DAYTON — A Dayton City Commission candidate is calling for an outside review of an encounter last week where officers forcibly removed a man who reported being disabled from his car and dragged him to a police cruiser during a traffic stop.
The traffic stop in question happened Thursday, Sept. 30 on Grand Avenue in Dayton.
Body camera footage WHIO obtained through a public records request showed officers appearing to pull over Clifford Owensby. Police repeatedly asked Owensby to step out of the car.
Owensby previously told News Center 7 that he cannot walk and was out running errands without his wheelchair. Dayton City Commissioner Darryl Fairchild uses a wheelchair and said it was not unusual for someone to leave their wheelchair at home while running a quick errand.
Body camera footage showed officers telling Owensby they were going to assist him getting out the car.
“No you’re not. No you’re not. You don’t touch me. You’re definitely not about to touch me,” Owensby said.
A standoff continued until officers physically took hold of Owensby and dragged him out of the car.
Owensby said he was shocked by the encounter.
“I just feel like they were wrong for doing what they were doing and I couldn’t believe what was happening to me,” Owensby said.
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News Center 7 previously reported that the interim chief of the Dayton Police Department and Dayton’s City Manager promised a thorough and transparent review of the incident, but City Commission candidate Shenise Turner-Sloss said an outside, independent review of the situation is needed.
“What we’re talking about is that an individual’s civil rights were violated, again. My voice has been consistent,” Turner-Sloss said.
Turner-Sloss claimed only 23 percent of police reform recommendations had been implemented.
“My understanding is some of them have been watered down,” Turner-Sloss said.
Fairchild, who chaired the city’s police reform committee on training, asked the community to take a deep breath and wait until the while picture is in place.
“My understanding is we’ve trained the trainers to do the de-escalation. Now we are starting to work with the officers,” Fairchild said.
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