Toledo Police releases bodycam showing altercation involving officer and library staff
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Toledo, OH - A Toledo Police officer who was reassigned for his controversial arrest of a teen girl is facing additional community backlash for allegedly berating library staff during a police response last month.
Authorities have not released the name of the officer at the center of the controversy, but multiple sources have confirmed that both instances involve the same officer.
The officer who pushed a 15-year-old girl to the ground while arresting her after stopping a group of teens for walking in the street was the center of discussion at a Toledo City Council meeting on safety. During the meeting, Councilman Nick Komives revealed that he had heard from concerned constituents about that officer’s recent behavior.
Internal Toledo Lucas County Public Library reports describe an incident on March 11 in which a woman came to the Lagrange branch and began causing a scene, screaming at the library staff, threatening them and hurling racial slurs - all in front of a group of children.
Library staff said they called police when she refused to leave. While waiting for TPD to arrive, the woman walked out and into traffic. The responding officers were able to find the woman and speak with her. They let her go.
Several library staffers questioned why the officers didn’t arrest the woman who had just threatened them. The responding officers said it was the suspect’s word against the staffers, despite having a room full of witnesses, according to the library branch manager.
“One of the officers got very agitated and began shouting at her about how he doesn’t come to her job and tell her how to do it,” the branch manager wrote in a report. “He then repeatedly asked her where she got a law degree from.”
That bothered one of the library staff members, who said she felt something more should be done.
According to the library report, the officer “continued to escalate the situation and shouted and stepped to her and said he would arrest her if she continued.” Then another library worker stepped in trying to calm tensions.
Another library document described the officer as berating and belittling her.
Library documentation claims police did not take a report about the incident. The officers told library workers that they’ve dealt with the suspect multiple times.
Toledo Police say the officer did not face any discipline for the library incident.