Oklahoma's Republican attorney general is dismissing a felony assault charge against a police officer who slammed a 71-year-old man to the ground, breaking his neck.

Summary

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond dismissed a felony assault charge against Sgt. Joseph Gibson, a police officer who slammed 71-year-old Lich Vu to the ground during a traffic ticket dispute, breaking his neck.

Drummond stated the officer acted within his training and lacked criminal intent, adding that Vu should not have touched Gibson.

The dismissal sparked criticism from Oklahoma County DA Vicki Behenna and outrage in Oklahoma City’s Vietnamese community, citing Vu’s language barriers during the incident.

Gibson’s actions were initially deemed an unreasonable use of force by prosecutors.

  • @violetring
    2•6 days ago

    Signing is a verification of having received the citation. It is an important safeguard. An individual cannot (as easily) claim to not know about the citation when their signature is on it. Police cannot create citations after the fact because of the required signature.

    However, there are a lot of people who misunderstand the purpose of signing. People often think signing is an admission of guilt, or otherwise agreeing to the charge. If I had to guess, Vu thought something similar. I’m sure the language barrier did not help.

    That cop still outrageously overreacted and should face charges and termination… Not that it will happen, but one can dream.

    • @Modern_medicine_isnt
      1•6 days ago

      It safeguards nothing. The signature is litterally meaningless. You can scribble whatever you want. And anyone one could have scribbled it. It’s still the cops word against the person’s. There is no notary present to verify anything. And now there is probably bodycam footage.