Neck Restraint During Arrest Prompts Investigation Of 2 Officers

SARASOTA, FL — Two Sarasota police officers are under investigation after a video of their recent arrest of a 32-year-old man wanted on a felony warrant out of Manatee County was shared to a public social media account and drew public criticism for the use of a neck restraint.

Officer John Clancy Jr. and Officer Paul Gagnon remain on duty as an internal affairs investigation gets underway, Genevieve Judge, public information officer for the Sarasota Police Department, told Patch.

Clancy and Gagnon arrested Malcolm Jamal Johnson Sunday just before 7 p.m. at Fred Glossie Atkins Park. He’s been charged with resisting an officer with violence and possession of a controlled substance, after two small bags of what could be MDMA were found in his socks, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Facebook user India Davis shared a cell phone video she recorded during the arrest. She has since removed the video, posting that it's "causing too many issues." The video can still be viewed here on the ABC 7 website.

The video showed two officers violently struggling to detain Johnson. Eventually, they’re able to handcuff him and walk him to their police car.

At one point during the struggle, one of the officers put his arm around Johnson’s neck in a restraint. Several times Johnson said he couldn’t breathe.

On the video, Davis and others commented about the amount of force used by Clancy and Gagnon.

“They’re going to break his neck. Look at all that weight on him. They gonna break his bones,” she said.

“That’s how they killed Floyd,” a man can be heard saying in the background, a reference to the May 2020 death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer who has since been convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Davis can also be heard saying, “They just started attacking him. They didn’t even say he had a warrant or anything. They just start attacking him.”

According to the probable cause affidavit, Clancy said that he “explained to Johnson that he had a warrant and was going to be placed under arrest.”

One of the officers, who isn’t identifiable by name in the video, threatened onlookers who were recording the arrest.

“I’m just going to start spraying everybody,” he said. “Back the f*** up. We’re not playing this game.”

As soon as the office of Sarasota police Chief Jim Rieser was notified about the video shared on Facebook, an internal affairs investigation began, Judge said.

The agency also released the officers’ body camera footage from the arrest “in the utmost sense of transparency,” she added. Audio begins recording 30 seconds after the cameras are activated.

“Johnson is seen on body worn camera video resisting while officers attempted to take him into custody,” Judge said in a voiceover for the video. “He refused to follow officers’ commands.”

One officer was injured during the arrest, while the other had his body worn camera knocked off, she added.

One of the officers, who isn’t identifiable by name, can be seen wiping blood and dirt from his hand on the back of Johnson’s shirt. It’s not clear whose blood it is.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Sgt. Travis Forrester in the Internal Affairs Unit at 941-263-6027.

A group of activists in Sarasota County will gather at Fred Glossie Atkins Park Saturday at 7 p.m. to protest.

Their goal is “to bring a stop to the ongoing police brutality in our community and to let them know we will NOT tolerate it another second,” according to the protest’s Facebook event page. “The police show no love or compassion but want respect from our community. We won't stop until they STOP treating people like they are worthless. It is unacceptable and change must come!”

Patch has reached out to India Davis for additional comments.