COLUMBUS – An internal investigation has determined that three OhioHealth Grant Medical Center security officers acted within company guidelines after they were seen on video are suspended after video on social media pepper spraying a man, hitting him with a baton and throwing him to the ground outside the hospital’s entrance earlier this month.
“Our investigation has concluded that our officers acted according to our internal protective services policies and procedures,” Michael Lawson, president of OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, said in a statement released by the hospital Tuesday.
After one of the officers shoved him during the March 13 incident, 38-year-old Shelton Adams flicks a cigarette. The officer pepper sprayed him before striking him with a baton. Two more officers helped take Adams to the ground.
Our investigation has concluded that our officers acted according to our internal protective services policies and procedures However, we have learned from this experience and will continue to improve moving forward including developing some additional organizational training to make sure we all are complying with our policies in a way that is reflective of our values. –Michael Lawson, president of OhioHealth Grant Medical Center
The incident was caught on camera and uploaded on social media where it had been viewed more than 700,000 times in 24 hours, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Adams, who lives a couple blocks away from the hospital, was reportedly ordered to leave the hospital by two of the officers when he “became violent, fighting with two security guards and attempting to punch both of them with a closed fist,” according to an affidavit obtained by the newspaper.
He pleaded not guilty to one count of disorderly conduct.