Critics accuse Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers of using unnecessary force in Akron after they set a police dog on a man trying to get an ID for his cousin who was getting arrested.
Dannie Oliver, the man who was attacked by the police dog, posted a three-minute video of the incident using Facebook Live shortly before 11 p.m. Monday. Oliver’s video, which contains profanity, was published again by New York Daily News reporter Shaun King via Twitter. The tweet by King, who regularly publishes videos of police questionably using force against minorities, was retweeted 5,000 times as of 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The case was handled by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Many social media users wrongly assumed Akron police were involved in the incident, but a police spokesman said no Akron officers were involved.
According to reports, troopers tried to stop Samuel Tolbert, whom Oliver described as his cousin, at Copley Road and Bacon Avenue because Tolbert’s vehicle didn’t have a license plate on the rear bumper. The dashboard camera video showed Tolbert didn’t stop when police turned on sirens, then parked his car at Oliver’s home two blocks north at Bye Street and Bacon Avenue. In the video, Tolbert told troopers he didn’t know they were following him until he turned onto Oliver’s road.
In the Facebook Live video, Oliver said troopers arrived at his home, drew their stun guns and slammed Tolbert, 31, to the ground as they arrested him. Oliver, 36, then took to Facebook Live and walked toward the troopers’ cruiser, which still had lights flashing, while repeatedly cursing about the incident.
Tolbert could be seen in Oliver’s video in handcuffs, guided by two troopers. Tolbert asked Oliver to call his mom and to get his ID card from the glove compartment of the vehicle parked in front of the house.
That’s when one of the troopers approached Oliver, instantly shouting at him.
“Listen! Get out of the car!” the trooper shouted.
“I’m trying to get his ID for him!” Oliver shouted back.
“I don’t care! Get inside your house!” the trooper responded.
“Hey, hold up, whoa!” Oliver said. “You ain’t got to grab me, dawg!”
“You’re about to go to jail!” the trooper responded. “It’s called obstructing official business!”
“But you just heard him ask me to get it,” Oliver said, “so why do you want to tell me not to get it?”
Screaming in pain
A dog then barked, followed by Oliver screaming in pain. He shouted repeatedly that the dog was attacking his leg.
A trooper ordered him to stop fighting the dog — which Oliver said he wasn’t doing — and put him in handcuffs. He told troopers that he had a bad knee and pleaded with them to help him get to his feet.
The scene also was captured on dashboard camera video released Tuesday evening. The video depicted troopers chasing after Tolbert, who was driving a Kia Soul belonging to his mother. As the vehicle passed, troopers gave chase and turned on the cruiser sirens and lights. Both vehicles became momentarily stuck behind another vehicle blocking the road, and the chase continued. Immediately upon arriving at Oliver’s home, police shouted at Tolbert.
“I’m sending the dog if you get out of the car!” the trooper called. “Get down on the ground!”
Tolbert appeared confused and bewildered. Police gave an order to corral another dog that was on the scene, and then arrested Tolbert when he followed after the dog. An officer could then be seen chasing after Tolbert with a stun gun drawn. Troopers then demanded that Oliver go inside, but he said he was on private property and that he didn’t have to go inside.
“Would you just comply?” a trooper asked, sounding annoyed.
Dog attack off screen
Moments later, Oliver appears on screen holding his phone aloft for Facebook Live to see what was happening. The dog attack happens off screen, but can be heard the same as in Oliver’s video.
Troopers released the dog without warning within 20 seconds of telling Oliver to get out of the car. He appeared to have been heading toward his front door but was still arguing with troopers when they released the dog.
According to jail records, troopers arrested Oliver on a charge of obstructing official business. Tolbert was charged with obstructing official business, willful fleeing, a probation violation and drug abuse. Both men remained in the Summit County Jail on Tuesday.
Highway Patrol Lt. Robert Sellers on Tuesday afternoon said Oliver had been transported to a hospital to be treated for dog bites.
On Tuesday, social media users logged the dog attack against Oliver, a black man, as the latest in a long series of police violence against minorities across the nation in recent years.
“I can’t even watch this s*** anymore,” one Twitter user wrote. “The way POC [people of color] are treated in this ‘first world’ country makes me embarrassed for our country.”
Several of Oliver’s friends commented on the Facebook Live video in real time.
“This has lawsuit written all over it!” one of his friends wrote. “This is unacceptable. Period.”
Many social media users criticized troopers for releasing the dog instead of trying to de-escalate the situation.
“When his friend asked him to get his ID from the car, cop should simply have said ‘Don’t do that, sir. It’s not allowed,’” a Twitter user wrote.
The Highway Patrol lieutenant said the agency plans to go over the incident to see if unnecessary force was used.
“We’ll review it,” he said, “and we’ll see if there’s anything we can do better.”
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .