Citizen Complaint Fact Finding Investigation regarding Tyler Paxson

CITIZEN COMPLAINT

                    FACT FINDING INVESTIGATION

COMPLAINT DATE/TIME:              07/21/2014 @ 1130

INCIDENT DATE/TIME:                  07/12/2014 @ 0303

COMPLAINANT:                        Lima Police Department

NATURE OF COMPLAINT:             Confirming Use of Force Policy Was Adhered to

OFFICER/S INVOLVED:                Sgt. Curt Hile, Sgt. Rob Hillard, Ptl. Nate Garlock,                     

                                             Ptl. Aaron Mongomery and Ptl. Scott Luedeke

INVESTIGATING SUPERVISOR:       Lieutenant Brian Leary

RECOMMENDATION:                  Exonerated

ADDENDA:

·         LPD Offense Reports 14-22826

·         LPD Use of Force Report

·         Action Response Use Of Force Continuum

·         Tyler Paxson’s Booking Form

·         Call as entered by LPD Dispatchers

·         Tyler Paxson’s Lab Reports

·         Detective Tim Clark’s Reports

·         Medical Reports of Tyler Paxson’s Examination after arrest

·         DVD Copy of interviews with Brittany Bermudez & Devon Johnson

·         CD Copy of audio of police calls

·         CD Copy of photos taken by patrol of Tyler’s injuries and of Officer’s injuries

·         DVD Copy of cruiser videos and audio

·         Lima News Article

NATURE OF COMPLAINT:

On July 12, 2014 at approximately 0303 hours, Officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Haller Street in reference to a large party with subjects in the street.  The incident time listed on the report is 0321 hours; however, the actual dispatch time was 0303 hours with most of the officers arriving on scene at approximately 0306 hours.  Upon arrival the officers observed numerous people in the area and began instructing people to leave as they were causing a disturbance.

Ptl. Garlock observed a subject walking from the north side of the apartments in between the buildings as he started to walk to the north side of the apartments.  Ptl. Garlock said when the subject saw him, he immediately turned around and began walking back north between the buildings.  The subject’s immediate turn around concerned Ptl. Garlock because it was not normal behavior and was indicative of potential criminal activity taking place.

Ptl. Garlock walked north between the buildings and encountered two subjects near the apartment just to the west of the opening between the buildings.  The subject he initially saw had two beers in his hands.  He did not notice the beers when he first saw him between the buildings.  He asked the subjects what they were doing as there were multiple open beer cans around.

A subject later identified as Tyler Paxson said I’m at my brother’s house.  He was asked how old he was and he said 21; however, Ptl. Garlock believed him to be under the age of 21.  He said he did not have ID and when asked what his birthday was, he became upset and turned to walk away.  Ptl. Garlock told him to stop and he ignored the instruction and tried to walk inside the apartment.

Ptl. Garlock grabbed his arm and told him he was under arrest at which time he pulled away and resisted arrest.  During the struggle Tyler struck Ptl. Garlock in the right eye.  Patrolmen Montgomery and Luedeke along with Sgt. Hile came to assist Ptl. Garlock in taking Tyler into custody.

Tyler received injuries during the altercation and he and his family have accused officers of using excessive force via social media.

REVIEW OF IN CAR VIDEO / AUDIO:

The officers responded to the 100 Block of Haller where numerous people could be seen walking in the area.  The officers advised everyone to leave the area and not to drive if they had been drinking.

Based on the displayed clock on the video systems, Ptl. Garlock encounters Tyler Paxson at approximately 03:08:45.  Sgt. Hile can be heard at 03:09:50 via Ptl. Luedeke’s body mic say ok we got him put the cuffs on him; therefore, the altercation was approximately 65 seconds long.

The conversation is not clear but some of it can be heard.  Upon initial contact Ptl. Garlock can be heard asking if he is the one throwing the party.  It is unsure what is said but sounds like he says, “This is my brother’s house”.  Ptl. Garlock asks if he is drinking and he said, “No, I’m on the porch”.  Ptl. Garlock asks “Are you kidding me?’ Initially, Tyler advised he was not drinking but then said he had earlier.  Ptl. Garlock asks how old he is and he said 21.  Ptl. Garlock asks for an ID and he said he did not have one and it sounds like his response was ”I’m tired of being harassed”.  It then sounds like Ptl. Garlock said, “Your under arrest”.  The audio from his body mic then starts breaking up and is not clear.

