Police Officer Shoves Wheelchair-Bound Man To The Ground

An Indiana cop has been suspended without pay but gets to keep his job after an incident last fall, when he pushed a paraplegic man out of his wheelchair, shoving him to the ground.

A dashboard camera video of the incident was released by the Lafayette Police Department, 9 months after the incident, which took place on October 1, 2013. Officers were called on 25-year-old Nicholas Kincade, after receiving reports that the wheelchair-bound man told employees of the Excel charter school that he had a gun in his backpack. Police were quickly able to determine that Kincade was armed only with a pocket knife, MailOnline reports. Officers issued the man a warning at the request of the school, and though he should have been free to go, the situation quickly spiraled out of hand.

As Kincade moved to leave, the video shows that his motorized wheelchair struck the foot of Lafayette Police Department Lt. Tom Davidson, who shoved the paraplegic man in the shoulder. Kincade toppled out of his wheelchair and struck the pavement, yelling as officers could be heard saying “now you’re going to jail.”

Kincade was arrested, and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, FOX59 reports. After being thrown from his wheelchair, he was taken to jail by an ambulance. The charges were later dropped.

An internal investigation into the incident found the officer’s conduct was in violation of the Lafayette police department’s policies regarding “unbecoming conduct” and appropriate “response to resistance.” Amazingly, Lafayette police Chief Patrick J. Flannelly revealed that every member of the department’s command staff recommended to the investigating officers that Davidson be terminated.

Investigating officers recommended that Davidson, who was the highest ranking officer on the scene when he shoved Kincade out of his wheelchair, be terminated for his actions. The Lafayette Police Civil Service Commission, which is made up of local citizens and makes decisions in matters related to officer hiring, promotions, and discipline, decided not to terminate Davidson. Instead, they stripped the officer of his rank, suspended him for 30 days without pay, and made him subject to a year of probation.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the only time someone has been in the news recently for poor conduct toward a wheelchair-bound individual. As The Inquisitr reported in May, a drunk woman in Florida was charged with aggravated battery after angrily pushing her mother’s wheelchair off a curb.

Charges were dropped against Kincade, and none are expected to be filed against Davidson, the police officer who sent him tumbling from his wheelchair.

[Images via MailOnline]