An allegation that a Los Angeles police officer used excessive force during an arrest of a drug possession suspect in South Los Angeles last week was under investigation Friday, police said.
The investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Force Investigation and Internal Affairs divisions was launched after “issues came to the department’s attention” concerning the arrest on Oct. 16 in the area of 55th Street and South Avalon Boulevard, said LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman.
Police Chief Charlie Beck said he was “extremely concerned about this particular use of force.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, an officer allegedly kicked and beat Clinton Alford, 22, as the suspected drug offender was being held down by other officers.
Citing sources close to the investigation, the newspaper reported that a private company’s surveillance camera captured images of the officer kicking the suspect in the head.
The officer’s lawyer said the kick landed on the suspect’s shoulder as officers attempted to handcuff him, according to The Times.
In response to the newspaper’s questions about the arrest, Chief Beck issued a statement today announcing that the incident was under investigation.
The Office of the Inspector General and the county District Attorney’s Office were also notified and will conduct an independent review, as per LAPD policy in such cases, police said.
“I can assure you that our investigators will investigate every aspect of this incident to determine what transpired that resulted in the use of force last Thursday,” Beck said. “Our officers are confronted regularly with situations that require them to employ force to overcome resistance or to affect an arrest. When they use force it must always be reasonable and necessary, and the application must be in accordance with our policies as well as the law.”
Beck went on to state that “… any officer (who) is found to abuse the public is not welcome in this department, and we will apply whatever legal or administrative means necessary to ensure the community’s trust without exception.”
The four officers involved in Alford’s arrest and a sergeant who later arrived at the scene have been relieved of duty with pay during the investigation, according to The Times.
Alford, who suffered “a gash on his ear,” was taken to a hospital, where he received stitches and “a head scan,” the newspaper reported, adding that Alford was booked and released on his own recognizance.
“I was just praying that they wouldn’t kill me. I just closed my eyes and tried to hold on,” Alford told The Times. He also maintained he was innocent of the drug possession allegation.
— City News Service