What if I told you a police chief slaps a man in the wheelchair in front of the entire community? I have a video and the update, here it is. m [00:00:21] Oh my God, why'd you smack him? Why'd you smack him? uh And this Put it up. Oh man. [00:00:41] You're looking at Ocelah Police Chief Robert F. The chief is accused of slapping a paraplegic man during a police response to a fight between teenagers. Denarius Williams, who has been [00:01:03] paralyzed from the stomach down since being shot in the back in 2013, said the chief slapped and choked him while he was in his wheelchair. Quote, he smacked me. He smacked the hell out [00:01:19] of me. And then he choked me. I'm in a chair, paraplegic, can't do anything from my belly button down, end quote Williams said. The incident occurred two weeks after Chief Eflin took the [00:01:36] job as police chief. That's according to neighbors. OPD was called to the area after teens were reported fighting. Once police arrived, people were handcuffed, detained or arrested, including [00:01:52] William's son and wife. William said when he tried to get more information on what was going on, the situation then escalated. Well, get your finger out my face because he had his finger, my face. And just like any other person, when you put your finger someone's face, what [00:02:14] do you do? You fan, say William. I didn't touch you and I didn't hit him, I fan. I said, get your hands away from me. You're in my personal space and he smacked me and then he reached around to choke me. In quote, William said when he was slapped, he felt helpless. Quote, when [00:02:37] he hit me, I honestly feel like this time right here, know, they hurt me pretty bad. In quote, William said. I'm going to get into some of the responses. But understand this guy just got the job as chief of police. He's at a call for teenagers who have been in a conflict, [00:02:58] that is the genesis of the call. He gets into a back and forth with a concerned citizen who has a right to know where his child uh and any other family member may be going. Whatever [00:03:14] argument happened, nobody in the uniform or not, should decide to slap somebody for conversation. Now obviously, this is even more extreme because the man is paraplegic. But even if the man [00:03:29] was standing on two feet, he doesn't deserve to be slapped period, because he has a right to not be assaulted. But he was, he was assaulted. And the shock from that community when they saw what happened, you heard their shock. Why? Because it shocked their conscience, that's [00:03:47] why. It shocked their conscience to see uh an adult slap another adult who's in a wheelchair because of words. That's why. This happens to be an adult who's the chief of damn police whose uh salary is paid by the same tax dollars given to him by the people he's obviously willing [00:04:08] to violate. All right, so the mayor did release a statement. Let's go ahead and get into it. uh The mayor, his name is Joe Harris Jr., has called for an independent investigation. An April 7 press release from the city confirms that a formal review by an outside agency has [00:04:26] been initiated, quote, to ensure all the facts are collected and evaluated in a fair, transparent, and accountable manner. End quote, promised that appropriate actions would be taken, but we'll make no further comment until the review is complete. Keep the picture of the mayor [00:04:42] up, Mr. Mayor, I do not know you, sir. And this is our first introduction. We are going to follow back up with this very soon to see if you have done the right thing or not. So I'm going to give you a chance for say anything conclusive about your character, your leadership [00:04:59] or your politics. I think it's fair. You have an opportunity here to show the community who you would really serve. Either the whims of a cop who's willing to violate the citizens that vote you in or the citizens period. All right, your brother thoughts here. Yeah, I [00:05:19] mean, I guess it was his respect so important to maintain that he had to slap somebody in a wheelchair. That's the only thing it was. He felt like he had to maintain his authority. This man should not have a job after this. And like you said, we'll take it a day at a [00:05:38] time and see what happens. We know, unfortunately, oftentimes police officers don't face the justice that they deserve. But nobody should trust this man to be an officer in their towns, no matter where that town is anywhere in the country. This man should not be trusted to [00:05:55] uphold the law to keep people safe. So hopefully more happens than just him losing his job. um But I mean, what do you slap somebody in a wheelchair like, come on, man? Right, right. It's ridiculous. And it happens to be a crime. It's an assault. Regardless of your way, uniform [00:06:15] or not. All right, we'll bring updates as they develop.