Officer resigns after shoving snow in man’s mouth

CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio police officer who stuffed snow into the mouth of a man being arrested for domestic violence has resigned, interim Akron Police Chief Mike Caprez said during a Thursday news conference.

The officer, John Turnure, submitted his resignation March 30. FOP Akron Lodge 7 issued a statement Thursday defending the actions of Turnure, who is white, during the arrest of Charles Hicks II, who is Black. The statement said Turnure’s resignation was for “various personal and professional reasons” but it was not an admission of wrongdoing.

Hicks had alleged Wednesday that an officer placed his knee on his neck during the arrest, but no body camera footage shows that. An internal investigation had already been underway, as officers had previously reported that they did use force during the arrest.

“Up until the time snow was used, it was textbook,” Caprez said of the arrest. “We did everything right up to that point.”

At Thursday’s news conference, police showed reporters two body camera videos that show police interaction with Hicks. They show the 26-year-old standing shirtless on the front porch of an Akron home on Feb. 7. His girlfriend had called 911 from outside the residence to say Hicks had threatened her with a knife and had mentioned a gun. She told the dispatcher she was worried about the safety of her children, who were still inside the home.

Hicks resisted officers’ attempts to handcuff him, repeatedly telling officers to kill him before and after he was taken to the ground on the snowy front lawn.