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Dayton Police, NAACP Investigating After Officers Forcibly Remove Paraplegic Motorist From His Car

Clifford Owensby said the events of the September traffic stop made him feel like the police didn't respect him as a citizen.

Body camera footage released on Friday showed police in Dayton. Ohio forcibly removing a Black paraplegic motorist from his vehicle and throwing him to the ground as he repeatedly told them he canโ€™t use his legs.

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The motorist, 39-year old Clifford Owensby, has filed a complaint with Daytonโ€™s branch of the NAACP. The Washington Post reports that the Dayton Police Departmentโ€™s bureau of professional standards and the NAACP will investigate the circumstances surrounding Owensbyโ€™s Sept. 30 arrestโ€“during which police cited him for window tint and for transporting a child without a car seat.

https://twitter.com/DaytonPolice/status/1446609049294884873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Per the Post:

Officers had been monitoring a house Sept. 30 when they saw Owensby leave, according to Dayton policeโ€™s video statement released Friday. After finding prior drug charges, officers wanted a police K-9 to sniff around Owensbyโ€™s car, which required him to exit, police said.

The encounter grew tense after Owensby told officers he could not step out of his car because he is paraplegic. The officers said they would assist him.

โ€œI donโ€™t think thatโ€™s going to happen, sir,โ€ Owensby replied in the video.

An officer clarified: Heโ€™s not asking Owensby. As Owensby and the police continued their back and forth, Owensby took out his phone and called someone to ask for help.

โ€œYou can cooperate and get out of the car, or I can drag you out of the car,โ€ an officer told Owensby. โ€œYou see your two options here?โ€

Owensby asked to talk to the officerโ€™s supervisor before both officers reach for Owensbyโ€™s arm to pull him out of the car.

โ€œIโ€™m a paraplegic, bro, you can hurt me!โ€ Owensby yelled. Officers grabbed him by his hair and forced him to the ground before handcuffing and carrying him to the squad car with his feet dragging behind him.

According to NBC News, Owensby screamed and shouted for help as the unidentified officers pressed him to the ground. One officer put his knee into Owensbyโ€™s back and another threatened to tase him.

Derrick Foward, the president of Daytonโ€™s NAACP branch, told the Post that the actions of the officers on scene that day were โ€œtotally unacceptable, inhumaneโ€ and cast a bad light on the city. Predictably, the Dayton police union disagrees.

From NBC News:

Dayton Fraternal Order of Police President Jerome A. Dix said in a statement Friday night that the officers asked for compliance and offered to โ€œassistโ€ Owensby when they were told he is paraplegic. He said the motorist โ€œcontinued to be verbally noncompliant,โ€ thus escalating the officersโ€™ response.

โ€œThe officers followed the law, their training, and department policies and procedures,โ€ he said. โ€œSometimes the arrest of noncompliant individuals is not pretty, but is a necessary part of law enforcement to maintain public safety, which is one of the fundamental ideologies of our society.โ€

As for Owensby, he told the Dayton Daily News earlier this week that the encounter with police re-aggravated an old back injury he sustained and left him with scrapes from the pavement.

โ€œI feel like they donโ€™t even respect me as a citizen,โ€ he said of the officersโ€™ conduct.

Straight From The Root

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