Police
Brandon Johnson, 15, allegedly assaulted by Indianapolis police
The Indianapolis police chief called Thursday for the firing of the officer who he said repeatedly struck 15-year-old Brandon Johnson in the face during an arrest after the teen had been subdued by other officers.
The Indianapolis police chief called Thursday for the firing of the officer who he said repeatedly struck 15-year-old Brandon Johnson in the face during an arrest after the teen had been subdued by other officers.
Chief Paul Ciesielski said Officer Jerry Piland needlessly struck Johnson several times during the May 16 arrest near the teen’s home. Johnson was left with gaping wounds on his swollen face and a black eye.
“It was a difficult decision, but I know it was the right decision to terminate his employment because that certainly serves as an example that we have a zero-tolerance policy,” Ciesielski said at a news conference.
Ciesielski’s recommendation will go to the Civilian Police Merit Board, which ultimately will decide whether to fire Piland.
The teen’s family and black community leaders have called for a federal investigation into whether Johnson’s civil rights were violated.
Piland, 36, and the other three officers directly involved in the arrest are white, while Johnson’s mother is Black and his father is white.
“I’m grateful to have one bad cop off the streets, but there was a lot of wrongdoing here that day,” Johnson’s mother, Chantay Chandler, said at a news conference Thursday at the family’s home. Family representatives called on the department to fire the four officers directly involved in the arrest, but not a fifth officer who stood on the periphery.
“One token firing is not enough,” said the family’s attorney, Stephen Wagner.
Associated Press reports:
Ciesielski said one of the other officers, Stacy Lettinga, received a reprimand for wrongfully arresting another youth at the scene, and that the three others had been exonerated.
None of the five had any prior record of excessive force, and Piland has received several commendations.
Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said last week that he was investigating the matter and had not decided whether to bring charges against any of the officers.
Johnson was not charged because police said it wasn’t in the best interests of the teen or the community.
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bobby Ward
August 1, 2010 at 4:35 pm
I’m waiting for more information before I make a comment. But, if things don’t get better not only, in Detroit MI but all over every major city in this country we are in an intense situation because we have criminal elements in our community’s also, we do have some bad police officers and both situations must be rectified in order to bring peace anywhere. We need a “Miracle” I’m praying every day that we as people of every community across the country come together and speak up when crimes are committed in our community and that is the only way we will stop this madness we have to become the eye’s and ear’s of our community’s we have to patrol where we live and look out for one another we did in the 60’s and I know we “are a loving people who love our children and our community’s that is why we have to stand up and be heard when injustice or criminals think they will come in and murder our children whether they be in or out of our community’s.