TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - The Toledo Police Department is launching an internal investigation after an officer was caught on video slapping a man in handcuffs.
TPD Chief George Kral says he is committed to playing everything out in the public eye – good or bad. He says although this is an ongoing investigation, the video speaks for itself.
"No one deserves that. Not when you are trying to be protected," said Brad Bollinger, who used his cell phone to capture the incident on Berry Street in east Toledo.
In the video, Officer Denise Fischer is seen walking up to the cuffed suspect, Rodney Rober, and slapping him with an open hand.
Police say Rober was wanted on several warrants and put up a fight before being placed in handcuffs.
"With everything going on in the country right now, the last thing we need to see is something like that," said Chief Kral. "Obviously, a police officer cannot slap someone in handcuffs, so I'm going to let the investigation lead us to where it leads us and we will take it from there."
The chief says he uses any bad situation as a lesson. He told officers to always assume they are being recorded from the moment the leave the station.
Officer Fischer has been with TPD for about 10 years and never been in trouble with the department. She has been placed on restrictive duty – off the streets and in the records division – pending the internal investigation.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Tuesday, March 31st 2015 at 11:06AM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
