Suffolk Police Officer Shoves Man In Wheelchair At Protest: Video

HAUPPAUGE, NY — A Patchogue man who uses a wheelchair says he was injured when he was shoved by a Suffolk police officer at a protest in Hauppauge on Saturday afternoon.

Sloan Jordan, 31, said he attended a protest on Roosevelt Boulevard to rally for a woman to receive upgraded charges in connection to a leaving the scene of crash in August. During an altercation between protesters and police, Jordan said an officer shoved him multiple times, eventually causing his wheelchair to fall over. He suffered bruises to his neck and back muscles, he said.

"I was there to support higher charges for Shannon Palmer," Jordan told Patch. "While I was there, police came out of nowhere and started arresting people. When that happened, I asked them, 'What was the basis of the arrests?' because no warnings were given. I was shoved repeatedly. The last time, my wheelchair tilted back, and I got jolted. My friend caught me."

The Internal Affairs Bureau is "investigating the allegations," against the officer, Suffolk police said.

Four people were arrested at Saturday's protest police said. Vincent Doe, 35, of Lindenhurst; Brandon Wood, 23, of Setauket; Noah Milstein, 23, of Massapequa Park; and Jordan Deangelo, 29, of Port Jefferson, were charged with disorderly conduct/obstructing traffic.

There were approximately 50 protesters, police said.

A nine-second video clip shows someone asking police why a man was being arrested. An officer is then seen pushing Jordan, who falls. Jordan said his hands were on the brakes, as he was on a hill. The same officer had shoved him previously before the recording began, Jordan said.

"After he shoved me the first time, my wheels went up. He stopped, waited a second, and shoved me again. That's when my friend caught me."

Jordan wants the officer who pushed him to lose his job and the charges on Palmer to be raised, he said.

"I literally posed no threat," Jordan said. "I'm in a wheelchair and he pushed me. I'd like [the officer] to be fired."

Shannon Palmer, 31, of Hauppauge, was arrested on Aug. 3 after police said she struck two boys on bicycles, ages 9 and 12, with her SUV on a Long Island Expressway service road in Ronkonkoma before driving off. Palmer was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an incident with serious physical injury. The 9-year-old boy was in serious condition, and the 12-year-old had serious injuries, police said.

Palmer currently faces her original charges, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office confirmed. Her case is still pending, the SCDA said. She was arraigned on Aug. 4 and she is due back in court on Sept. 15.