Bodycam footage shows Central Falls officer using Taser on handcuffed man
By: -----
Central Falls, RI - Newly released body-worn camera footage shows the moment a Central Falls police officer held a Taser to a handcuffed man’s back last fall.
Officer Timothy Toczko was suspended earlier this month in connection with the incident, which happened outside of a bar back in November, according to a police report.
The police report states Toczko and another officer were called to the Central Street bar after receiving reports of a man who was refusing to leave.
The owner of the bar told the officers he asked the unidentified man to leave several times, but he wouldn’t listen. The report notes that the man “was holding onto the door in an attempt to avoid being taken out” while the owner was speaking with the officers.
Both Toczko and the other officer escorted the man out the front door after he again refused to leave, per the report.
“[The man] was highly intoxicated, officers asked him questions in English and Spanish, and he was unable to answer,” the report explains.
The footage shows the man falling onto the ground outside the bar and staying there for several minutes before standing up and aggressively punching a wall.
“OK, we’re not going to do that,” an officer can be heard telling the man on the body-worn camera footage.
That’s when Toczko stepped in.
“Go home. I’m not going to tell you again,” he told the man. “You’re going to be arrested for disorderly, and I really don’t want to do this right now.”
The report states the man “proceeded to tense up his body” which is when he was told he was being placed under arrest.
In the footage, the man can be seen trying to talk to Toczko in Spanish. Toczko pushed the man away as he was stumbling toward him and then attempted to take him into custody.
The report states the man “tensed up his arms and began flailing his body” as the officers were handcuffing him.
The officers then began escorting the handcuffed man over to one of their cruisers. The report explains that while walking to the cruiser, the man “dropped all his weight onto the ground and refused to walk.”
“Toczko had to drag him toward the cruiser,” the report explains.
The other officer had to pick up the man’s feet as he refused to get inside the cruiser “by leaving one leg hanging out the door,” according to the report.
The report states that the man then sat on the floor of the cruiser and refused to move.
In the footage, Toczko can be heard shouting “get up!” several times while using his department-issued Taser to the man’s back.
The man eventually complied and was brought to the Central Falls Police Department. He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, which are both misdemeanors. It’s unclear the status of the criminal case against the unidentified man.
Central Falls Police Col. Anthony Roberson confirmed that an internal investigation has been launched into Toczko’s handling of the man’s arrest.
“The matter was identified through the department’s internal accountability and review system, flagging an incident involving Officer Toczko’s use of a department-issued Taser,” Roberson said. “His actions were determined to be inconsistent with department policy.”
Toczko is accused of violating seven of the department’s policies, including use-of-force, de-escalation, reporting and truthfulness, and ethical and professional conduct.