Texarkana Police Say Video Validates Officers Actions (Video)
The Texarkana Texas Police say a video from an officers body camera, and store footage, show no wrong doing on the part of officers who had to physically restrain an individual.
The police department posted the video on their facebook page along with this news release from the police department.
We were made aware of a video earlier today which alleged improper use of force by one of our officers. On May 7, 2018 at approximately 11:40pm, a Texarkana, Texas Police Officer was conducting a traffic stop in the parking lot in the 1800 block of New Boston Road. Immediately upon exiting his patrol unit, the officer heard a loud voice coming from across the lot and recognized the individual from previous encounters. It appeared he was under the influence as he was d...ancing and yelling loudly in the parking lot.
The officer completed the traffic stop and made contact with the individual. Despite repeated attempts to summon him, the individual walked away and refused to respond. Based upon his actions, speech and mannerisms, the officer determined he was, in fact, under the influence. The officers then grabbed his arms in an attempt to make the arrest, which led to a struggle.
During the incident the officers encountered resistance from the individual despite repeated commands to place his hands behind his back. They went to the ground where again the individual refused to place his hands where officers could handcuff him. One of the officers used a closed hand, back handed strike to stun him long enough to gain compliance. He immediately complied and was handcuffed and arrested. The video which has been circulating misrepresented the facts as it only showed a small portion of the actual event.
After a thorough review of all video, including the officer’s body camera and the store surveillance video, we have concluded that the officers acted within the scope of their duties and within departmental policy. We have included both videos below.