Respect Equality

Columbus police release video after conflicting reports of confrontation with ‘double-amputee’ protester

by Anagha Srikanth | June 23, 2020 | Jun. 23, 2020

Protesters gathered across Columbus, Ohio to peacefully protest the death of George Floyd and push for reforms in the Columbus, Ohio Police Department, June 2, 2020
Protesters gathered across Columbus, Ohio to peacefully protest the death of George Floyd and push for reforms in the Columbus, Ohio Police Department on June 2, 2020.

Story at a glance

  • Police sought to break up a crowd of protesters in Columbus, Ohio, using bikes, mace and pepper spray.
  • As protesters pushed back, some were injured, including a disabled person whose prosthetic legs were seen unattached from his body.
  • Police and witnesses have shared conflicting accounts of the incident, which the mayor said the city is looking into.

Viral photos and videos of clashes between protesters and police officers in Columbus, Ohio, show a young, disabled male laying on the ground near prosthetic legs still in their shoes. But, despite the footage, it’s still unclear who he is and what exactly happened. 

On Twitter, a professor at Columbus College of Art and Design posted that her husband saw officers mace the person and steal their prosthetic legs. Other photos and video soon cropped up on social media with differing details, including that the officer ripped the shirt off of the person who “had to crawl up the street.”

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Columbus police are disputing these claims, telling the Columbus Dispatch that the person had attacked officers and was carried away by protesters. Video released by CPD shows a shirtless male with prosthetic legs throwing a sign towards police, grazing the head and neck of an officer, who the Columbus Dispatch reported was not seriously hurt. Next, an officer is seen running towards the man, tackling him to the ground and dragging him. Police say they were trying to arrest him but that protesters were in the way. 

 

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Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said on Tuesday that he was aware of the incident and that the city was looking for more information. 

In additional tweets, Ginther defended the increased enforcement and use of mace and pepper spray to keep protesters out of the streets, saying officers had instructed protesters to stay on the sidewalks “for more than an hour.”

“I will reiterate again that we respect and encourage peaceful protest, but aggressive acts that put police and protesters in danger cannot be tolerated,” the mayor said. 

The mayor issued an order on June 16 prohibiting police use of tear gas and limiting use of pepper spray to clear streets and disperse peaceful demonstrators after weeks of protests following the police killing of George Floyd. 

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