2 Greer officers fired for excessive force
Witness: Victim going through mental health crisis
Two officers from the Greer Police Department have been terminated after an internal investigation found they used excessive use of force during an arrest last month.
Around 11 p.m. on March 6, the officers, Griffin Rohm and Joseph Lucarelli, responded to Woodgrove Way in response to a disturbance involving an individual, Lt. Chris Forrester with Greer PD said in a Friday afternoon press release. After initially being put on administrative leave, both men were fired for punching the individual in the face multiple times during an arrest made after the call.
An incident report written by Rohm said that the officers found Donald Parham, a Greer resident, in the middle of a cul-de-sac on his hands and knees, yelling. A witness on scene said Parham was going through a mental health crisis.
Rohm wrote in the report that he smelled alcohol on Parham and determined he was intoxicated. When he advised that Parham was being too loud for a residential neighborhood at night, Parham allegedly resisted. Parham allegedly moved toward Rohm and attempted to grab him.
However, Rohm also wrote in the report that both he and Lucarelli each punched Parham “several times” in the face. Parham was transported to Greer Memorial Hospital by ambulance where he received medical treatment, and then was transported to the Greer Detention Center. He was later charged with assault and battery on police while resisting arrest and public disorderly conduct, according to the Greer PD.
According to Forrester, the officers were previously placed on administrative leave pending the internal investigation. The completed investigation determined the officers acted outside department guidelines and policies “to an extent that (Greer PD) could not maintain employment with them.”
“The City of Greer believes in transparency and accountability to the public,” Forrester wrote.
Rohm began with department in June 2022 and Lucarelli began in June 2021. Lucarelli was not with the department for almost the first five months of 2022 because he was on military leave.