COLUMBUS – A police union official says he believes an officer seen kicking a restrained suspect in the head was justified because of the totality of the circumstances that day, including an assault on another officer.
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Jason Pappas says officer Zachary Rosen would have been justified using deadly force during the incident last month outside 3127 Maize Road but he and other officers showed restraint. Pappas is head of the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter representing Columbus police officers.
Records released Wednesday indicate Rosen kicked the suspect in the head despite the officer’s belief that he hit the suspect’s shoulder.
Rosen’s actions were deemed “unreasonable” in an administrative investigation by Deputy Chief Thomas Quinlan.
“A determination, at the Deputy Chief level, found the type of force used by one of the officers was outside of policy. The ruling focuses on the type of force applied. The strike/stomp was an untrained technique and was found to be unreasonable and in violation of the Division’s Use of Force Directive 2.02, II, A, 3 which states:
‘Officers shall use their training to guide them through a use of force incident. The preferred response to resistance and aggression is a trained technique. However, during a situation involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical harm, the use of an untrained response (e.g., neck restraints), while not normally authorized, may be reasonable to end the threat and survive the encounter. The proper exertion of physical force used to control persons shall be consistent with Division policy.’” –statement by Columbus Div. of Police
Police had responded to reports of a man with a gun threatening to shoot up a house. Police say shots were fired and an officer was elbowed.
Quinlan’s report concludes the video captures the suspect’s head smashing into pavement and then bouncing back up in the air, indicative of being struck in the head.
The investigation has been forwarded to the Division’s Discipline Grievance Section for where a lieutenant assigned to the Professional Standards Bureau will review the investigation, Division of Police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said.
A review of past decisions involving similar conduct will be used to determine whether Rosen’s actions warrant a hearing in front of Chief Kim Jacobs.