Officers from a Florida police department have come under fire for using excessive force after they were caught on dashcam footage slamming a 19-year-old man against a wall while arresting him for climbing through his own hotel room window.
Ethan Waters, 19, was arrested by Venice police officers in December 2018 after their incorrectly identified him as a burglary suspect outside a Motel 6.
Footage of the arrest sparked criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida after the officers are seen approaching Waters and shoving him into the wall of the motel.
Waters was trying to climb through the window of his motel room when a maid saw him and called the police. But the maid was unaware that his roommate had told hotel management that Waters would be using the window to come and go.
When Ethan Waters, 19, was approached by the officers he immediately put his hands in the air. That's when one officer slammed him against the wall
Waters appeared to be resisting the arrest, prompting both officers to throw him to the ground. None of the officers responded to Water's questions demanding to know what was happening. Instead, one officer told him to 'shut up'
Waters was on the phone trying to call his mother, who lived at the motel, when officers approached him. He immediately put his hands in the air.
That's when one officer slammed him against the wall. Waters appeared to be resisting the arrest, prompting both officers to throw him to the ground.
None of the officers responded to Water's questions demanding to know what was happening. Instead, one officer told him to 'shut up'.
The officers held Waters on the ground for nearly a minute before walking the handcuffed man to the front of their patrol car.
In the video, Waters appears to have suffered a cut over his eye as he yells at the officers.
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Share'You don’t have this right! What is going on?' Waters shouted. Eventually, they place the man in the back of the police vehicle.
According to the Herald Tribune, the maid who called the police was not aware that Waters and his roommate had an agreement with hotel management.
He was staying with his friend, Michael Andrew Cameron, who did not allow him to have a key and kept a window open for Waters to use, according to the Tribune.
Waters was later charged with resisting arrest without violence, but there was no evidence found to charge him with burglary.
The officers held Waters on the ground for nearly a minute before walking the handcuffed man to the front of their patrol car
In the video, Waters appears to have suffered a cut over his eye as he yells at the officers. 'You don’t have this right! What is going on?' Waters shouted
Eventually, they place the man in the back of the police vehicle
After reviewing the footage, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida president Michael Barfield said the arrest constitutes excessive force and possible criminal charges.
'I write to express grave concerns about the actions of the officers involved in his arrest,' Barfield wrote in the email Tuesday morning to Venice Police Chief Tom Mattmuller, according to the Tribune.
He urged the chief to place the officers on paid leave while they’re investigated for: '1) filing a false police report; 2) battery; 3) excessive force; and 4) false imprisonment.'
Waters (above) was charged with resisting arrest without violence, but there was no evidence found to charge him with burglary
In response, Mattmuller told the Tribune on Tuesday that he is viewing multiple videos of the arrest.
'We are going to be reviewing the incident, and from that review we will determine if the officers will be investigated,' he said. 'We have a process we have to complete.'
Barfield wrote in the email that Mattmuller 'needs to take immediate action because his No. 1 job is to keep public confidence in VPD, and right now I can’t say anyone has that'.
'Failure to take decisive and appropriate action will only compound the issue and will cause an even greater loss of public confidence and trust in the Venice Police Department.
'We simply cannot tolerate law enforcement officers snatching innocent citizens off the streets and then submitting false reports to hide their misconduct,' Barfield added.
Waters' attorney, Andrea Mogensen, called the police actions 'tyrannical' and a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
'It’s becoming all too common,” she told the Tribune. 'People are seeing this over and over and over again. This is how people get killed.'
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