Auburn Police have released body cam footage of an incident earlier this month in the city where an individual was knocked unconscious while being arrested.
The incident happened just after 2:00a on September 7 when officers were interviewing a juvenile on Cady St who was allegedly one of a group of individuals on residents’ properties without a legitimate reason. Residents had footage of the group attempting to get into cars. According to the department, APD had received several complaints in the past few weeks regarding similar activity throughout the city; however, officers were unable to locate the suspects until that night.
Dedrick Parks then arrived on the scene and asked officers if that was one of the juveniles on his property. When the officers told them that the juvenile was a suspect, Parks began walking toward the juvenile saying to stay off his property or he would “smoke” him. It is at this time that the nearby officer placed his hands in front of Parks to prevent him from getting closer to the juvenile.
Parks swatted at an officer’s hands and arms while telling the officer to “get the [expletive] off of me.”
The officer then told Parks that he was under arrest and to place his hands behind his back. Parks resisted and a second officer came to assist the first. After continuing to ignore orders to place his hands behind his back, Parks was taken to the ground and placed into handcuffs.
Officers say Park was lifted off the ground to decentralize his balance. It had been previously reported by witnesses that Parks was lifted above officers’ heads.
Once on the ground officers realized that Parks was unconscious after hitting his head on the sidewalk. Medical assistance was requested by radio. After 42 seconds Parks regained consciousness and was taken to the back of a patrol car to sit down.
Due to a miscommunication, medical staff arrived at APD headquarters instead of Cady St. Parks was then taken by police to headquarters where medical staff were already on the scene.
The office states it has released the footage to dispel rumors circulating in the community about the nature of the incident. At several recent city council meetings, members of the NAACP and other community members have called on the city council to investigate incidents they see as racially motivated excessive use of force by police officers.
Last month, the department also released bodycam footage of an August 14 incident where it was determined that responding officers were justified in their use of force when arresting a woman who attempted to prevent a social worker from taking her children.
Auburn Police Chief James Slayton, along with Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck and Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci will present Wednesday at the Booker T Washington Center in conjunction with the Harriet Tubman Center for Justice & Peace. Following the 6:00p presentations, there will be time for a community discussion and Q&A session.
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