The Auburn Police Department has determined that its officers did not use excessive force during an arrest earlier this month at the West Middle School Apartments.
Police say the incident happened just after 10:30a on August 14 when an officer responded to the West Middle School Apartments to assist Child Protective Services after it was found that Chelci Love and her two children, ages six and three, had been sleeping on the floor of the apartment building for several days.
A mobile crisis team was also requested as Chlevi had recently lost her father.
An officer was originally able to de-escalate the situation as CPS tried to make a safety plan for Chelci and her children with the immediate goal of finding housing for the family; however, Chelci did not accept the original housing offer.
A second officer then arrived at this time.
The second officer spoke with family members in the complex; however, due to Chelci’s previous behavior with a family member, Chelci would not be allowed to stay with them.
It is then that police say the focus was changed to finding a safe place for the children. A solution was found but after a disagreement with Chelci, a family member rescinded the offer to let the children stay with them.
Chelci then became upset and tried to leave with her children. CPS then advised police that they could not let her leave with the children. As she was leaving, she was informed by CPS that they had an Emergency Removal Order.
Officers radioed for backup once Chelci left with her children. Then, according to police, she stated that she would hurt anyone who tried to take her children, threatening a CPS worker who attempted to hand her the paperwork.
Chelci was then placed under arrest and told to place her hands behind her back. When she failed to comply, each officer grabbed one of her arms but were only able to handcuff one of her arms.
According to police, her three-year-old then came up to Chelci, who wedged the child between her legs. The child began to cry and yell with the officer ordering Chelci to let go of the child. This caused officers to fear that the child could break a rib or lose the ability to breathe. They asked the responding officers to expedite their response and decided to wait for backup before proceeding with the arrest.
Upon the third officer’s arrival, he could see Chelci’s legs wrapped around the child’s neck and the child appeared in distress. He then applied pressure to Chelci’s thumb in an attempt to get her to release the child but became fearful he would break her thumb. He then attempted to pull Chelci’s legs apart while ordering her to release the child. This was also unsuccessful
According to the department, the officer then delivered several close strikes to Chelci’s left shoulder to get her to loosen her legs; however, he did strike her in and around the head/neck area as he was focused on the child and Chelci was resisting.
When Chelci loosened her grip, he was able to pull the child to safety and no other strikes were needed. The officer handed the child to CPS.
Chelci continued to struggle with police before being taken to the ground and placed into custody.
Officers then called for medical personnel to help check on the child.
While being driven to police headquarters, police requested medical personnel to meet them to check on Chelci despite her stating she did not need any assistance. Once at HQ, she complained of pain in her left shoulder and head and was taken to Auburn Community Hospital for evaluation.
Chelci was charged with misdemeanor counts of Obstructing Governmental Administration, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Resisting Arrest, along with Harassment, a violation.
The department claims Chelci has a prior history with it regarding her mental health and the welfare of her children.
Following a review of the incident by the department, including looking over bodycam footage, it determined the officers followed their training and did not use excessive force under the circumstances. They have also been deemed to have followed the department’s policies and procedures and the laws of New York State.
Following the release of cellphone footage by a relative of Chelci on social media, some in the community questioned whether the use of force was racially motivated. At
At both the August 15 and August 22 city council meetings, members of the African American community, including members of the Auburn and Cayuga County NAACP and Chelci’s family, spoke out during the public to be-heard portions of the meetings. Members of the Auburn and Cayuga County NAACP executive committee called for a “thorough, transparent, unbiased investigation” as well as the release of body cam footage.
The department refutes these claims, with Chief James Slayton writing in a media release, “The officers in this instance had to use tactics that some, without knowing all the facts, may consider unreasonable. The officers in this case had to consider the health and safety of a three-year-old child that got caught up in the middle of an arrest that was resisted by their mother. We hope that Chelci can reunite with her children at some point when she has a safety plan in place and that all three of them get the assistance they may need to get past this. This case did not revolve around race or ethnic inequality as the Auburn Police Department promotes enhancing the quality of life in the City of Auburn by working cooperatively to enforce the laws, preserve the peace and provide for a safe environment for all members of this community.”
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