Handcuffed Man Says He Can’t Breathe
AKRON, Ohio – Akron released body-cam footage Thursday showing a police officer, who resigned amid an internal use-of-force investigation, shove snow repeatedly into the face of a man accused of domestic violence while other officers handcuffed him, after which the man said he couldn’t breathe.
Officer John Turnure, who worked for Akron since 2009, voluntarily resigned effective March 31, while the investigation into the Feb. 7 incident was on-going.
Acting Chief Mike Caprez said during a news conference Thursday that the “tactic” of shoving snow in an arrestee’s face is “not taught or trained by our staff,” so the department began investigating shortly after the incident. He said the department sought to keep the officer “accountable,” but the investigation is not yet complete so it’s unclear whether Turnure would have been fired as a result.
The police were responding to a 911 call from a woman that said Charles Hicks threatened her with a knife.
The cop starts shoving the snow at Hick’s face at about the 1:30 mark.
