A CLOSER LOOK
I had an opportunity yesterday to take a closer at the video of the incident involving IMPD Officer Adam Chappell and the 17-year old he’s accused of hitting and kicking. Chappell has been charged with misdemeanor battery for his reported actions. Like many of you I watched the tape on my computer. The video is compressed so you can’t see a lot of detail. This time I watched it on a 36-inch screen and in VHS form.
From what I was able to gather, I’m still not sure Officer Chappell punched the 17-year old. You see Chappell and the other officers surrounding the suspect, and you see the Officer raise his arm and lower it in an aggressive motion, but you can’t tell whether he made contact.
The kick is clearer and the Chappell admits he did kick the suspect. However, here’s the rub. Kicking is apparently allowed under IMPD’s training. Aaron Sullivan, the President of the Fraternal Order of Police, tells me that under the way Officer’s are training, using kicking to subdue a suspect is allowed.
The big question now, is did Officer Chappell “knowingly or intentionally touch another person in a rude, insolent, or angry manner” as defined by statute. I’m still not convinced the officer was acting with any sort of malicious intent and if I were on a jury I would have a hard time convicting him. I have heard too much about his character from his fellow officers and they say he is not the type to act in a manner to abuse a suspect. And his demeanor on the full tape doesn’t indicate that either. Might things have been done differently? Sure. Hindsight is always 20-20. I would argue this all goes more to IMPD’s training than it does the Officer’s actions.
I also don’t think Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi is acting with any ill will or political agenda. He’s doing the job that Prosecutors do. If they think a crime has been committed, they file charges. And at the end of the day a jury will have to decide all this. However if I were on the jury, with the information I have now, I don’t think I could return a verdict of guilty.
