Booking Photo Sparks Excessive Force Controversy
STANLY COUNTY, NC. — A controversial photo swirling around social media is sparking concerns for Stanly County residents. A mug shot shows an Oakboro Police Officer with his hands around a man’s neck.
Officer Jeff Crisco says the photo of his hands around Marcus Sturdivant’s neck is not what it looks like.
“He kept moving his head not to have his picture taken. I held his head still and took his picture,” says Officer Crisco.
The Oakboro Police Officer, who is also the Republican Candidate for Stanly County Sheriff, told me on Thursday he saw Marcus Sturdivant was drunk on the street and asked him to go home.
“He chose to go to one of the businesses and cause a scene, became belligerent with some of the customers, and they asked for him to be removed.”
Officer Crisco says that’s when they detained Sturdivant and took him to the jail to sleep it off. He says Sturdivant became belligerent with the jail staff when he didn’t want to have his mug shot taken, and wouldn’t stop moving his head.
“All I did was take my left hand, place it at his neck, on his chin and the back of my hand on the back of his neck to stabilize him to keep him from getting hurt, because Marcus was moving around.”
Kia Warren is Sturdivant’s cousin. She tells WCCB Sturdivant no stranger to law enforcement, but Oakboro Police should know how to handle him by now. She says they should’ve done something differently.
“I don’t know the force that was used, but what I saw in the picture, I don’t think that was necessary,” says Warren.
Oakboro Police posted this video on Facebook last night showing Sturdivant and Officer Crisco talking about the incident: https://www.facebook.com/
