3 suspended after subduing man
Three OhioHealth Grant Medical Center security officers have been suspended after a video was posted on social media showing a man outside the hospital's entrance getting pepper sprayed, struck with a baton and forced to the ground Monday night.
The video shows three security officers standing around 38-year-old Shelton
Adams outside the hospital entrance, talking with him. Adams takes a step toward the center of the half-circle of officers and is shoved backward toward a wall behind him by one officer. When Adams flicks a cigarette in the direction of the officer who shoved him, that officer sprays him with pepper spray before striking him with a baton. The other two officers then help bring Adams to the ground.
“We are aware of the incident that happened at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center last night and began investigating the matter immediately,” Mark Hopkins, OhioHealth spokesman, wrote in a statement on Tuesday. He would not say whether Adams received medical treatment.
Adams was turned over to Columbus police, who charged him with disorderly conduct based on the statements of the security officers. He pleaded not guilty at his initial court appearance Tuesday. He remained in the Franklin County jail Tuesday night, unable to post a $254 cash appearance bond. City police reports also do not indicate whether Adams was treated for any injuries.
Mellena Jackson, who posted the video on her Facebook page, said she began recording it because of the body language of the security officers who were following Adams. She was waiting outside in a car for family members when she watched the events unfold around 8:30 p.m. Monday.
Her video, shot from inside a car, had been viewed more than 780,000 times as of Tuesday evening.
The hospital’s private police force, Protective Services, employs both security guards as well as sworn police officers certified through the state with full arrest powers, Hopkins said. The incident involved both types of personnel.
The hospital still has not released the names of the three security personnel involved. The Dispatch obtained two officers’ names through court records. Paul Parker Jr. is a sworn police officer and Ryan Francis is a security guard who met state firearm-training requirements, according to state records. It’s unclear what their roles were in the incident involving Adams. Hopkins confirmed that the third security officer is a sworn police officer.
Adams, who lives a couple of blocks from the hospital, was told to leave the hospital area by Parker and Francis when he “became violent, fighting with two security guards and attempting to punch both of them with a closed fist,” according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint. Hopkins said the hospital hasn’t had prior problems with Adams.
Jackson said she didn’t observe Adams act aggressively or raise his voice.
“The guy told them to leave him alone,” Jackson said, noting that he was trying to leave and walk away. “They used way too much force, and they didn’t have to.”
Jackson’s 6-year-old son, who wants to be a police officer, witnessed part of the incident with her, she said.
“He knows not everyone is going to do this,” she said.
The security officers were interviewed by supervisors Tuesday, Hopkins said, and have been suspended as the hospital investigates the incident.
“When a situation like this occurs, we take it very seriously,” he said.
As for Adams, Jackson said, “I hope he gets justice and gets to clear his name.”