Dayton police officers seen on body camera dragging paraplegic man out car

It’s almost like they only know one way to handle situations…

Source: Jeremy Hogan / Getty

It would behoove a lot of police officers to actually listen to people when they tell them things. The assumption that everyone is a lying suspect generally tends to make, well, an a** out of the cops and end in civil lawsuits for the city.

A WHIO report details a traffic stop that resulted in a Black paraplegic man being dragged from his vehicle and arrested. Clifford Owensby told the news outlet that he was riding around running errands without his wheelchair when he was pulled over by police officers in Dayton, Ohio. Let them tell it, Owensby’s window tint was 20% which is beyond the legal limit.

An officer then told the man to turn off his car and step out because he has a “history” of drug use and weapons possession. Not sure that’s a valid reason to perform a search but that’s another story for another day. That’s when Owensby says he informed the officer of his condition and stated that cooperating with his request was not possible, “I’m paraplegic,” he said several times. Of course, the cop acted like he either didn’t hear or didn’t believe what he was being told.

Owensby can be heard asking the officer to have his supervisor come to the scene.

“I’ll pull you out and then I’ll call the white shirt,” the officer replied. “Because you’re getting out of the car. That’s not an option.

The officer continued, his voice raised. “You’re getting out of this car. So you can cooperate and get out of this car or I will drag you out of this car. Do you see your two options here?” he shouted to Owensby.

Within seconds Owensby was being snatched from his seat and forced to the pavement. Peep the video below.

Interim Chief Matt Carper says the department’s Professional Standards Bureau is investigating the incident, “to include the officers’ actions and any allegations of misconduct.” Chief Carper stated that detectives have spoken to Owensby and promised a transparent investigation. Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein said the department is committed “to completing a thorough review to ensure that we are held accountable to the public.”

Sure, Jan.