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  1. #1

    Default Arrestee Beaten by the Police Because They Said He Was Resisting Arrest

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Ohio

    My 18 yo son was beaten by the police for supposedly resisting arrest. He was resisting apparently because they were charging him with underage consumption?!?! I don't quite understand why they would be arresting him if they were giving him a ticket for underage consumption. I thought that it was a misdemeanor crime and not one that would have you put into jail. I am not sure what his BAC was or anything at this point, but he claims that people where he was taken from took pictures of the cops slamming him repeatedly on the ground and dragging him and kicking him in the face. His right eye is so swollen with blood it looks like the eyelid is going to burst. He also had to get staples in his forehead from the assault. There were 2 full grown, adult male police officers that are well known in our small town, they are both over 6 feet tall and easily over 225 lbs or more a piece. My son turned 18 in December and they have told him over and over that they were just waiting on him to turn 18. They had a few confrontations in his juvenile past and my son has been known to be a smart mouth, but this has gone over and beyond what is necessary to restrain a foul mouthed kid. My son is not 6 foot tall and probably weighs 135 lbs. I just don't understand why 2 grown men who see it appropriate to beat a child to the point that my son was beaten. I just do not know what I should do if anything.
    Thanks for any help or suggestions that anyone has to offer.
    Heather

  2. #2
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    Default Re: My 18 Yo Son Was Beaten by the Police Because They Said He Was Resisting Arrest

    Quote Quoting heatherakers9573
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    I don't quite understand why they would be arresting him if they were giving him a ticket for underage consumption. I thought that it was a misdemeanor crime and not one that would have you put into jail.
    Well, he was probably arrested for violation of this section:


    4301.69 Underage persons offenses concerning.
    (A) ...
    (E)(1) No underage person shall knowingly order, pay for, share the cost of, attempt to purchase, possess, or consume any beer or intoxicating liquor in any public or private place. No underage person shall knowingly be under the influence of any beer or intoxicating liquor in any public place. The prohibitions set forth in division (E)(1) of this section against an underage person knowingly possessing, consuming, or being under the influence of any beer or intoxicating liquor shall not apply if the underage person is supervised by a parent, spouse who is not an underage person, or legal guardian, or the beer or intoxicating liquor is given by a physician in the regular line of the physician’s practice or given for established religious purposes.


    The penalty statute says this:


    4301.99 Penalty.
    (A) ...
    (C) Whoever violates division (D) of section 4301.21, section 4301.251, 4301.58, 4301.59, 4301.60, 4301.633, 4301.66, 4301.68, or 4301.74, division (B), (C), (D), (E)(1), or (F) of section 4301.69, or division (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), or (I) of section 4301.691 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.


    And the sentencing for misdemeanors is as follows:


    2929.24 Definite jail terms for misdemeanors.
    (A) Except as provided in section 2929.22 or 2929.23 of the Revised Code or division (E) or (F) of this section and unless another term is required or authorized pursuant to law, if the sentencing court imposing a sentence upon an offender for a misdemeanor elects or is required to impose a jail term on the offender pursuant to this chapter, the court shall impose a definite jail term that shall be one of the following:
    (1) For a misdemeanor of the first degree, not more than one hundred eighty days;
    (2) For a misdemeanor of the second degree, not more than ninety days;
    (3) For a misdemeanor of the third degree, not more than sixty days;
    (4) For a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, not more than thirty days.


    So, as you can see, yes, it is a crime for which they can put him in jail. The cops had the authority to take him into custody. Even for crimes that the cops routinely issue a criminal citation for (as opposed to booking into jail), the person is still under arrest until that citation is given to them and they are released by the cops. The cops can detain the person, regulate his movements, confine him in a squad car, handcuff him, search him, demand proof of identification, etc. If the arrested person refuses to submit to any of this, that person is, by definition, resisting arrest and the cops are allowed to use reasonable force to obtain compliance. The more force the arrested person uses in his resistance, the more force it is reasonable for the cops to use to gain compliance.

    Your son is not a "kid" or a "child." He is 18 and an adult...with a legal expectation to behave like an adult and with adult consequences for failing to do so.

    Now, with that said, I am not saying that the force the officers used on your son was reasonable under the circumstances...nor am I saying it was unreasonable. I wasn't there (and neither were you), so I can't offer an opinion. There is much more to the totality of the circumstances than the relative sizes of the cops compared to your son. How many people were at this underage drinking party (how badly were the cops outnumbered)? How much had your son had to drink (how much were his inhibitions and judgment impaired, how belligerent and/or violent was he)? What was the demeanor of the crowd (aggressive, hostile, openly verbalizing threats,...displaying weapons like rocks, sticks, or bottles)? Did the cops have any reason to suspect that anyone in the crowd had access to weapons like knives or guns? How much backup did the cops have available to them if the crowd became violent? How far away was that backup? The list goes on and the totality has to be considered.

    If your son truly feels that he was subjected to unreasonable force by the officers, he should file a formal complaint with the department. Your son is an adult now and needs to do this himself...you can go with him for support, but you can't do it for him. I would advise him going in person (as opposed to doing it over the phone) and asking to file a formal, written complaint. If, after the incident has been investigated by the department, he feels like the department did not take reasonable action, he can further file a complaint with the district attorney's office. Alternately, he can consult an attorney about a civil rights law suit against the department.

  3. #3

    Default Re: My 18 Yo Son Was Beaten by the Police Because They Said He Was Resisting Arrest

    Quote Quoting PTPD22
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    ...
    I agree with what you are saying, but if the OP is true, and he has a swollen/bloody eye and had to get staples, and going by what you said about them having to use the right amount of force for whatever amount of resistance he was using, then he must have been down-right assaulting the officers.

    Considering the fact that he apparently wasn't charged with assault on an officer, I would make the (assumption) that the force was probably excessive.

    Obviously there is no way to say either way, and I'm only going on the basis that the OP is being completely honest. I don't know why someone would seek advice and then not be honest about the situation; that would be completely pointless. I'm sure it happens though.

    I've noticed a lot on this forum that instead of giving advice, people would rather tell others that they're stupid, they should behave better, etc. That's not at all what you did, your post was very informative so I'm not even talking about you in the least. It's just that while most officers are good, there are definitely some bad ones. And if you are disrespectful to them (like her "smart mouth" son) then I could easily see that causing excessive force when unprofessional/angry officers are involved.

    I used to think pretty much all officers were professional until I had a couple of bad encounters. They are people just like us and are nowhere close to infallible.

    Anyway, to the OP: you need to get a real lawyer ASAP. You need to obtain photos of the event, collect witness' information and testimony and try to hear both sides of what happened. Your son also needs to file a formal complaint. If excessive force was used then you might have a strong case against the city/department.

    I would hate to know your son was just being a drunk, belligerent asshole who was resisting arrest and fighting back, and got what he deserved, but if that's not true then you don't need to be asking people on the Internet you need to consult with a real-life lawyer. A lot of them provide free consultations, especially if you describe your case.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Arrestee Beaten by the Police Because They Said He Was Resisting Arrest

    Quote Quoting heatherakers9573
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    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Ohio

    My 18 yo son was beaten by the police for supposedly resisting arrest.
    Thats what happens when u resist...why do you think the cops are lying?

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