JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The family of a man whose arrest video made its rounds online is saying that the police officer in the video used excessive force.
“He can’t sleep. He said it’s hard to just wrap his head around everything that happened at night,” Dwon Ellis Jr.’s family member shared with News4JAX.
The video that appears to show a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officer slapping the 29-year-old started circulating on social media Friday.
The officer pulled Ellis over when he noticed he didn’t stop at a stop sign, the arrest report said. He was arrested and charged with resisting an officer without violence, driving with a suspended license and two counts of running a stop sign.
Ellis’ family said he was pulled over when he was on his way to a friend’s house to clear his head from the thought of his son passing away a year ago.
“His kid’s mom was on the phone. He was trying to give her the address. He said he was on 16th and Division. The officer hung up the phone. Before he even called her, they slapped him maybe twice, and then that one time they seen on camera,” Ellis’ family member said.
Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney took a look at the video showing the tense encounter between Ellis and the officer.
(DISCLAIMER: The video footage contains graphic content and profanity. Viewer discretion is advised.)
“Well, that’s is resistance, and you are able to use reasonable levels of force to control somebody who’s in handcuffs or even not in handcuffs, but especially in handcuffs, that’s their restraint,” Hackney said. “There’s a reasonable level of force that can be used and, and in a case like this, you know, what would be reasonable will be pushing back on him against the car or taking him from where he is. And if he is under arrest, let’s let’s get him in a car, let’s get him contained.”
Ellis' loved one recalled the moment she learned about his arrest.
“My heart was racing thinking that they were going to kill him because of all of the police brutality, the injustice [and] previous situations that happened when the little boy was on the news and his eye got shut. Anything. I didn’t know what to think,” she said.
Hackney said it’s a “long road” for law enforcement agencies to build trust with the communities it serves.
“It’s nothing easy. This adds bumps to the road when the community sees this. The African American community watches this. It’s a justification for some of their concerns, obviously,” Hackney said.
The sheriff’s office issued this statement about the incident:
We are aware, and it is being administratively reviewed. As such, we are unable to comment further.
Police Office A. Kelly, JSO Public Information Office