The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said this week that some of its deputies are being looked at in relation to their actions this month when two high school football players from the Houston area were arrested. Last week, after a video of the incident went viral on social media, claims that the deputies had used excessive force in the arrests were made.
The HCSO said in a statement that the department is looking into the arrest to see if “any policies and procedures were broken.” Seth Palumbo, a football player at Langham Creek High School in suburban Houston, was arrested in the video, which was captured this month in what appeared to be a shopping center parking lot.
Palumbo had apparently been called by teammate Kristopher Willis when Willis ran out of gas, according to local station ABC 13. When Willis ran out of petrol shortly after leaving school, he called his two pals to come and aid him.
Willis told the station, “Once my friends pulled up, I gave them the bottles I had so they can fill it up with gas so I can get to the gas station. At that point, according to Willis, three or four police cars pulled them over. It’s unclear if the cars belonging to Willis and Palumbo are currently on the road.
A deputy is seen yanking Palumbo out of his car in one of the videos taken by a fellow passenger in his vehicle.
As the deputy drags the youngster out of the car, the teen can be heard screaming that he did nothing wrong.
The deputy appears to be yanking the senior around and smashing him to the ground in a chaotic manner.
Several deputies surround the car and even attempt to prevent Willis from recording the arrest on his phone from a different perspective.
The only passenger in the car who is recording is instructed to get out before having his phone confiscated.
The deputy then places his phone camera down, preventing any more video from being captured.
Both seniors involved in the altercation—Willis and Palumbo—were initially detained and charged by the deputies.
Also, they were hauled to jail. A misdemeanor count of blocking a roadway was brought against Willis.
Palumbo was charged with a felony count of assaulting a peace officer. On Friday, April 14, a judge dismissed Palumbo’s assault accusation because there was insufficient evidence to support it.
The young man argued against the deputies being referred to as “peace officers” in his initial interview following the event.
“I believe that police should primarily serve as peace officers. He seemed to have done a lot to aggravate me.
He wasn’t attempting to be tranquil at all. Palumbo was quoted by ABC 13 as saying, “I feel like we don’t need people like that in the community,” following the judge’s ruling.
Willis’ misdemeanor was not dismissed, and his parents, a high school math teacher (dad), and an elementary school principal (mom) have decided to seek legal action in response to their fury. According to Kristopher Willis Sr., “I firmly believe that the cops should be held accountable, just as they are holding my son accountable for a crime he did not commit.”
The films were first published on Facebook by Willis Sr. The Willis family’s attorney, Antuan Johnson, praised the young men for not cowering in front of the badges and turning off their phones. Johnson stated, “The only reason we are here is that he had the guts to take out his phone and record, and by doing so, we were able to see what transpired.
“After analyzing the tapes, we are investigating the incident to determine whether any policies and procedures were broken,” the HCSO stated in a statement regarding the video. According to its office, a deputy has been temporarily transferred to another location “waiting for the outcome of the investigation.”
The statement continued, “We take these complaints seriously and will guarantee that a full inquiry is finished in a timely way. “Our deputies are held to the greatest standards of professionalism, and any employee whose conduct does not comport themselves in a manner consistent with departmental policies will be held accountable for their actions,” the statement reads.