of the report followed a Tulsa World request under the state’s Open Records Act seeking the trooper incident report and a copy of a complaint filed against the troopers.
The World also requested the release of videotapes from the dashboard cameras from the troopers’ cars.
OHP Capt. Chris West said the videotapes would be released to all media once the agency’s investigators are through with their review. As to the complaint filed against the troopers, West said that is part of the investigation and not a public document.
The OHP released a narrative of the incident, a copy of the probable cause affidavit into the arrest that was filed in Hughes County District Court, plus the incident report from Trooper Tommy Allen.
Allen and Trooper Daniel Martin were put on leave as a result of the complaint.
Martin landed in the national spotlight earlier this year after he scuffled with a Creek Nation paramedic in May in Okfuskee County. The OHP suspended him without pay for five days in July as a result of that encounter.
The complaint against Martin and Allen stems from the arrest of Kristopher Douglas, 28, of Holdenville, who was charged with obstructing an officer, a misdemeanor.
In his report, Allen said a motorist, identified as Lucas Carson, ran a red light and was pulled over. The motorist pulled into the driveway of a home on Creek Street.
Martin, Allen’s backup officer, also arrived on the scene and was standing by as Allen dealt with the driver.
Allen said that while he was interviewing the driver, Martin made contact with Douglas, who came up behind the two patrol cars.
According to Allen, Martin asked Douglas to step aside, to which Douglas responded that he was on his way to his uncle’s house, which was at the end of the driveway where the traffic stop occurred.
Allen said Douglas continued to try to walk past them despite three requests from Martin that he stand by the street until the troopers were finished with the traffic stop.
Allen said he confronted Douglas about ignoring Martin’s commands and then took a soft hold of Douglas’ right hand.
He said Douglas stared down at his hand and then at the trooper, then back down to his hand and then stared at Allen again.
Allen said he released his hold only after Douglas stepped back.
“Trooper Martin knew from his past law-enforcement experience that Mr. Douglas was in the 'fight or flight mode,’?” Allen wrote. “At this time Mr. Douglas was sweating, and this was on a cool evening where the temperatures were in the low 60s.
“Mr. Douglas was clenching his teeth and blading himself as if he was angry.”
At that point, Allen said, Martin pulled out his retractable baton and expanded it.
Allen said he went to arrest Douglas by taking hold of his left arm and putting it behind his back. Allen then said he swung his right arm around Douglas’ neck in order to get him face-down on the ground.
While he was taking Douglas to the ground, Allen said, Martin struck Douglas once on the leg with the baton.
Allen wrote that Martin used the baton because he thought Allen needed assistance and “because Douglas was a large-size individual, resisting, and appeared to be under the influence of some type of drug.”
Douglas is described in court records as being 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing 240 pounds.
He has a drug conviction out of Oklahoma County for which he received a suspended sentence, records show. His attorney said Douglas successfully completed that sentence.
After Douglas was subdued, he was put in a patrol car and taken to the Hughes County Jail. He posted bond and was released about 90 minutes later.
Douglas’ uncle, Jerry Ford, witnessed the arrest and believes that the troopers overreacted and used excessive force.
He said Douglas, who lives across the way from him, was not involved in the traffic stop at all and was merely coming over to his house to help him install drywall.
While Douglas was sitting on the ground in handcuffs, his wife came from across the street with a baby in her arms, en route to Ford’s house, the OHP report noted.
The report said she was allowed to pass through the scene “since she did not present a threat and was carrying a small child in the cool air.”
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Officer George Porter Charged with Stealing from Sick Officer
In an unusual theft case, a veteran Chicago police officer has been charged with stealing $800 -- from another officer who was undergoing treatment for cancer, authorities said Thursday.
Police and prosecutors said Officer George Porter had agreed to buy groceries for the ill co-worker with her bank card but instead made four $200 withdrawals from ATMs over the next three days and pocketed the cash.
Bail was set at $50,000 Thursday for Porter, 46, of Chicago, who was charged with one count of theft and two counts of deceptive practices.
Porter, a 14-year veteran of the force, was stripped of his police powers in June because of an unrelated issue and has been on desk duty ever since, police spokesman Roderick Drew said.
Neither Porter's attorney nor the victim could be reached for comment.
Porter and the victim worked at the city's 311center. They also live near each other, and Porter sometimes gave her rides to work, prosecutors said.
On May 23, the officer didn't feel well and asked Porter to buy groceries for her, prosecutors said. But she didn't have any cash, so she gave Porter her debit card and PIN number and told him to withdraw money from her bank bank's ATM for the groceries, they said.
Instead, he withdrew $200 at from a pharmacy and never bought any groceries, prosecutors alleged. In the meantime, the victim had lost consciousness, authorities said. The next morning, after a call to 911, she was rushed to a hospital still unconscious.
On May 25, while the victim was still hospitalized, Porter made three more unauthorized withdrawals, prosecutors alleged. Two of the withdrawals took place at ATM machines in the Blue Chip Casino in Indiana, they said.
Police and prosecutors said Officer George Porter had agreed to buy groceries for the ill co-worker with her bank card but instead made four $200 withdrawals from ATMs over the next three days and pocketed the cash.
Bail was set at $50,000 Thursday for Porter, 46, of Chicago, who was charged with one count of theft and two counts of deceptive practices.
Porter, a 14-year veteran of the force, was stripped of his police powers in June because of an unrelated issue and has been on desk duty ever since, police spokesman Roderick Drew said.
Neither Porter's attorney nor the victim could be reached for comment.
Porter and the victim worked at the city's 311center. They also live near each other, and Porter sometimes gave her rides to work, prosecutors said.
