Summary: Pele Smith is trying to sue the Lorain Police Department after a recent incident involving what he states was excessive force. Smith was stopped by the police on suspicion of possessing drugs and jaywalking. Video footage of the event was released in which the police handcuffed Smith and were bringing him towards the police car, when he is roughly slammed into the windshield of the vehicle. It cannot be seen if he was pushed or fell towards the car on his own, but his head hit the windshield hard enough that it cracked. The police claim to not have intended for him to be pushed against the cruiser, but Smith counters that he was forcefully shoved. Though Smith was pulled over for the suspected possession of drugs after the police saw what they thought was him swallowing a pill, though drugs were not found in his system or on his person. The police arrested him for evading the police, among other charges, and Smith is now attempting to sue.
Analysis: This article was published on October 1, 2016, by Ellie Kaufman and Lawrence Cook to provide information about Smith's case. From the information provided, it is hard to tell what happened in the situation. The police cannot be clearly seen in the videos and the accounts are extremely biased towards one side or the other. We can really not be sure about what happened to Smith or what will happen in the future during his case. Similar police encounters seem to be happening more and more frequently, and it's important for us to be aware of what is happening in our communities.
Synthesis: Since 1991, when a video of Rodney King being brutally beaten was released, video accounts have become increasingly more common during police shootings and charges of excessive violence by police.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/01/us/lorain-police-face-smashed-into-windshield/index.html
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