Owasso Cop Fired For Excessive Force Speaks Out About Video
OWASSO, Oklahoma -
The city of Owasso released videos of an
arrest Tuesday—videos that cost an officer his job.
He's since won his job back, but now that
the video is public, the officer wants to make sure his side of the story is
heard.
Lieutenant Mike Denton was accused of
excessive force involving a man arrested for being drunk in public.
He said the video doesn't tell the whole
story.
"People want to think I'm some rogue
cop. No!" Denton said.
Denton said he didn't smack a handcuffed,
drunken suspect with his elbow because the guy was running his mouth.
Denton said he was protecting himself.
"The guy was getting ready to spit on
me," Denton said. "That's why I did what I did. It's a defensive
tactic; it's self defense."
Denton's attorney, Pat Hunt, said it was a
health concern and spitting on an officer is a felony.
"He says his words, you can see him
collecting in his mouth, as he progresses forward, he looks down and to the
left; then you can hear him go 'whoop,'" Denton said.
Denton said he used the back part of his arm
- not the actual elbow - to hit suspect, Bryan Spradlin's face three times.
"There's nothing punitive about
it," Denton said. "All it is, is to distract him to make him not
think about what he was going to do. I'm not going to let him spit on me."
The June 2011 incident was recorded by
cameras on the officers' uniforms.
The video also shows Spradlin refusing to
walk, causing a tumble, and Denton putting his foot on the suspect's head.
It prompted another officer and the suspect
to complain that Denton used excessive force.
The department fired Denton.
But he and the police union filed a
grievance, and an arbitrator ordered the city to give Denton his job and back
pay.
The ruling states, "Denton's misconduct
was unnecessary and unreasonable, but was not excessive force."
"I've been doing it long enough, I'm
not going to second guess myself," Denton said. "I'm going to
proactively defend myself."
Denton is recovering from surgery on his
shoulder, but says he's excited to get back to work.
Denton will be given a written reprimand as
punishment.
The arbitration decision reinstates him with
Owasso Police, but a spokesman told us, "the police administration is still
considering their options."