OKLAHOMA CITY — A 70-year-old Oklahoma City man is recovering from serious injuries apparently inflicted by an Oklahoma City Police officer during an arrest.
On Friday, the Oklahoma City Police Department released a video showing the incident from the perspective of the officer’s body cam and from a nearby business surveillance video.
Lich Vu, 70, is recovering in an area hospital after the incident. His daughter has been posting photos of him in the hospital documenting his injuries on Instagram and other social media channels.
The following are two photos posted to the Instagram account of his daughter:
The incident happened on October 27 when one OKCPD officer was dispatched to the Westside scene of a car crash on the NW 39th Street Expressway near Meridian.
Lich Vu had been in a crash with another car that didn’t produce noticeable injuries to him, his passenger, or the driver of the other car.
In talking with the investigating officer Vu argued about the officer’s decision to ticket him for a moving violation during the crash. Officers no longer determine fault and leave that decision to the insurance companies of those involved.
Vu argued that he should not get a ticket.
The key moment in the video is when Vu taps the officer in the chest with the back of his hand and then is heard to say “Shut up!” to the officer.
At that moment the officer quickly grabs Vu and throws him to the ground face-first, handcuffing Vu as he laid motionless. The officer then called for a supervisor the second time and asked for an ambulance.
The officer is now on administrative leave and the case will be presented to the Oklahoma County DA for review.
Friday, the Oklahoma City Police Department released a video their staff produced showing some body cam video from the officer and surveillance video from the business where the cars were parked as the drivers talked with the officer and then the arrest was made showing Vu being thrown to the ground and handcuffed by the officer.
This is the video the OKCPD released on Friday. CAUTION — The following video may be disturbing due to its depiction of physical injury.
The brief explanation of the incident ended with this statement about why OKCPD was releasing the video:
“The Oklahoma City Police Department is dedicated to transparency and accountability. We want our community to know that this case is being thoroughly investigated, and the review process will take time to complete. We ask for your patience as we work to conclude this investigation.”
The full statement posted with the video is in English and Vietnamese.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.