AKRON, Ohio — We're learning more about a viral video that shows Akron police arresting a man at an apartment complex and an officer punching him repeatedly in the head as he lay on the ground handcuffed.
You can watch the video as part of our TV report tonight on News 5 at 11.
According to the Akron Police Department, officers responded to an apartment complex near Coley Path and Crane Walk around 9:17 p.m. after a caller said a man attacked a woman in a parking lot.
Upon arrival, officers found the man, who was covered in blood and standing next to an end table that witnesses said he had used to break a car's windshield.
Police said that when officers approached him, he ran off but was caught a short time later.
Video of the arrest from a bystander shows the man handcuffed, lying face down, with two police officers standing over him. One of the officers can be seen punching him in the head over and over.
Toni Rosciolo witnessed the arrest and filmed it. "Two cops was on his back with their knees, and next thing you know, I hear 'thump, thump, thump, like five or six times," she said.
Rosciolo told us the thumping sound was the officer punching the man repeatedly while he was face down on the ground.
In the video, you see two officers arrest the man on the ground and a struggle between them.
Rosciolo believes the officers acted in a way they shouldn't have.
"Yeah, they need to get it together...just because they wear a badge does not mean they can do what they want," she said.
The apartment's property manager, Maya Robinson, told us what happened before the man's arrest.
"I received numerous phone calls from our on-site camera security team and from my maintenance team that there was an altercation between a man and his girlfriend and children," Robinson said.
She told us the man was causing problems at the complex with one of the residents who lived there — and that the man who was arrested was not a tenant.
"It appears from the call from the maintenance guy he was throwing things at the car, at the children and at his girlfriend," Robinson said.
Robinson told News 5 the man appeared intoxicated. "He (the man who was arrested) sounded incoherent, and the maintenance guy was scared to approach him," she said.
After officers arrested the man, he was treated on scene by EMS and taken to the Summit County Jail, where he's being held on charges of obstructing official business and resisting arrest, police said. He also had a warrant from the Canton Police Department for disorderly conduct.
Akron Police Chief Brian Harding released the following statement about the arrest:
“I want the community to know I recognize that there is concern surrounding this incident due to the use of force. We are actively reviewing this incident as we do with all police use of force occurrences and will work to share more information as it becomes available. This will be investigated by a supervisor and reviewed by the Office of Professional Standards and Accountability. It will also be reviewed by the Independent Police Auditor.”
