An Ohio police officer is facing legal trouble herself after she was convicted of encouraging someone to whip a handcuffed 15-year-old with a belt.
Middletown Police Officer Jamie Patterson was found guilty on July 30 after a day-long bench trial. She was indicted earlier this year on two counts of dereliction of duty.
Patterson reportedly responded to reports of a domestic violence situation at the teenager’s home on January 2.
The teen’s grandmother told police her grandson had a knife and was threatening his biological father.
She said she told Patterson the teen had put the knife away, but Patterson insisted that the solution was to administer “corporal punishment.”
“Ma’am, this is a parental issue; we’re here way too much,” Patterson said in the body camera video played in court. “You need to issue corporal punishment on him.”
The teenager’s family reportedly had a history of child abuse, according to FOX 19. The teenager was now in the custody of his grandparents.
The next day, Patterson responded to another report of domestic violence at the same home. The grandmother told police the teen was arguing with one of his brothers and was upset she was trying to take an iPad from him.
The grandmother said her grandson kicked her backward, threw his iPad, broke a remote control, smacked a monitor, and then broke it.
This time when Patterson arrived, she put the teenager in handcuffs.
“I’ve been here because of you,” she said in the body camera footage, according to FOX 19. “Stand up, turn around…think you’re a big boy, huh?”
The video footage then showed her look up at the grandmother.
“What happened to corporal punishment, Grandma?”
In the body camera footage, you see a man walk into the house and identify himself as “grandpa.” FOX 19 confirmed he is the ex-husband of the teen’s grandmother.
The man reportedly asked Patterson if whipping the teenager was considered corporal punishment. She said yes.
Investigators said they weren’t able to determine how many times the child was whipped because Patterson also muted her body camera. They added that she also turned away from the incident.
Patterson argued that she turned away because she considers corporal punishment a private matter between a juvenile and guardian.
New Evidence Plays Out in Court
It came out in court that the man reportedly told the teen as he whipped him: “You are a f—ing child. You don’t tell nobody what to do. You threatened someone with a knife again.”
“The same person that beat me as a child!” the teenager responded, according to FOX 19.
“You’re just like your father,” the man said.
“He stood there and took it,” the grandmother said on the stand. “Because his dad told him that if they even flinched when he beat them, that he would get it harder. So, he knows how to stay and take it.”
In another body camera video from a different officer, the teenager is being led to a patrol car.
“I don’t give a f—k if I live or die! I hope I die…Shoot me, please…I just want to die…I don’t want to go back,” the teenager cried.
Once they got to the patrol car, Patterson reportedly told the teenager: “He’s just doing this to set you straight. They are allowed to issue corporal punishment, and what your grandpa did is corporal punishment.”
On the stand, Patterson admitted that she’s told parents to use corporal punishment on their children.
“I acted in good faith. I had a good heart going into it,” Patterson said on the stand.
Is Corporal Punishment Legal?
According to Ohio state law, parents can use corporal punishment on their children as long as the situation is considered “proper and reasonable.”
Parents and guardians specifically are allowed to use mild physical discipline, like spanking.
But while it is legal, law enforcement officers cannot recommend physical punishment or allow family members to administer physical discipline.
Patterson’s lawyer, Christopher Atkins, told the Dayton Daily News that they are working on appealing. He added that he expects Patterson will receive probation because of her conduct throughout the investigation.
She is expected back in court for sentencing on August 25. She faces up to 90 days in jail.
Patterson is still on unpaid leave from the police department as of Thursday. The teenager and his family have not been identified.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to the city and Patterson’s attorney for more information but hasn’t heard back.
