When will enough be enough? In a new case of police brutality against Blacks, a former Akron, Ohio police officer is under firing after body camera footage showed him shoving a Black man’s face into the snow.
Former officer John Turnure was seen forcing snow into Charles Hicks II’s mouth while restraining him during an arrest. Hicks, a Black male, is heard shouting, “I can’t breathe, sir, I can’t breathe.” The same words George Floyd shouted before he died at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
The similarities between these two incidents are all too common among the Black community. Hicks luckily lived through the incident, and according to Akron Police Chief Mike Caprez, Turnure resigned on March 30.
However, his reasons for doing so were for “various personal and professional reasons” and not an admission of wrongdoing on his behalf. Ha!
An internal investigation into the incident is ongoing. The chief said, “Up until the time snow was used, it was textbook… we did everything right up to that point.”
Akron’s Mayor Daniel Horrigan released a statement on the incident, saying: “We disrespected a citizen, and for that, I apologize.”
The arrest took place on February 7, outside Hicks’s home, after his girlfriend called the police over her concerns for her safety, saying he had threatened her with a knife and mentioned a gun, Sky News reported.
When officers arrived, Hicks, 26, was shirtless and resisted officers’ attempts to place him in handcuffs. He is seen on video being forced to the ground and groaning as Turnure shoves snow into his mouth.
He is then eventually stood back up, claiming again that he can’t breathe.
“It was one of the scariest moments of my life,” Hicks told the Akron Beacon Journal earlier this week.
According to his attorney, Eddie Sipplen, he wants Turnure to face criminal charges.
In the meantime, Hicks faces domestic violence and resisting arrest charges. He is due in court later this month.
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