Ariz. grandpa roughed up by police in Walmart
PHOENIX - Police in the Phoenix suburb of Buckeye are coming under fire for a video posted online Friday that shows a grandfather on the floor of a Walmart store with a bloody face after police said he was caught trying to shoplift a video game.
The video, posted on YouTube, shows 54-year-old Jerald Allen Newman unconscious and covered in blood after a police officer took him to the ground Thursday night.
Officers in the video are shown trying to sop up blood as outraged customers yell expletives and say, "That's police brutality," and "He wasn't doing anything."
"Are you sure that was necessary for shoplifting?" said one shopper. "Why would you throw him down so hard?"
Big biz, some black eyes on Black Friday
Newman's wife and other witnesses say that he was just trying to help his young grandson after the boy was trampled by shoppers, and only put a video game in his waistband to free his hands to help the boy.
Larry Hall, assistant chief of Buckeye police, said that Newman was resisting arrest and that it appears the officer acted within reason.
He did not immediately release the name of the officer, who was hired off-duty by Wal-Mart with five other officers.
Hall said a Wal-Mart employee alerted the officer involved that Newman had put a video game in his waistband and that the officer approached Newman and started to arrest him.
When he had handcuffs on one of Newman's wrists, Hall said that Newman told him, "I'm not going to jail," and started pulling away and flailing.
Hall said that Newman continued resisting and that the officer decided to do a "leg sweep" and take him to the ground.
"Unfortunately, the suspect landed on his head," Hall said.
He said an administrative review will be conducted to assess the officer's use of force, but that at first blush, it appears to be justified.
"The officer didn't lift the guy over his head and slam him to the ground," Hall said. "He used a minimum amount of force, the suspect resisted arrest, and the officer actually could have escalated his use of force. But he didn't. He used his hands to take the suspect into custody."
Newman was taken to the hospital and got four stitches for a cut on the left side of his forehead. His nose was also bloodied but not broken, Hall said.
He was then booked into the Maricopa County jail on charges of shoplifting and resisting arrest.
Hall said an officer found the man's young grandson crying nearby and that the boy was turned over to his grandmother.
Popular on CBSNews.com
- TWA Flight 800 gets another look 17 years later 104 Comments
- America's endangered historic places 11 Photos
- Reporter Michael Hastings dies at 33 51 Comments
- FBI: No sign of Jimmy Hoffa's body in Detroit suburb
- Serena Williams sorry for "what I supposedly said" on rape
- Taliban: We killed 4 U.S. troops at Afghan air base
- TWA Flight 800 disaster - a look back 19 Photos
- Scientists say shipwreck timber in Lake Michigan centuries old
By the way, wonder how many actual shoplifters were able to leave the store with stolen goods while those 4 or 5 police officers were tending to this grandfather's open wound.
The cop who attempted to arrest this man should be charged with assault. He was not on duty, he was a citizen hired as a security guard. Suspected shoplifters are detained at the door when they attempt to exit, not in an aisleway. And by the way, when something is in plain sight, half shoved in your pants as you pick up a small child in the middle of a stampede, that's not shoplifting! A questionable act for sure, but quite understandable in light of the situation. The officer should be reviewed for fitness for duty as he believes he's above the rights of citizens.
Did anyone actually say that the officer lifted the guy over his head and slam him to the ground? Come on, Mr. Hall. Do you think anyone will actually lie like that? I would like to think that they would tell the truth about what they witnessed. You're just trying to make your officier look good by saying that someone could possibly lie like that when he didn't lie like that yet.
There are principles in the study of logic that people tend to violate. Some types of violations include red herrings, guilt by association, etc. I don't know which one Hall is committing but I think he is committing one.
How many seconds or how much time elapsed from the time he put the game in his waistband to the time the employee alerted the police?
Was any part of the game sticking out when he put the game in his waistband? Were there any witnesses who can say and prove that he was trying to save his grandkid? Is there any video footage to prove either way what his intentions were?