TOLEDO, Ohio — As of late Wednesday night, a video captured on cell phone and shared on Facebook has been watched more than 75,000 times since it was posted just one day earlier.
The video shows an altercation between Toledo police and two subjects that were later booked in the Lucas County Jail.
“What you see as the video started is exactly the beginning, he opened the door immediately,” said Eric, the man who recorded the video but asked we not use his full name.
The video clearly shows a TPD officer reaching into a van, pulling the driver out and bringing him to the pavement.
What isn’t as clearly seen on the recording is an altercation between a female officer and a female passenger of the van.
“The cops dragged the girl from the other side of the vehicle by her hair,” said Eric.
A department spokesman said both takedowns were within bounds considering the circumstances.
Officers attempted to pull the vehicle over at LaGrange and Bancroft on Monday afternoon but the driver failed to do so immediately, said the spokesman, eventually pulling into a McDonald’s parking lot at Bancroft and Cherry.
He said upon stopping, the female passenger exited the minivan and was ordered to stop by the female officer. The department acknowledged that the officer did execute a takedown maneuver using the suspect’s hair.
TPD also acknowledges that a male officer physically brought the male suspect to the ground.
Both were initially determined to be a acceptable uses of force by the department.
The driver of the vehicle, Jeremy Hicks, 27, of Toledo, was charged with assaulting a police officer and driving under suspension, among other things.
The passenger, Haley Ramirez, 24, of Toledo, was charged with resisting arrest, obstruction and endangering children.
Police say she refused to set a small child down inside the vehicle while she was physically engaged with officers.
Both were released on Tuesday.
Source: http://nbc24.com/news/local/tpd-no-wrongdoing-by-officers-during-north-toledo-altercation