On Friday, May 15 at the Brand Whitlock housing projects in South Toledo, 14-year-old Trevor Casey was arrested by two officers of the Toledo Police Department (Patrolmen Byron Daniels and Andre Bills.

This video was recorded by Shari Weems, who lives in the Brand Whitlock Homes in Central Toledo. Shari runs up to the scene in front of one of the homes, where Toledo Police Department Patrolmen Byron Daniels and Andre Bills are trying to subdue 14-year-old Trevor Casey.

The police report states the officers asked Casey to stop loitering and leave, but they say he refused and it then turned into a full fight. Trevor Casey was held in a head lock. Trevor Casey’s mouth was covered by an officer’s hand. After the officer removed his hand, Trevor Casey’s mouth and face were covered with blood.

 

 

The report says the 14-year-old struck officer Daniels in the chest and was kicking and trying to break free.

The video shows a bloody Trevor Casey, after being struck by police in the head while trying to subdue him.

Casey was then sent to hospital for treatment. Casey was booked into a juvenile justice center. Trevor Casey’s family alleged there was police brutality involved.

 

Stephen Ward along with the Family of Trevor Casey made a press conference.

Ward will present a plan for the citizens of Toledo to monitor the actions of the Toledo police, and take a proactive approach to bridging the communication and lack of trust between citizens and the police. Ward asserts, “Not all police are bad. We have some officers who I personally know and commend for their efforts in serving Toledo. But, we also have some officers that do the city no justice at all. They use the badge and authority of the office to commit crimes. These are the rogues who must quickly be identified, and held accountable for their actions.”

The altercation involving Trevor Casey was caught on tape and it clearly shows one officer covering the mouth of the victim. In the video it shows Casey's face covered with blood to the point where he is almost unrecognizable. Police officers are trained on how to properly subdue without using excessive force.

Trevor Casey may way about 120 pounds, if that. Yet, in the video footage it is clear that the two officers in question may way over 200 pounds...there is no justifiable reason why these officers conducted themselves in the manner that they did. Ward states, “This is beyond a tragedy. I understand the moral of the Toledo police may be low, and their stress levels elevated due to the recent layoffs. However, police are to protect and serve the citizens. This is another time in which the trust and respect between the police and citizens have been breached.”

 

 

My Opinions:

I don't have the full story on this, and we don't know what happened before Shari Weems got there with the Video Camera. But apparently Trevor Casey was only arrested for "Resisting Arrest" by Toledo Police Officers Byron Daniels and Andre Bills. If this is so, then what was he arrested for before he was beat and charged with "Resisting Arrest"? You can't resist arrest if there is nothing to arrest you for!

It sounds like this is a lower income housing area where Toledo Police patrols often, Trevor's sister seemed to know the officers by name, which leads me to believe the officers also know Trevor pretty well. So who knows what exactly happened here?

I just think we are all tired of seeing this type of abuse on the news! We are afraid to let our kids go outside to play, they might get involved on drugs, get ran over by a car or abused by the Police!

I remember days where we played football in the middle of the street and the cops would stop and throw a few balls with us. Now they just take the football, tell you to get off the street and beat you up if you don't!