by Sarah Thomack
St. Joseph Post
Police tactics came under scrutiny after a short video of a domestic violence arrest in St. Joseph circulated on social media Wednesday.
The 23-second video showed a black man on the ground being tased by an officer.
St. Joseph Police Capt. Jeff Wilson says the incident report will go through a use of force evaluation.
Wilson says the officers were called to a domestic violence disturbance where the victim reported her front door had been kicked open and she had been assaulted. Officers made contact with the victim on Maxwell Road as she had attempted to follow the suspect. Wilson says the victim positively identified the suspect to officers and as the suspect was questioned he became evasive and repeated, “She’s crazy, she’s crazy.”
An officer radioed in to report there was probable cause and told the suspect he was under arrest for domestic violence. According to Wilson, after multiple requests for the man to place his hands behind his back and him refusing to comply, officers warned they would use OC (pepper) spray.
“We have a use of force continuum,” Wilson says. “It starts with officer presence, then verbal. That didn’t work so they tried OC (pepper spray, that did not work so they went to the taser and his hands are still locked up underneath him. After the taser was administered, due to that, the suspect brought his hands out.”
Wilson says the suspect still wouldn’t comply and attempted to beat his head onto the pavement. An ambulance was called and the man was medically cleared. Officers took the suspect to Mosaic Life Care for a mental health evaluation.
Police Chief Chris Connally met with the United We Stand group on Thursday and addressed the incident and questions about it in a Facebook Live post.