On May 23, the officer didn't feel well and asked Porter to buy groceries for her, prosecutors said. But she didn't have any cash, so she gave Porter her debit card and PIN number and told him to withdraw money from her bank bank's ATM for the groceries, they said.
Instead, he withdrew $200 at from a pharmacy and never bought any groceries, prosecutors alleged. In the meantime, the victim had lost consciousness, authorities said. The next morning, after a call to 911, she was rushed to a hospital still unconscious.
On May 25, while the victim was still hospitalized, Porter made three more unauthorized withdrawals, prosecutors alleged. Two of the withdrawals took place at ATM machines in the Blue Chip Casino in Indiana, they said.
Officer Christopher Lloyd Now Arrested for Rape
A Dolton cop caught on camera allegedly breaking a 15-year-old special needs student's nose for failing to tuck in his shirt has a troubling history that includes killing a man in a case of disputed self-defense and is now in an Indiana jail on an unrelated rape charge.
Christopher Lloyd, 38, was identified Thursday by his father Charles Lloyd and Dolton Mayor Ronnie Lewis as the officer who in May was recorded by a school security camera scuffling with 15-year-old, 140-pound Marshawn Pitts at the Academy for Learning in Dolton.
An attorney hired by Pitts' parents released the video this week, calling the incident an "unprovoked attack" on a vulnerable child. The video, which has no audio, appears to show the officer slamming Pitts against a locker, wrestling him to the ground and pinning him.
But speaking Thursday, Charles Lloyd said he had seen the video and discussed the incident with his son, who he said was "just trying to do his job as a police officer and is completely innocent."
"My son said, 'Sir, you need to tuck your shirt in,' and this boy (cussed at him and said) 'I'm not going to tuck my shirt in, you can't make me,' " Charles Lloyd said.
"That boy struck my son in the eye and broke his glasses -- he had a history of behavior issues," he alleged.
Christopher Lloyd was arrested last month and charged with sexually assaulting a woman he knew at her home in Hammond, his father said.
According to Lake County, Ind., court documents, he held a pillow over the woman's face while sexually assaulting her Sept. 14 and had previously threatened her with a knife.
Lloyd, who's being held in lieu of $110,000 bail, faces up to 20 years behind bars if convicted of rape, criminal deviate conduct, criminal confinement and sexual battery, said Diane Poulton, spokeswoman for Lake County's prosecutor.
A lawsuit filed by his ex-wife, Nicole McKinney, last summer alleges he gunned down her new husband Cornel McKinney in front of their children outside their home on Feb. 17, 2008.
A Robbins police officer at the time, Lloyd was suspended after the shooting but eventually found work with Dolton police in January, his father said.
Though an autopsy shows he shot McKinney 24 times, the lawsuit alleges, he was not charged because Chicago police accepted his explanation that he had acted in self-defense.
Chicago police spokesman Veejay Zala said details of the investigation into McKinney's death could not immediately be found Thursday, but McKinney's attorney, Rahsaan Gordon, said the latest series of allegations against Lloyd showed he shouldn't have been employed as a police officer.
"At some point, people in positions of power need to protect the public," Gordon said. "You have to ask why he was hired."
Lloyd was terminated after the incident, Lewis said Wednesday.
Dolton Police Chief Robert Fox declined to comment, citing pending lawsuits.
---------------------------------
More Information and Video: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/08/special.needs.student.beating/
Christopher Lloyd, 38, was identified Thursday by his father Charles Lloyd and Dolton Mayor Ronnie Lewis as the officer who in May was recorded by a school security camera scuffling with 15-year-old, 140-pound Marshawn Pitts at the Academy for Learning in Dolton.
An attorney hired by Pitts' parents released the video this week, calling the incident an "unprovoked attack" on a vulnerable child. The video, which has no audio, appears to show the officer slamming Pitts against a locker, wrestling him to the ground and pinning him.
But speaking Thursday, Charles Lloyd said he had seen the video and discussed the incident with his son, who he said was "just trying to do his job as a police officer and is completely innocent."
"My son said, 'Sir, you need to tuck your shirt in,' and this boy (cussed at him and said) 'I'm not going to tuck my shirt in, you can't make me,' " Charles Lloyd said.
"That boy struck my son in the eye and broke his glasses -- he had a history of behavior issues," he alleged.
Christopher Lloyd was arrested last month and charged with sexually assaulting a woman he knew at her home in Hammond, his father said.
According to Lake County, Ind., court documents, he held a pillow over the woman's face while sexually assaulting her Sept. 14 and had previously threatened her with a knife.
Lloyd, who's being held in lieu of $110,000 bail, faces up to 20 years behind bars if convicted of rape, criminal deviate conduct, criminal confinement and sexual battery, said Diane Poulton, spokeswoman for Lake County's prosecutor.
A lawsuit filed by his ex-wife, Nicole McKinney, last summer alleges he gunned down her new husband Cornel McKinney in front of their children outside their home on Feb. 17, 2008.
A Robbins police officer at the time, Lloyd was suspended after the shooting but eventually found work with Dolton police in January, his father said.
Though an autopsy shows he shot McKinney 24 times, the lawsuit alleges, he was not charged because Chicago police accepted his explanation that he had acted in self-defense.
Chicago police spokesman Veejay Zala said details of the investigation into McKinney's death could not immediately be found Thursday, but McKinney's attorney, Rahsaan Gordon, said the latest series of allegations against Lloyd showed he shouldn't have been employed as a police officer.
"At some point, people in positions of power need to protect the public," Gordon said. "You have to ask why he was hired."
Lloyd was terminated after the incident, Lewis said Wednesday.
Dolton Police Chief Robert Fox declined to comment, citing pending lawsuits.
---------------------------------
More Information and Video: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/08/special.needs.student.beating/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)