EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — An East Cleveland police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after video showed him kicking a kneeling man in the back.
Officers responded to the Best Steak N Gyros House restaurant on Euclid Avenue near Forest Hills Boulevard at around 4am Monday, after a caller reported someone being aggressive toward customers.
Video of the incident shows an officer, later identified as Ian McInnes, approach a man on a payphone inside of the restaurant while pointing a Taser at the man and demanding he get on the ground.
As the man puts his hands behind his back, the officer comes up from behind and kicks him in the back, the footage shows.
The man was taken to University Hospitals for a psychiatric evaluation after the incident, according to call logs.
Police Chief Scott Gardner said the man has not filed a formal complaint alleging excessive force, but the department chose to look into the incident after the initial video went viral on social media.
“As soon as I saw it, I called and asked for an internal review,” Gardner said. “Obviously looking at it from the onset it doesn’t look good, it looks pretty bad.”
The officer involved has been with the department for about five years.
Gardner said the man is not facing any criminal charges at this time.