WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) -
An internal investigation by
the Wilmington Police Department has found that an officer used excessive force
during an arrest in May in downtown Wilmington.
A cell phone camera captured a
police officer using his baton on a man during an arrest in downtown Wilmington
over the weekend.
Now, the man who was cuffed
says he wants an apology and wants to see the officer punished.
Earlier this week, WECT
obtained a copy of a letter sent from an internal affairs investigator to the
person who made the original complaint.
It specifically states that the
complaint against Officer A.J. Phillips was sustained, which according to the
WPD policy manual means the employee acted improperly.
A second officer involved in
the arrest was also investigated. That same investigation found there was not
enough evidence to confirm or refute the allegations.
The investigations stem from an
incident in May when Khale Gay was leaving a club on Front Street and walked
into a fray of pepper spray and police officers. Gay claimed before he knew
what happened he was under arrest and an officer was hitting him in the legs
with a flashlight.
Officer Phillips was suspended
for two days according the WPD.
At first, the WPD denied our
public records request, saying that any disciplinary action taken against an
officer would be kept in his personnel file and therefore would not be a public
record.
We pointed them to North
Carolina General Statue 160a-168 which specifically says the dates of
suspensions and other change of classifications are public record.
At that point the WPD said the
department does not keep track of suspensions. Cpl. Leslie Irving explained in
an email:
"I was informed that our
system is not set up to track suspensions because suspension does not change
salary. It only tracks changes in position and salary classification for
example: Administrative Leave with or without pay or Family Medical Leave. We
don't keep a public record that shows suspensions."
On dozens of occasions in the
past, the WPD has provided WECT and other media outlets with information about
suspensions and officers who have been placed on administrative leave,
including just two weeks ago when Chief Ralph Evangelous announced another
officer had been placed on administrative leave in a separate excessive force
complaint: http://bit.ly/1lxNbsB