A video was released on Friday, recorded from a bodycam, that showed Ohio Police dragging a paraplegic man out of his car and taking him to the police car, despite the man being seen protesting that he has no use of his legs.
The actual incident took place on Sept. 30, when Clifford Owensby was stopped by the cops while coming out of a “suspected drug house.” A statement by the Police, recalls that after stopping Clifford, the authorities asked him for a narcotics detection K-9 as he was previously involved in “felony drug and weapon history.”
As per the authorities, according to the department’s policy, when a person is requested for narcotics detection K-9, one must come out of their vehicle to let the K-9 walk through the vehicle and let it take a “free-air sniff.”
Footage released by the department shows that when the cops approached Clifford to get out of the car, while he was in the car, he replied, “I can’t step out of the car, sir. I’m a paraplegic.” To this reply, the officer asked to help him get out of the car, but instead, he refused to come out of the car and repeated that he cannot come out. He further added, and there “will be a lawsuit if you put your hands on me for no reason.”
During this conversation, the footage also shows that Owensby called someone to bring the camera to “witness what’s going on,” and also asked the officer to call his supervisor.
However, the police then gave him strict instruction, “You’re getting out of this car. So you can cooperate and get out of the car, or I will drag you out of the car. Do you see your two options here?”
At this Clifford was still resistant, thus, the police officer dragged him out from the car, while he “grabbed onto the steering wheel,” tightly. Later he was handcuffed and kneeled down.
During the investigation, $24,450 of cash in a bag was found in Owensby’s cars, which according to the police, “the money had been in close proximity to illegal drugs.”
After the finding, Clifford was taken to the hospital for an examination, after which, he was released.
The investigation regarding the case started on October 1st, and until the investigation completes, the investigators have asked the people for their patience. “We understand this incident has sparked a lot of emotional reactions here in the community in Dayton, Ohio, and we ask for your patience as we investigate this incident to its fullest.”
