Fairfield, Ohio’s police department is under fire after a video of an officer restraining a 12-year-old girl and fracturing her jaw and ribs surfaced.
An altercation between the department and patrons at the Fairfield Aquatic Center last week has resulted in two versions of what occurred. Each side is claiming unnecessary and inappropriate actions were taken to calm the disturbance.
Both sides claim there is video evidence to back their statements.
The June 9 incident unfolded after Fairfield police responded to the pool after a group of juveniles was asked to leave because one of them did not have a swimsuit, according to Cincinnati.com.
The incident escalated to the point where police physically restrained the youths and used pepper spray on one of the teenagers. Four people were arrested.
Check out footage of the incident below:
Fairfield Police Chief Michael J. Dickey said the officers acted appropriately.
“All they are trying to do is calm everyone down,” Dickey told The Enquirer. “It’s just business.”
Fairfield Mayor Steve Miller also agreed with the police chief after reviewing the surveillance video.
“This is an unfortunate situation and our officers had a tough situation there. But I think they did a good job in showing restraint,” Miller said.
He says he has yet to see the two-minute clip provided by the young girl’s family.
“I’ve talked to the police chief, the city manager and the parks and recreation director. We have to complete our investigation. But if anyone else has more information about this, we’d like them to provide that to us.”
Check back for updates on this developing story.
