Baton strike in Xenia police arrest ‘inadvertent,’ use-of-force justified review shows

XENIA — A two-month-long investigation into use-of-force after police said a man assaulted officers and threatened to kill them has wrapped up with it being determined the use-of-force were within policy.

On Feb. 4, next to the Xenia Police station Joshua Jones, 30, was spotted naked in 10-degree weather and ended up wearing handcuffs.

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During a struggle, a Xenia police report shows that Jones got a large cut on his forehead from an officer’s baton.

“Due to the facial injuries sustained by Mr. Jones, we looked carefully at the baton strikes,” Xenia police said in an interoffice memo. “After reviewing the video and speaking with officers, we believe that the facial injury was caused by an inadvertent strike.”

News Center 7 obtained video of the incident through a public records request.

Two Xenia police officers were in the station’s parking lot, when they said they saw Jones walk toward them.

A police report said Jones told the officer he was trying to catch a ride to the shelter.

While the officers waited for an ambulance, police asked Jones to put his hands behind his back.

This is when the body camera video shows a scuffle involving Jones and officers.

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Officers got Jones to the ground and told him to relax.

“I will tase you,” one officer is heard saying.

Officers then used a Taser on Jones as he continued to resist, reports show.

Officers asked him to roll on his stomach, but Jones got up and tried to run away.

Jones ended up falling into a snowbank, where officers tried to get him on his stomach again.

Body camera footage shows an officer kicking Jones repeatedly.

They were eventually able to cuff him but Jones continued to fight back.

Minutes later medics arrived and gave Jones medication to help calm him down, investigators said.

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He was taken to Kettering Health Greene Memorial Hospital.

Now, Xenia PD has said officers were justified in their use of force, they outline 14 reasons in a memo to the Captain.

The reasons included Jones’ size, his mental state, his attempt to break the taser wire and physically resisting and assaulting officers.

Jones is currently being held in the Greene County Jail.