Last month’s incident involving former Seahawks offensive lineman Chad Wheeler resulted in an arrest. The arrest came after an intense physical struggle with police, as illustrated by the audio produced by the body cameras worn by police.
The audio, obtained by TMZ.com, begins with police kicking down Wheeler’s down. Then comes a chaotic struggle with Wheeler.
He can be heard on apologizing to his victim, Alleah Taylor, and saying to her repeatedly, “I love you.”
Police say on multiple occasions that he is resisting arrest and “tensing up.” They threaten to use a Taser on him, and at one point it sounds like they did.
“If you don’t comply with us, you’re gonna get hurt,” an officer says at one point.
Wheeler can be heard saying to the police on one occasion, “Don’t shoot me.”
The audio provides a very raw and real glimpse into the manner in which authorities apprehend people who obviously don’t want to be apprehended. It’s not easy to listen to, and it shows that the job requires significant courage and resolve and determination.
None of that even begins to excuse the various types of police misconduct that we have witnessed over the years. Instead, it underscores the importance of ensuring that police officers have more than enough training and experience before having the authority to utilize lethal and non-lethal means for ensuring compliance by suspects.
