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Youngstown cop beat me, paralyzed man says
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
jgoodwin@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
Photo
Willie Daniel of Youngstown, who is paralyzed from the waist down, explains what happened when his brother was driving the SUV in the background with him as a passenger. He said they were in an accident and a responding officer dragged him from the truck and roughed him up.
A paralyzed city man said he wonders why a Youngstown police officer dragged him from an auto and beat him last month.
And Willie Daniel, 36, wants an answer. He has contacted a lawyer as he intends to sue the city police department.
Police arrested Daniel, of High Street, and charged him with driving under suspension and reckless operation after a car accident Feb. 27 on Wilson Avenue.
Daniel, who is paralyzed from the waist down, said his interaction with Officer Robert Joliff that night is far more involved than a simple arrest.
Police Chief Jimmy Hughes said the department takes accusations such as those made by Daniel seriously, and internal affairs is looking into the matter. He said he can say little else about the situation now.
“We have collected information and interviewed people, and we will be continuing with that,” the chief said Tuesday.
Hughes said Joliff is not on any type of administrative leave at this time. He said discipline, if any is warranted, will be administered after the department’s investigation.
According to Daniel, he was in a SUV with his brother behind the wheel driving down Wilson Avenue when they were involved in a one-car accident. He said his brother left the vehicle to find a pay phone to call Daniel’s wife and a tow truck.
Daniel said a tow truck rode by the accident shortly after his brother left the scene, and he slid into the driver’s seat to flag down the driver. Daniel asked the driver for assistance, but said he did not need to have the police called.
The tow truck driver, according to police reports, however, called police because he thought he saw a gun inside the vehicle in which Daniel was sitting. Police did not find a gun, but did find a black stick inside the vehicle.
Joliff arrived at the scene of the accident shortly after the call from the tow truck driver.
Daniel said Joliff, at gun point, used an expletive and told him he would hurt him if he moved. Daniel said he told the officer he was paralyzed and could not walk, but the officer told him to be quiet.
Daniel said Joliff handcuffed him through the window, then punched him in the mouth. He said the officer dragged him from the SUV causing his pants to come down.
Daniel said he asked the officer to help get him out of the road because he is handicapped, but was again told to shut up. He said he asked two other officers who had arrived at the scene for help, and Joliff again hit him in the mouth.
Daniel’s wife, Pamela, eventually arrived at the scene and asked why her husband was lying face down in the snow with his pants down.
According to the couple, Joliff told the woman and several family members to lift Daniel and put him in the police car.
Police reports say Pamela Daniel was arrested and charged with misconduct at an emergency. Police say she stood between her husband and officers, refusing to move.
Daniel said he witnessed police slam his wife on the hood of a police car after she helped place him in the cruiser. He said he began to curse at officers, and Joliff then came to the police car and began to choke him.