Shocking: Police Officer That Pushed Over Man In Wheelchair Is Stripped Of His Rank


The shocking video below shows a police officer from Lafayette, Indiana pushing over a man in a wheelchair while other police officers look on. The incident occurred in October of 2013 and the investigation has just ended.

The incident, which was recorded by a police cruiser dash cam, occurred after the victim ran-over the foot of the officer. The video has just been released at the conclusion of the investigation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HNm3oPv95g

In the video, Lt. Tom Davidson can be seen knocking over the wheelchair outside of the Lafayette, Indiana Adult Education Center. The man, 25 year old Nicolas Kincade, was approached by officers after he informed security at the Adult Education Center that he had a gun in his backpack. Security called the police to report the weapon.

Innocently enough, the police arrived and searched Mr. Kincade’s backpack, finding only a pocket knife inside. He was asked to promptly leave the premises. Mr. Kincade complied, but his wheelchair ran over the foot of LT. Davidson as he proceeded to leave. Lt. Davidson, as seen in the video, shoved Nicolas Kincade to the ground without a moment of hesitation.

As Nicolas Kincade fell to the ground, he can be heard yelling at Lt. Davidson:

“Whoa, what the, the [expletive]?”

Lt. Davidson responded:

“You did not drive over me you [expletive]. Now you’re going to jail. Now you’re going to jail.”

Mr. Kincade responded that he did not see Lt. Davidson standing so close, and Lt. Davidson responded in disbelief.

A review of the video showed that there was a full four seconds between the time that Mr. Kincade was told to move on and when he began to drive off. That short period allowed adequate time for LT. Davidson to move out of the way.

According to Lafayette Police Chief Patrick Flannelly, Lt. Davidson should have moved out of the way, and he violated the department rule of using common sense by staying in place.

Chief Flannelly and the mayor of Lafayette filed a motion to fire Lt. Davidson from the force. However, the Police Civil Defense Commission stepped in and responded with a 30 day suspension and demotion to the rank of officer, which comes with a $7,000 per year pay decrease. He also received a year of department probation.

John Dickerson of the ARC of Indiana, an advocacy group that works with disabled individuals, had the following to say about the situation:

“Unconscionable. You can’t take a vulnerable person and throw them out of their wheelchair. Looking at the tape, it looked like he stood way too close to the individual. These aren’t precise tools that you’re working with. It’s that response to him being accidentally run over by the wheelchair that really needs to be addressed.”

Image source: screengrab via WLFI-TV

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