An Indianapolis police officer faces a felony and two misdemeanor charges from an incident in February when investigators say the officer used excessive force and grabbed a man’s testicles during an arrest.
The officer, Travis Lewis, was charged with official misconduct and two counts of battery with bodily injury. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Randal Taylor is recommending his termination to the IMPD Civilian Merit Police Board.
Lewis, who is in his third year with the department, is suspended without pay.
The charges stem from an arrest Feb. 10 at 8200 E. 21st St. Lewis responded to a reported burglary in progress and made an arrest for invasion of privacy.
Body camera footage starts with the man who was arrested yelling, but the footage is too dark to discern what was happening. While the man was yelling, Lewis can be heard saying “quit resisting” and “put your legs in.” By the time it’s possible to see what’s happening, the man’s pants were down around his lower legs, and he was stretched out over the back seat of the car with his legs hanging out.
According to court documents, another officer at the scene filed a formal complaint against Lewis, saying he used force that was “unnecessary and excessive” during the arrest.
The officer who filed the complaint said Lewis “forcefully threw” the man to the ground by the police car while his hands were handcuffed behind his back, so he couldn’t brace his fall. Lewis also had his hands “in the area” of the man’s genitals, according to court documents, and the man “verbally complained of pain.”
“It appears that Officer Lewis’s hand is in a closed position and rotating in a twisting motion in this area,” court documents say.
Court documents also say the man never forcibly resisted arrest or appeared to attempt to injure officers. He instead resisted by “physically stiffening his body to prevent his legs from bending and sitting in the car.”
The man who was arrested told investigators he stuck his legs out as officers tried to get him into the car and that “at some point in time they even squeezed my testicles.”
Why officers were at the scene
According to court documents, the man called 911 to report a burglary in progress from within the address on East 21st Street and was “screaming for help” when officers arrived.
Officers secured the scene and determined there was no burglary in progress or attempted burglary but did discover a protective order against the man that prohibited him from being at the location and contacting people at the residence.
However, the protective order was vacated, but Chief Taylor said the system officers use to search cases didn’t show that information. With no burglary or valid protective order, Taylor said there shouldn’t have been an arrest in the first place.
The man was placed under arrest and eventually taken to Eskenazi Hospital. He had injuries to his head, according to court documents, and a CT scan found “no evidence of intracranial contusion or hemorrhage.”
‘It’s obviously somewhat discouraging’
Taylor said it’s clear from body camera footage and court documents the arrest shouldn’t have happened the way it did, but he’s encouraged that other officers “did the right thing” by reporting Lewis’ actions to supervisors.
“They did exactly what we hoped they would have done,” he said.
Taylor credited training called Active Bystander for Law Enforcement (ABLE), which the officers received as part of their police training.
Taylor called the incident “obviously somewhat discouraging” but said he hopes the community realizes IMPD has more than 1,600 officers doing a good job.
“From time to time we’re gonna have these situations arise,” he said, “but when we do we’re gonna move quickly on it.”
The merit board won’t conduct a hearing until after Lewis is found either guilty or not guilty. If guilty of the felony, he would be terminated automatically because officers can’t have a felony. If found not guilty of the felony, the merit board will consider Taylor’s recommendation.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
