A Canton police officer’s actions are under review after he kicked a suspect who “appeared to be complying” during an arrest over the weekend, Canton Police Chief John Gabbard said in a news release.
Police responded to a reported argument involving 10 to 15 people in the parking lot of Mahoning Manor apartments on Morris Ave. NE Saturday night. Several people took off when police arrived and at least one suspect was observed to be carrying a gun, according to police.
When officers ordered suspects to the ground, Officer Brandon Momirov kicked 21-year-old Jaemiir McElroy in the chest, according to the release.
“Officers using force outside the parameters of our training, policy and principles will be held accountable,” Gabbard said in the release.
The incident was captured on video and posted to social media. The video shows an officer pull up in a cruiser, jump out and kick a man who is on his knees with his hands up.
McElroy was later arrested along with two other suspects. Officers recovered a backpack containing “marijuana, currency and scales” in a nearby vehicle, according to Canton police.
McElroy was hospitalized, according to his attorney Bobby DiCello.
“It should not be lost on anyone that after officers attacked him and hospitalized him, they issued charges which find no support in the video. One of those charges, resisting arrest, is not justified by the video: Jaemiir is on his knees with his hands in the air when he is kicked in the head by an officer who charges at him,” DiCello said.
Canton Mayor William Sherer II did not mince words about the incident in a Canton City Council meeting Monday night, The Canton Repository reports.
"You've heard me say on more than one occasion that we can do better — and I'm tired of saying it," Sherer said. "This behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated by any department in the city, including Canton PD.”
In a Tuesday statement, Sherer added that he supports Gabbard as chief.
“I also want to reiterate that I have total faith in our Police Chief John Gabbard and his ability to lead, but it is unfortunate that we continue to have these isolated incidents that reflect on our entire department," Sherer said in the statement.
This is the third use-of-force incident in Canton to make headlines this year. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is still investigating the death of Frank Tyson, who died in police custody after lying motionless on the ground for seven minutes before police administered CPR.
In May, former officer Nicholas Casto was fired after he released a K-9 on a suspect who was on the ground with his hands behind his back.
“It is time for the City of Canton to wake up and realize that its police department is attacking its own citizens and treating them as enemy combatants rather than citizens,” DiCello, who also represents Tyson’s family, said in the release.
