Canton, Ohio, officials announced the dismissal of a veteran officer caught on video kicking a suspect as he knelt on the ground, hands in the air.
Brandon Momirov was fired Monday, nearly a month after a video of the unprovoked assault of 21-year-old Jaemiir McElroy went viral. The video, recorded by a bystander, showed Momirov running toward McElroy and kicking him in the head even though the suspect was complying.
“I don’t understand why the cop ran up and kicked him in his face, but it was uncalled for cause he really wasn’t doing nothing,” witness Amari Reese told a Canton TV station.
McElroy was hospitalized with a concussion, said his attorney, Bob DiCello. He was charged with obstructing official business and resisting arrest, allegations not supported by the bodycam footage. Police were responding to reports of an argument involving 10 to 15 people.
“I’ve said on more than one occasion that we can do better, and I’m tired of saying it. It’s about action,” Canton Mayor William V. Sherer II said in a statement. “This behavior is not acceptable.”
Sherer offered his support to Police Chief John Gabbard, calling the taped beating an “isolated incident.” Gabbard initially defended Momirov, saying, “Our officers frequently face stressful, dangerous situations and confrontations with armed suspects.”
DiCello applauded Momirov’s dismissal but noted it likely would not have happened without the video.
McElroy, Terrence Backie, and one other unidentified subject were taken into custody after police found two pistols and a large amount of marijuana, according to police.
Canton police said that when they arrived, several people in the crowd ran away, including one man who “carried a gun that was plainly visible to the pursuing officer,” according to the Canton Repository.
Body camera footage from Momirov and another officer shows them briefly chasing the gunman. An officer then sees McElroy and four others in a parking lot and demands they stop. He then calls for backup.
“I got five at gunpoint in this parking lot not really complying. I could use more units,” the officer says. But the body cam footage shows McElroy and the others in compliance, on their knees.
Seconds later, Momirov approaches the group, attacking McElroy.
“Why you hit my brother like that, bro?” asked one of the men on the ground, believed to be McElroy’s brother.
“Because he’s not complying,” Momirov responds.
Momirov is asked again why he kicked McElroy.
“How many times did I tell you to get on the ground?” Momirov replies.
“You guys don’t want to listen, that’s fine,” another officer tells the men. “Then don’t be surprised when we put our hands on you.”
DiCello is involved in six other cases of people allegedly abused by Canton police over the past two years. Half of the cases resulted in death, while the attorney’s surviving clients were all seriously injured.
“There’s a group of people in Canton that are law enforcement officers who are treating ordinary civilians like enemy combatants,” DiCello told NBC News.
Relations between the cops and the community have been on edge since New Year’s Eve, 2022. A Black man named James Williams was killed by police after shooting celebratory gunfire into the air. The officer involved was not charged.
In December 2023, 24-year-old Zachary J. Fornash, armed with a pellet gun, was shot dead by police. Earlier this year, a 53-year-old man died in police custody after he repeatedly told officers, “I can’t breathe.” Frank Tyson’s death was ruled a homicide by the coroner’s office.
In May, there was another incident involving a complying suspect. Canton police officer Nicholas Castro unleashed a K-9 German shepherd on Kievan Conver, who was already lying face down on the ground, constrained by the officer. Conver had been pulled over due to a failure to signal.
Castro was fired in June.
