Orlando officer faces investigation in use of force
An Orlando Police Department officer who kicked and pulled the hair of a burglary suspect during an arrest last month has been “relieved of duty” while an independent agency investigates his use of force.
In a statement sent to media outlets about 4 p.m. Friday, OPD said it reviewed the force used by Officer Dana Hilliker on Jan. 14 and “determined the incident needed further investigation and an internal investigation was initiated.”
Police Chief Orlando Rolón has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review the incident, OPD said.
OPD did not identify the suspect, provide any records in the case or describe the incident in detail. The Orlando Sentinel identified the case through a search of arrests made that day and obtained related court documents.
Those records show the incident was prompted by a burglary in the 500 block of Orange Blossom Trail.
Police said Michael Von Bristol, 47, fled after stealing an iPhone and $45 from a person’s unlocked apartment and was tracked by police to an auto repair shop in the 500 block of Irene Street.
In a field report, Hilliker wrote that Bristol was hiding in a closet inside the business. As Hilliker yanked on the door handle, it “suddenly swung open” and struck him, the officer wrote. Hilliker said Bristol then charged “directly at me in a violent manner,” causing him to fear Bristol would hurt him.
“I intended to strike the suspect in the mid-section of his stomach/hip area,” Hilliker wrote. “As I was delivering the kick, the suspect appeared to fall forward towards me. The suspect’s actions caused my right foot to strike the suspect in his right chest/ shoulder area and my shin strike him in the right side of his face.”
Hilliker wrote that Bristol “placed his hands over his head and then behind his back.” Bristol, the officer said, was yelling, while a police dog “appeared to be biting his right leg.”
As another officer tried to put Bristol in handcuffs, Bristol, still on the ground, started trying to roll over and “place his left arm … to the front of his waistband,” Hilliker wrote. The officer said he grabbed Bristol by his deadlocks, which he said was “the only part of the suspect I could grab … to gain control of him.”
Police said Bristol had the iPhone, $225 that he took from the auto shop and a glass pipe on him when he was arrested. He said he took the cell phone “because he was homeless and hungry,” according to the arrest report.
Bristol was arrested on charges of resisting an officer with violence, resisting an officer without violence, possession of drug paraphernalia, petit theft of $100 or more, burglary of an unoccupied structure, burglary of an occupied dwelling, grand theft, attempted dealing in stolen property and battery on a law enforcement officer.
He remained in the Orange County Jail on Friday.
The Police Department said Hilliker, who has been with the agency since August 2007, has been placed on administration duty.
The agency didn’t say what specifically was discovered during its own review that prompted the external probe.
“It is the policy of the Orlando Police Department to thoroughly review all incidents where a response to resistance occurs,” the agency’s statement said.