Officers’ use of force in arrest upheld

An internal investigation found that eight Columbus police officers were justified in punching, kicking and using a Taser to subdue a South Side man who was resisting arrest in a South Side convenience store last year.

Timothy Davis, who was wanted on arrest warrants accusing him of assaulting police officers in two states, was spotted by plainclothes officers entering the Livingston Market on Sept. 1, 2017. When officers went inside and attempted to place Davis in handcuffs, he resisted and pushed officers, according to the investigation.

Cellphone video footage taken by a bystander at the convenience store shows Columbus officers struggling to subdue Davis, who refused to comply with their instructions to put his hands behind his back.

The internal review by police determined that all eight officers acted within policy for use of force, but four were found to have violated a division policy regarding use of profanity. Those officers were given counseling.

The incident attracted attention when it was revealed that one of the officers who arrived as backup made inflammatory comments to another officer about how the officers involved had handled the arrest, and the comments were captured on his body camera.

Officer Joseph Bogard said he would have told Davis, “I’m going to for real arm-bar you, and then when that still doesn’t work, I’m going to choke the life out of you. Then while you’re drooling on yourself, I’ll handcuff you.”

Davis was ultimately arrested and received treatment for bruises and cuts at the scene. Video from the Franklin County jail shows Davis standing for an eight-minute phone call and walking without assistance to multiple locations, according to the investigation.

Davis was later taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. Franklin County deputy sheriffs included statements in the Columbus police internal investigation about Davis’ family members attempting to get into his hospital room, which was under guard, by posing as lawyers and pastors.

Davis’ mother filed a complaint with Columbus police on Sept. 9, 2017, alleging excessive force.

Bogard received a written reprimand from Police Chief Kim Jacobs for his comments. He was not one of the eight officers who made the arrest and were cleared by the internal investigation.

Davis has a federal lawsuit pending against the city and the officers involved. He is serving a 30-month prison sentence related to a September 2016 assault on a Columbus police officer; that case was one of the two he was wanted on at the time of the altercation. Davis