Police officers in Ocean City have now been given permission to use force on subjects who resist arrest. This comes after several videos of police officers conducting arrests have erupted over social media last weekend following an incident on the boardwalk around 8:30pm.
In a statement released on the official Ocean City website, the incident called for the arrest of 4 individuals who violated a city ordinance. "We are aware of the social media videos circulating regarding this incident. Our officers are permitted to use force, per their training, to overcome exhibited resistance," the statement reads.
The information associated with the video describing a juvenile being tased for vaping is inaccurate. The video is from June 6 during an arrest of an 18-year-old male. Officers stopped the adult male because he was violating the city smoking ordinance. pic.twitter.com/UgzNJokp3p
— Ocean City PD (@OCPDMDInfo) June 14, 2021
The decision to use force goes through a multi-level review process and examination by the Assistant Patrol Commander. This is then passed on to the Division Commander and finally the Office of Professional Standards.
According to police, the said incident began when officers saw a large group gathered in an area where smoking or vaping was not allowed due to local smoking laws. The officers informed the group of the existing ordinance, but as the group started to walk away, one of the men started vaping again. The officers approached the group once again to address their violation. It was during the course of their interaction when the same male, identified as 19-year-old Brian Everett Anderson, of Harrisburg, refused to provide his proof of identification and became disorderly.
As this was taking place, a large crowd began to form around the officers. Police attempted to arrest Anderson for failing to show his ID and for violating the smoking law, but he kept resisting. While officers were dealing with Anderson, another male, Kamere Anthony Day, 19, started yelling profanities at the officers as he approached them.
Day ignored the officers’ command to back off and resisted arrest as well, while displaying disorderly conduct.
A large crowd of bystanders had then gathered during the arrest as officers can be heard yelling, “Back up!” in the circulating video.
At the same time, 18-year-old Jahtique Joseph John Lewis, pushed a public safety aide in the chest, then yelled profanities, as he picked up a police bicycle. He also tried to hit the public safety aide with the bike. Officers grabbed the bike from Lewis, but he attempted to assault the aide again.
A fourth male, Khalil Dwayne Warren, 19, was also arrested after police found him standing on private property next to two "no trespassing" signs. Warren was asked by officers to exit the property but he became disorderly, and resisted arrest.
In one of the series of videos that have circulated all over social media, officers can be heard ordering a man with his hand to lay on the ground. The male subject and the officer can be seen in a tussle when an officer deployed a Taser.
Another video that was posted, captured a number of officers setting up a perimeter on the boardwalk as a group of police were holding a male subject on the ground while one officer was driving a knee into him multiple times.
The four men were eventually subdued and arrested but were released after each subject was charged with multiple offenses, police said.