A review of the In-Car Videos shows the officers responding to the area and parking on Haller Street.  The arrest of Mr. Paxson occurs behind the apartment buildings on the north side of Haller Street; therefore, there is no video footage of the arrest.

There is video footage of officers walking Mr. Paxon to a cruiser after he is in custody.  The officers walk Mr. Paxon southbound between the buildings to the cruiser which is parked facing westbound on Haller.  The officers place him against the right rear quarter panel of a LPD Cruiser while they open the rear door to place him in the backseat.  Mr. Paxson refuses to get in the cruiser and has to be forced into the backseat.  The video footage was captured by Sgt. Hile’s in car video system.  He was driving car # 21.

INTERVIEW OF SERGEANT CURT HILE:

Sgt. Hile advised they were sent to a large party in the 100 Block of Haller Street.  He said upon arrival there were people everywhere and he exited his vehicle and started telling people to move on.

He said after a short time he heard an officer yelling and saw other officers run north between the buildings and he followed.  He said when he got to the rear of the building he observed the officers struggling with a male subject.  He said Officers Garlock, Montgomery and Luedeke had ahold of a male subject and they were pulling him in different directions.  He engaged and grabbed the subject by the arm and told the officers to put him on the ground.  He said they were able to get him down onto the sidewalk and Tyler was still struggling and refusing to place his arms behind his back.  He was able to force his arm back and told the officers to handcuff him.  They were able to get him handcuffed and stood him up.

He said he observed Tyler to be conscious the entire time.  I asked him if he saw anyone strike or kick Tyler in the face during the altercation and he said no.  I asked him why a Taser was not used to help subdue Mr. Paxson and he said it would not have been practical due to the tight quarters they were in.

He said they walked Tyler back between the buildings and placed him in the rear of a cruiser.  He said that is when he noticed the injury on Tyler’s face.  He said he asked for a squad to meet the officers on station so they could evaluate his injuries.  He said the paramedics transported Tyler to St. Ritas Hospital for treatment.

INTERVIEW OF PATROLMAN SCOTT LUEDEKE:

Ptl. Luedeke advised he was dispatched to the 100 Block of Haller Street in reference to a large party with people in the street.  He said when he arrived he began telling people to get out of the street and to leave the area.  He said he stopped one subject and was speaking to him and ran his information with dispatch.  He then heard Ptl. Garlock yelling stop resisting and ran to assist him.  He said Ptl. Garlock was to the north of the apartments and he ran between the opening between the buildings to get to him.  Upon arriving at the rear of the apartments he observed Ptl. Garlock holding a subject against the wall and the suspect was pushing him back.

He and Ptl. Montgomery began assisting Ptl. Garlock in taking the suspect into custody.  He said the suspect was throwing punches, trying to hit officers and thrashing about trying to escape.  He said they were trying to take him to the ground and he was attempting knee strikes to the suspect’s thighs and at one point struck him on the lower back with his flashlight. 

I asked him why he did not tase the suspect or use mace and he said it was a small area and there was no room to move or disengage.  He said the suspect was resisting so much it would not have been tactical to disengage.  I asked if he punched the suspect in the face or kicked him while he was down and he said no.  I asked if anyone else did and he said Ptl. Garlock and Ptl. Montgomery

were striking him on the upper arms and shoulder area once he was on the ground.  He said they were trying to get him to place his arms behind his back because they could not pull them out.  He had his arms tucked up under him and had his fists clenched.

He said once Sgt. Hile pulled his arm out they were able to get him cuffed.  They stood him up and placed him against the retaining wall at the base of the apartment steps to search him incident to arrest.  They walked him back through the opening between the buildings and placed him in a cruiser.  He said he was conscious and resisting the entire time and continued yelling at them after he was cuffed and in the car saying he had a brain injury.

INTERVIEW OF SERGEANT ROB HILLARD

Sgt. Hillard advised he was in his cruiser at Main and Haller Streets looking west down the street when he heard yelling and saw officers running north between the buildings.  He drove to the rear of the apartments and exited his cruiser.  He observed Ptl. Garlock struggling with a suspect at the rear of the apartments.  He said they were near the first apartment to the west of the opening.  He saw the other officers run to assist Ptl. Garlock and he exited his cruiser and ran to their location.

