Baytown officers in alleged excessive force case recently underwent civilian interaction training

Mycah Hatfield Image
Monday, July 13, 2020
Baytown PD officers at center of excessive force case underwent hours of training
Records show both officers have undergone hundreds of hours of civilian interaction training.

BAYTOWN, Texas (KTRK) -- The two Baytown police officers caught on video using a Taser and hitting a man recently underwent civilian interaction training.

On Saturday, Kedrick Crawford said he was pulled over in a parking lot off of Garth Road around midnight, looking for something in his car when the officers approached him.

While searching his car, Baytown police officers found small bags of pills and attempted to place Crawford under arrest.

The officers said Crawford resisted arrest and consequently threw him to the ground, used a Taser on him, hit him with closed and open hands, and put him in a chokehold.

RELATED: 'You're trying to kill me,' Man says he was beaten by Baytown officers over prescriptions

Friday, the Harris County District Attorney's Office issued three subpoenas for medical records of people at the scene, including the officers.

Crawford was charged with assaulting a police officer. A spokesman for the department said one of the officers was scratched by Crawford's nails.

Crawford was not charged for the pills found in his car, as he said they were antibiotics for a spider bite that were in small bags so he could remember the dosage.

Thursday, ABC13 Eyewitness News was given the video of Crawford's arrest from one of the officer's body cameras. By Friday, the department said they would not release footage from the other officers' cameras because of the anticipated internal affairs complaint from Crawford.

The district attorney's office said they cannot start investigating the officers' use of force on Crawford until he files an internal affairs complaint with the department.

Crawford has not filed the complaint. He is focused on beating the felony charge against him.

Records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement show both of the officers in the body camera video have undergone hundreds of hours of training. One went through racial profile training, while the other took cultural diversity training in December.

Since October, ABC13 has highlighted two other incidents involving Baytown police.

In October, four friends were arrested outside of a sports bar. Their arrest was caught on cell phone video, where officers are seen throwing two cell phones on the ground and one of the people in the group.

Baytown police said the group was intoxicated and uncooperative.

One of the women in the group said her charge of public intoxication was dropped and was given a citation for disorderly conduct.

In May, Pamela Turner died at the hands of a Baytown police officer. She and the veteran officer struggled as he tried to arrest her for outstanding warrants.

During the altercation, the officer used his Taser on the 44-year old, but she ended up grabbing it. Turner died after the officer fired his weapon several times.

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