WARREN Police videotape shows man's arrest, struggle

The video shows officers struggling with the man.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- About 53 seconds after Clarence Clay was stopped for going through a stop sign, a videotape shows him being tossed on the front of a city police car.
The video was shown to the press Friday, moments before Clay's pretrial. He is facing a charge of resisting arrest. His trial is scheduled to being at 9 a.m. Monday in the courtroom of Judge Thomas Gysegem of municipal court.
The police report says officers observed Clay's vehicle around 8:35 p.m. March 26 leaving the "driveway of a residence known to participate in the distribution of illegal narcotics." The vehicle then failed to stop at Homewood and Niles Road S.E.
The videotape shows Clay's vehicle pulling into his driveway and officers then getting out of the cruiser.
The video, which was taken by a camera mounted inside the cruiser, gives a view of the front right of the cruiser. The report says that when Clay got out of his vehicle, he placed his left hand into his left front pocket. Since the video was facing the right, nothing on the far left can be seen.
Officers stated they were fearful that Clay had a weapon.
Struggle
Seconds after officers leave their vehicle, Clay is tossed on the front of the cruiser and is struggling with officers. The officers then attempt to take Clay to the ground.
Clay is then seen being helped up by officers and being placed in the cruiser. Clay can then be heard asking officers why he is under arrest. Officers, who are outside the cruiser, are using flashlights to search near the cruiser. It is not known why or what they were searching for.
Moments later, officers ask Clay if has crack cocaine under his tongue. Clay denies having the illegal drug.
"I don't have any crack. I have a heart problem. I don't have any crack," Clay said on the videotape. "I'm fixing a man's TV."
Once the officers got back in the cruiser, they told Clay he was under arrest for obstructing official business and resisting arrest.
Clay has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the officers violated his constitutional rights. He states in the civil suit that he was beaten and illegally strip-searched by officers after the traffic stop.
There have been seven lawsuits filed in federal court in the past six weeks alleging city police violated the constitutional rights of people they arrested.
Out of those lawsuits, three men contend they were illegally strip-searched.
City officials have declined to comment.
sinkovich@vindy.com