He said they were in a small confined area at the base of the steps to the apartment.  He said the parking lot to the rear of the apartments is higher than the back doors to the building and there is a retaining wall that runs parallel to the back of the apartments.  The officers were down on the concrete walkway between the rear of the apartments and the retaining wall. 

Sgt. Hillard stood above where the parking lot meets the retaining wall and observed the altercation with the suspect from an elevated position.  He said the confined area prevented him from engaging and he monitored the surrounding area to prevent others from engaging the officers as their attention was focused on Mr. Paxson.

Sgt. Hillard said he did not see anyone strike Mr. Paxson in the face once he arrived at the retaining wall and did not see anyone kick him at any time.  He said the officers continued to give commands to Mr. Paxson during the altercation and at no point did he see any misconduct by the officers.  He said Mr. Paxson was conscious the entire time and the Lima Police Department’s General Directives were followed by the officers.

Sgt. Hillard saw a subject standing a couple doors down and asked him if he lived there and the subject said no, he lived in Spencerville.  Sgt. Hillard said he did not appear to be underage and he was asked to leave the area.

Sgt. Hillard advised Mr. Paxson was observed to have an injury on his face that he believed was from being scraped on the concrete.  He was escorted between the buildings to a cruiser and as they got close to the car he refused to walk and stated “ You guys beat my ass, and knocked me out”.  He said he would not get in the car and had to be forced inside.  Mr. Paxson was transported to the LPD and paramedics from the fire department were requested to the LPD to examine him.  He was then transported by them to St. Ritas Hospital.    

INTERVIEW OF PATROLMAN AARON MONTGOMERY

Ptl. Montgomery advised he was in the 100 Block of Haller with other officers for a large party when he heard Ptl. Garlock yelling “Stop resisting”.  He said Ptl. Garlock was at the rear of the building on the north side of the street.  Ptl. Montgomery advised he ran to his location to assist him and was the first officer to reach Ptl. Garlock.  He said as he got to the rear of the building he saw Ptl. Garlock to his left holding a subject up against the wall.  The subject was Tyler Paxson.  He said Tyler was holding Ptl. Garlock’s shirt up at the shoulders.  He said Ptl. Garlock was holding onto Tyler’s shirt near the chest area.  Tyler was using his body and pushing off the building and appeared to have an advantage over Ptl. Garlock.  He said Tyler was ignoring Ptl. Garlock’s commands and was actively fighting him.

Ptl. Montgomery said he grabbed Tyler and tried to move him from the wall but Tyler was still resisting.  He struck Tyler several times in the abdomen and chest area to get him to comply and let go of Ptl. Garlock.  He refused to comply and began throwing wild punches at both Ptl. Montgomery and Ptl. Garlock.  He said they were in a confined area.  He was eventually able to move to Tyler’s right side and move him off of the wall and they fell against another wall.  He said Tyler continued fighting them and grabbed his shirt and was trying to punch him in the face.  He delivered two closed fists strikes to Tyler’s chest and left cheek.

Ptl. Montgomery said they were able to finally take him down to the ground and they all fell onto the concrete.  He said he had his right arm around Tyler’s chest and when they fell, he was on top of Tyler’s back.  He said Tyler continued to fight them and attempted to push himself up.  Ptl. Montgomery was concerned for their safety as well as Tyler’s if he continued fighting and he moved his arm up and used his right bicep to apply pressure to his Brachial Plexus Nerve (side of his neck).  Ptl. Montgomery is a defensive tactics instructor and learned this technique during his training.  He said he was going to attempt to put Tyler asleep but did not have to as Sgt. Hile and Ptl. Garlock were able to force his hands behind his back and they were able to get him handcuffed. 

He said Tyler was conscious the entire time and refused to stand up.  He said he had to be forced to stand and was then escorted to a cruiser and placed in the backseat.  He said Tyler was cussing and yelling at them while walking to the cruiser.  He said he had arrested him previously for “Huffing” ( Inhaling harmful intoxicants) and said his behavior was irrational during that occasion also.

Ptl. Montgomery advised no one struck Tyler in the face or kicked him while they were on the ground.  He said that would not have been possible because he was on top of him and his upper body was covering Tyler’s head as he was trying to control him until they were able to get his arms back. 

