By Beth Burger, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – Three OhioHealth Grant Medical Center security officers are suspended after video on social media shows a man outside the hospital’s entrance getting pepper sprayed, struck with a baton and thrown to the ground Monday night.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
A security officer shoved 38-year-old Shelton Adams. Next Adams flicks a cigarette. The officer pepper sprayed him before striking him with a baton. Two more officers helped take Adams to the ground. The incident was caught on camera and uploaded on social media. As of Tuesday afternoon, the video has been viewed more than 700,000 times.
UPDATE: See video statement from Michael Lawson, president of Grant Medical Center
“We are aware of the incident that happened at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center last night and began investigating the matter immediately,” Mark Hopkins, an OhioHealth spokesman, wrote in a statement.
The hospital’s private police force, Protective Services, employs both security guards as well as sworn police officers certified through the state with full arrest powers, Hopkins said. The incident involved both types of personnel.
We began an investigation immediately and the security officers were placed on fact-finding suspension. A thorough and complete investigation continues including witness interviews. This matter is being addressed at the highest levels and we hope to have it resolved quickly. – Mark Hopkins, media relations director, OhioHealth
The hospital still has not released the names of the three security personnel involved. The Dispatch obtained two officers’ names through court records. Paul Parker Jr. is a sworn peace officer and Ryan Francis is security guard who met state firearm training requirements, according to state records. It’s unclear what their roles were in the incident involving Adams.
Adams, who lives a couple blocks away from the hospital, was reportedly ordered to leave the hospital by Parker and Francis when he “became violent, fighting with two security guards and attempting to punch both of them with a closed fist,” according to an affidavit. He pleaded not guilty to one count of disorderly conduct. He remained in jail Tuesday afternoon on a $254 cash appearance bond.