MIDDLETOWN, NEW YORK – Middletown’s chief of police has ordered an investigation into allegations of excessive force during a traffic stop.
Garnett Miller says an officer pulled him over in the McDonald’s parking lot on Dolson Avenue Thursday night and told him his lights were out.
Miller says that the officer was aggressive from the beginning — but the situation grew more tense when the driver tried to tend to his 18-month-old child, who was in the backseat of the car.
“He slammed my head into the concrete,” Miller recalls. “You can see the scratches on my head.”
Miller says the officer also nearly broke his arm by twisting it behind his back.
Miller says he believes it is a case of excessive force — but what upsets him even more is that the officer allegedly changed his tune when he found out about Miller’s military background.
“He tried to apologize by saying, you know, had he known, he wouldn’t have done what he did,” Miller says.
Miller was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Middletown Police Chief John Ewanciw says the officer used physical force because Miller allegedly did not follow his commands.
The chief also says Miller did not make complaints about his injuries at the time of the arrest. But the chief is ordering an investigation anyway.
“We want to have a conversation,” the chief says. “We want to be able to be at a level with police and civilians — they don’t have to be afraid of each other.”
Source: http://westchester.news12.com/story/37257812/middletown-police-probe-excessive-force-accusation