Caught on camera: Muncie police chief defends officer who punched suspect
Muncie’s police chief is defending an officer who is seen repeatedly punching a suspect on video posted to Facebook. Police said the suspect was resisting arrest.
The incident was caught on camera by a witness, posted to Facebook and viewed hundreds of thousands of times. The clip shows four officers around the suspect, Joshua Douglas, who is seen on the ground.
“He was being told the entire time, ‘Show us your hands. Give me your hands,’” Muncie Police Chief Joe Winkle said.
Winkle said someone called police from a south side Taco Bell Sunday afternoon, concerned that a man who appeared impaired might be planning to drive. Police said they showed up, and Douglas took off running around the block before an officer found him and stopped him.
The chief said that while the suspect was running he threw a sock filled with 65 grams of what police believe is meth. Officers said Douglas stiffened up, kept one of his hands under his body and would not let police cuff him at first.
“We don’t know what you have in your pants or your jacket or whatever,” Winkle said. “This guy had not been searched. He’d already ran once. So we have to assume there’s a reason why you’re not giving your hands up. Generally, we’re assuming you may or may not have a weapon.”
Winkle said the officer struck Douglas eight to 10 times in the upper shoulder, not the head, and that the officer stopped once Douglas gave up and let police cuff him.
Police also believe Douglas had other drugs on him, including cocaine.
“When people tense up and put their hands under like that, getting that arm behind you is not an easy thing to do,” Winkle said. “There’s got to be some way for us to get you to comply, and that’s exactly how we train.”
Douglas’ cousin, Tonikia Steans, said she’s “thankful to God he’s not dead right now.”
“I think he has used drugs to self-medicate to ease the pain that he’s going through because he does have health issues, and he’s in a lot of pain,” Steans said.
Winkle said Douglas was on parole, stemming from a previous arrest for robbery in Muncie. He said officers are reviewing the Sunday arrest and the officer involved is not currently facing any punishment.
“I don’t appreciate the fact that people want to say, ‘What are his demons? or ‘What did he do?” Steans said. “Whatever his demons are, what constituted him being beaten like that?”
Muncie police said that neither the suspect nor officers suffered any serious injuries.
Steans said she hasn’t had the chance to talk to her cousin since the arrest.
“If he did something wrong, arrest him. Take him to jail. Give him a trial. And whatever his punishment is, let it fit that crime,” Steans said. “But what crime did he do to get beaten? That’s all I’m askng.”
Douglas faces preliminary charges including possession with the intent to deliver and resisting law enforcement, according to Winkle.
Winkle said the officer involved has been with Muncie police for about two-and-a-half years.
He said the officer has been disciplined by the department once for a domestic issue not related to his job. Winkle said in that incident, the officer crawled into the window of his girlfriend’s home months ago and no one was hurt. He was suspended for 80 hours and did not face any criminal charges.