Supporters of man in violent arrest demand firing of officers

The family of Tyree Carroll, the Germantown man whose violent April arrest was captured on video, demanded Friday that the Police Department fire the officers involved.

Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said that won't happen while the department investigates the incident - "Officers are entitled to due process like everyone else" - but that he was taking the case seriously.

Carroll's case came to attention this month when a video of his arrest surfaced on YouTube. In the video, Carroll can be seen bent double with two officers attempting to handcuff him, one of whom then punches and kicks him.

As more officers arrive and surround him, he is punched and kicked again, and at one point an officer yells, "You're getting the [expletive] Taser!"

Police have said that there was no indication a Taser was used but that they would investigate the possibility.

Police have said that Carroll, 22, was found with 5.3 grams of crack cocaine, and that he fought with officers, biting two and drawing blood. Carroll was also treated at a hospital for a head injury that police said was the result of his intentionally slamming his head into a partition in a police car.

At a news conference Friday, Carroll's relatives and supporters called for his release from prison on drug and assault charges.

"The video is nothing short of shocking," said his lawyer, Michael Wiseman. "It's terrible conduct on the part of the police."

His sister-in-law Kia-Marie Benton said Carroll had feared for his life and acted defensively against police.

"There's no justification for this excessive brutality," she said.

Carroll's supporters also called for a federal probe of the arrest, for the 26 police officers at the arrest scene to be fired, and for Ramsey to step down.

Ramsey said he would not do so. He said Carroll was "clearly resisting" the officers.

"How much force [officers use] is always the issue, but he certainly was not complying," he said. "It may not look pretty, but it doesn't mean it's improper."

Carroll's supporters have called for a protest at noon Saturday at the site of the incident, 633 E. Locust Ave. They will then march to the 14th District station for a rally.