Photo courtesy of the Dayton Police Department.
In Dayton, Ohio, police officers dragged a paraplegic Black man named Clifford Owensby from his car by his hair on Sept. 30. The police defended themselves by saying that Owensby refused to get out with their help.
The entire exchange was recorded by the police officer’s body camera. After being pulled over, Owensby complied with the officer’s order to turn off his vehicle and hand over his driver’s license. Once the officer found that Owensby had a record, he told him to get out of the car so that a police dog could sniff the vehicle.
“I can’t step outside the car, sir. I’m a paraplegic,” he replied. “I got help getting in.”
The officer, seemingly not believing Owensby, said that he would help him get out. Owensby looked at the officer in bewilderment.
“Well, I don’t think that’s going to happen, sir,” he politely said.
After repeated commands to get out of his car, Owensby requested that the officer call his supervisor. He also sensed trouble was brewing and called a friend to tell them what was happening and bring cameras.
The officer refused to call his supervisor and said he would drag him out of the car first and then call a “white shirt.”
Owensby warned the officer not to touch him, or he would sue.
“No you’re not, no you’re not, you’re not going to touch me. You are definitely not going to touch me. There will be a lawsuit if you put your hands on me for no reason, bro.”
The officers ignored him and dragged Owensby out of his car by his hair, and threw him to the ground as he screamed for help.
Owensby was handcuffed while one officer dug his knee into Owensby’s back and dragged him to another police vehicle. He lost a shoe during the bs arrest, and one officer picked it up and threw the shoe in Owensby’s car.
A woman passing by can be heard reprimanding the officers for the deplorable treatment of Owensby as the officer blames their conduct on Owensby. There was a three-year-old child in the back seat during the incident.
The police released the bodycam footage on Oct. 8. Jerome Dix, the president of Dayton Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #44, defended the officer’s actions.
“The officers followed the law, their training and departmental policies and procedures,” said Dix. “Sometimes 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.”
The Dayton Police said that a bureau investigation began on Oct. 1. A report will be released when it’s over.