The bodycam video was released on Thursday after 84-year-old Geneva Smith was hit in the face with pepper-spray. She was pepper-sprayed in her own home after police entered the house in pursuit of her son. Police say they released the footage in order to be transparent.
According to the Muskogee Police Department, the woman’s son, Arthur Paul Blackmon, 56, was observed running a red light in the early morning hours of Aug. 7. He refused to stop and drove to the home he shared with his mother. Police yelled for him to come out but he refused. So officers entered the home.
A Taser was deployed on Blackmon who was allegedly resisting arrest. He was taken into custody and charged with DUI, obstructing police, driving with a suspended license and carrying a weapon.
Smith was asleep when her son and police came into the house and woke up after hearing the commotion. When she entered the room she was ordered to turn around. As Fox23 reports, about 40 seconds elapsed between the time the command was made and when she was pepper-sprayed in the face. Smith then fell to the floor.
The elderly woman was handcuffed and taken to jail where she suffered a panic attack and had to be hospitalized. The 84-year-old said her left eye was still watering almost two weeks after the incident. After her hospitalization, she was released from custody. Although police claim the octogenarian was resisting arrest, the city attorney refused to issue a citation saying it was not clear whether the use of force by police was appropriate. The attorney is waiting for a report from police before deciding if a charge is warranted.
The matter is currently under investigation. Police Chief Rex Escridge says the Muskogee Police Department has several issues to look into to see if the force used against Smith was appropriate.
Smith intends to take legal action against the police. She says all she did was ask what was going on before she was pepper-sprayed. She also complained officers were laughing when they had to take her to the hospital and that after she was initially taken into custody, her front door was left off its hinges, leaving her home unsecured.
Although police released the bodycam footage, they are refusing further comment as the incident may be subject to litigation.
