Cop Charged With Assault After Pepper Spraying Black Men On Their Porch
A Woodlynne, N.J., policeman was charged with assault for pepper spraying two Black men without being provoked as they sat on their front porch in an incident caught on video last week, according to NJ.com.
Ryan Dubiel, 31, is charged with two counts of simple assault, the Camden County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. In the June 5 incident, prosecutors say Dubiel was responding to a complaint when he encountered several individuals at the front of the house he was investigating. Video footage shows his encounter with them in which one tells him: “I live here,” but does not approach the officer.
The officer then used pepper spray on a man and a 15-year-old boy, while being seen on video posing no threat to his safety.
“Under the current Use of Force protocols, a police officer is permitted to use force when a subject refuses to comply with an officer’s commands at the time of arrest, or when the subject threatens the officer’s safety,” the statement says.
But Dubiel’s actions broke those protocols, said Camden County prosecutor Jill S. Mayer said, NJ.com reports.
“After careful review, it was clear Dubiel’s actions are not consistent with the State of New Jersey use-of-force policy,” she said.
Dubiel was suspended without pay. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, officials say.
New Jersey State Attorney Grubir Grewal expressed his disappointment at what transpired on the video and promised reforms.
“This officer, who has worked for nine different police departments, is a strong example of why we need a statewide licensing program for police officers— a proposal that I initiated and that I will strongly support when it is presented later this month to the Police Training Commission,” he said in a statement. “Just as we license doctors, nurses, and lawyers, we must ensure that all officers meet baseline standards of professionalism, and that officers who fail to meet those standards cannot be passed from one police department to another while posing a threat to the public and other officers,”
