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Video of a black paraplegic man pulled from his car by police in Dayton, Ohio, as he screamed for help, sparked an NAACP investigation.
Clifford D. Owensby has filed a complaint with the local NAACP unit, according to the Washington Post. Unit chairman Derrick L. Foward told the Post that the NAACP is working “hand in hand” with legal counsel to Owensby.
Local authorities say Owensby was arrested on September 30 following a traffic stop by officers who had been alerted to a possible drug house in the area where Owensby lived.
At around 12:30 p.m., officers pulled over Owensby’s white Audi and, after receiving his ID, instructed a K9 to sniff Owensby’s vehicle in the open, as it had left a house in suspected drug and had a “felony drug and weapon history”. officials added.
In order to perform this inspection, drivers are required to get out of the vehicle and Owensby informed officers that he could not get out.
“I’ll help you out,” the officer can be heard saying over body camera footage.
“I don’t think that will happen, sir,” Owensby replied.
When the officer insists Owensby has to get out of the vehicle and says he’s going to help him, Owensby says, “No, you’re not. You’re not going to touch me.”
Owensby then calls an acquaintance, asking them to “bring people with cameras.”
Shortly after, the officer is seen grabbing Owensby by the arm and hair and dragging him to the ground. After handcuffing Owensby’s hands behind his back, two police officers can be seen dragging him with his legs limp and his pants falling off. His shoes also fell off, which the officer threw back in his car.
TW: Police violence
Ohio police force a paraplegic black man out of his car by his arms and hair during a traffic stop.
He asks for a supervisor and yells for help, and the cops corner him and ridicule him for “making it difficult”. Horrible.pic.twitter.com/UFAps84mfE
– Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) October 8, 2021
Police said a 3-year-old was also in the car at the time of the incident.
“To pull this man out of the car by his hair – a paraplegic – is totally unacceptable, inhumane and throws a bad light on our great city of Dayton, Ohio,” Foward told the Post.
According to Foward, Owensby had recovered cable TV set-top boxes from rental properties he owns, including one suspected of being a drug house, when he was arrested by police.
“He felt treated in an inhuman manner, like a dog on the street,” Foward said. “He felt the officers didn’t empathize with him. “
The Post noted that the Dayton Police Department is already under surveillance for a previous incident involving a deaf and mute man with cerebral palsy who says he was injured and abused by officers during a 2020 arrest.
The Dayton Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards will investigate the incident involving Owensby as well as the officer’s conduct, the Post reported. Owensby was cited for his window tint as well as for transporting a child without a car seat.
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