DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – New video released by the Dayton Police Department Thursday shows what happened after a paraplegic man was arrested.
Initial body camera video showed officers pulling Clifford Owensby from his vehicle at a traffic stop on Sept. 30 after Owensby told officers he was paraplegic and unable to walk. The Dayton Police Department released additional body camera and cruiser video Thursday of Owensby speaking with officers after he was arrested.
“I told them I can’t step out of the car, I’m a paraplegic,” Owensby said in the interview with a DPD sergeant. “Well, they were like, ‘We will help you out of the car,’ I was like, ‘No you are not, no you are not, ya’ll aren’t going to touch me.’ I got help getting in the car and all that, so I’m letting them know, and I’m standing my ground.”
The video shows Owensby in visible distress as he spoke with the sergeant.
The sergeant tells Owensby that officers are allowed to remove him from the vehicle.
“If the person we’re doing an investigation with doesn’t go along with the program, then they’re resisting us, that’s a crime,” the sergeant said on the video.
Wednesday, the Dayton Fraternal Order of Police released a Facebook video saying Owensby was pulled over after leaving a known drug trafficking house.
“When he left, officers pulled him over for traffic violations,” Dayton FOP Second Vice President Derric McDonald said. “This was not a chance encounter.”
Dayton Police Department released a statement on Oct. 8, which says in part:
“We recognize that we would all like to see interactions between citizens and police officers handled professionally. We need to do better, and this can be done by further developing the mutual respect and accountability necessary to make our city safer.”
The city is investigating the officer’s actions in Owensby’s arrest. That investigation is expected to take up to six weeks.
At Wednesday night’s City Commission meeting, Commissioner Jeffrey Mims said the city is also looking into having an independent investigation performed.
