Purdue police review white officer's arrest of black student

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press

Purdue University police are reviewing an officer's use of force during an arrest of a black male student last week on the school's campus in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Entertainment website TMZ reports that cellphone video appears to show a white officer with an elbow pressed against the neck and face of a black man he had pinned to the snowy ground.

A woman recording the incident yells that the officer is hurting her boyfriend.

Campus police said in a statement Wednesday that the officer arrested the man Friday after a third party called and said "it appeared a woman was being held against her will."

Andrew M. Stroth, a civil rights attorney for the man and his family, identified his client as Adonis Tuggle, a student at Purdue.

Purdue University President Mitch Daniels issued the following statement on Thursday:

“There are no subjects Purdue takes more seriously than campus safety, student well-being, and proper police conduct. On Friday evening, Feb. 4, police received a bystander report of a suspected assault on a woman, prompting an officer’s urgent response.

Immediately upon learning of the use of force during our police officer’s response, we ordered an investigation, including not only the required review of the officer’s actions as is standard procedure under Purdue University Police policies, but also witness interviews and a release of all video evidence, including body-worn and in-car camera footage.

The inquiry into the police officer’s handling of the situation will be swift and thorough. As an additional step, following the internal review, the Indiana State Police will immediately commence an independent review of the PUPD investigation and video evidence. Should there be a finding of misconduct by the officer, appropriate action will be taken promptly.

In the spirit of transparency, once the Purdue Police and Indiana State Police reviews are complete, all findings and evidence, including all video evidence from body-worn cameras, in-car camera footage, dispatch calls and witness interviews, will be made available.

We ask for your patience as the investigation moves forward and again, will communicate findings as soon as they are available.”

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