INTERVIEW OF PATROLMAN NATE GARLOCK

Ptl. Garlock advised he was in the 100 Block of Haller Street for a call of large party.  He said he started to walk between the buildings to check the area when he encountered a subject walking toward him.  He said the subject turned and walked the other way causing him to believe something was going on. 

He continued to the rear of the apartments and saw the subject holding two beers and observed numerous empty beer cans lying around.  He asked what was going on and his attention was drawn to another subject that appeared to be under the age of 21.  Ptl. Garlock said the subject later identified as Tyler Paxson, said it was his brother’s house.  He had extremely bloodshot eyes and obvious signs of intoxication.  He asked him how old he was and he said 21.  He asked if he had been drinking and he said no, and Ptl. Garlock asked, are you kidding me.  The subject said he had one beer and when asked what his name was and for his ID, he said he was being harassed and started to go in the apartment.  Ptl. Garlock said he grabbed his arm and told him he was under arrest.

Ptl. Garlock said Tyler then pulled his arm back and began to resist.  He said he pulled him off the steps and placed him against the wall to gain control of him.  He said Tyler began thrashing about and aggressively trying to get away even though he was giving him loud verbal commands to stop resisting and to place his hands behind his back.  He then picked Tyler up and took him to the ground.  He said Tyler went down on his left side and his face hit first.  He said Tyler continued struggling and punched him on the right side of the face.  He said he was unable to get his radio and call for help and continued yelling for Tyler to stop resisting.  He said Tyler was trying to get up and he punched him twice with a closed fist on the right side of his head.  He said Tyler began getting up and he then put him in a headlock to maintain control of him until other officers arrived to help him.

He said a short time later Sgt. Hile, Ptl. Montgomery and Ptl Luedeke arrived to assist him.  He said Tyler continued to ignore their commands as they tried to take him back down to the ground to get control of him and handcuff him.  He said he believed Ptl. Montgomery placed a choke hold on him and they were able to get him to the ground and handcuffed.

He said during a search incident to arrest they located Tyler’s ID showing he was 19 years old.  He then spoke to the residents at the apartment Tyler tried to say was his brother’s residence and they denied knowing Tyler.  He said Tyler was then transported to the LPD where he was checked out by paramedics and then transported to St. Ritas Hospital for treatment.     

CONCLUSION:

My conclusion is based on all the evidence presented to me along with the interviews of the officers involved.  A review of the in car video / audio systems revealed some of the audio was inaudible but what was heard was consistent with officers statements as to what occurred at the scene.  The audio was in an out during the altercation and some audio was not recorded due to the officer’s distance from their patrol cars.

There was no video recording of the altercation due to it occurring behind the apartment buildings and all of the officers being parked on Haller Street.  Sgt. Hillard drove behind the apartments; however, his camera was not facing the arrest of Mr. Paxson.

Ptl. Garlock’s initial encounter with Mr. Paxson was lawful as he had reason to believe a crime had been committed.  His decision to investigate further when an individual immediately turned and went the other way upon seeing him, was good police work.  That type of behavior is often indicative of criminal behavior.  He then saw a subject holding two beers and numerous empty beer cans lying around when he got to the rear of the apartment building.  He saw Mr. Paxson and believed he was under the age of twenty one.  Ptl. Garlock’s experience and training caused him to believe Mr. Paxson was under the influence of alcohol. 

Ptl. Garlock then continued to investigate further and upon confirming there was probable cause to believe Mr. Paxson was heavily intoxicated, he attempted to take him into custody.  Mr. Paxson’s actions then forced Ptl. Garlock’s response in order to take him into custody.  He believes the injury occurring to the left side of Mr. Paxson’s face and eye was caused by the concrete walkway when he initially took him to the ground.

Sgt. Hile and Sgt. Hillard were present for the majority of the altercation during the arrest of Mr. Paxson and believed the officers followed the Lima Police Department’s General Directive concerning the use of force.  Sgt. Hillard observed the arrest from an elevated position and did not participate due to the confined area.

Mr. Paxson’s blood work confirmed he was under the influence of marijuana, cocaine and excessive alcohol which more than likely contributed to his irrational behavior.  Mr. Paxson continued his irrational behavior and was combative with hospital personnel during his examination.  He had to be restrained at the hospital.

Based on the evidence provided to me, Ptl. Garlock and the assisting officers followed the use of force continuum and the Lima Police Department’s General Directive 4.01.