Video shows Erie officer striking suspect's head 7 times

An Erie police officer repeatedly punched a suspect in the head during a violent arrest outside a west Erie tavern in November, new surveillance video shows.

The video became public Monday at a hearing in Erie County Court. The suspect, 32-year-old Lee McLaurin, faces charges including possession with intent to deliver cocaine and resisting arrest stemming from his encounter with police on Nov. 23.

The footage shows two officers attempting to control McLaurin’s arms as they work to arrest him in an alley. Early in the confrontation, another officer approaches and begins striking McLaurin in the head.

The video shows the officer striking McLaurin’s head seven times before McLaurin falls to the ground. The officer was identified in court Monday as Patrolman Nicholas Strauch.

McLaurin filed a citizens complaint with the Erie Bureau of Police last week and the incident is now under investigation by the bureau’s internal affairs unit, Chief Dan Spizarny said Monday afternoon.

Spizarny said he had reviewed the surveillance video, which shows the alley beside Sophia’s Tavern, at 514 Cherry St.

He declined to comment in detail on the incident because of the internal investigation and because McLaurin’s lawyer, Gene Placidi, in April filed notice of possible legal action with the city of Erie.

In general, Spizarny said, police use of force “may be lawful but look awful.”

He said Erie police’s use of force policy “absolutely” allows for the use of strikes to a suspect’s head or face, depending on the circumstances.

“Striking blows are sometimes used during an arrest,” he said.

The arrest

McLaurin appeared in court Monday for a pre-trial hearing, at which Placidi argued that Erie police did not have an adequate legal reason to arrest McLaurin.

Erie police Patrolman Joshua Allison testified at the hearing that he and a group of law enforcement officers from several agencies, who are all part of the county’s Gun Task Force, went to the tavern shortly before 1 a.m. based on suspicion that a patron there was wanted.

Allison testified that he looked through the window on a door into Sophia’s Tavern and saw McLaurin transfer a small plastic bag filled with a white substance from one pocket to another inside the tavern’s pool room.

Allison said he then entered the bar and asked McLaurin to “hold up” as McLaurin exited the building. McLaurin did not say anything and continued walking away, Allison testified.

Allison and two other officers then followed McLaurin to a white SUV that was parked in the alley beside Sophia’s Tavern. Allison approached McLaurin, who was standing at the back passenger door of the van, drew his gun and pointed it in McLaurin’s direction.

“I’m in fear he’s going to remove a weapon from the car or his waistband,” Allison testified.

Two other officers approached the vehicle and grabbed McLaurin’s arms, the video shows. Allison testified that McLaurin refused to comply with officers’ commands and would not release his arms.

A third officer, whom Allison identified as Strauch, then approached. In the video, it appears Strauch struck or grabbed McLaurin’s midsection before beginning to strike McLaurin in the side of the head repeatedly.

Allison said the strikes helped the other officers get McLaurin onto the ground, where a group of officers worked for several minutes to get handcuffs onto McLaurin.

“The defendant fell to the ground as a result of Patrolman Strauch’s strikes,” Allison said in court.

Allison recovered a small plastic baggie containing a white substance from McLaurin’s right pocket, according to his testimony. The substance, 2.1 grams of white powder, tested positive for cocaine, Assistant District Attorney Emily Downing said in court.

“He accelerated this interaction,” Downing said of McLaurin. “If he had complied, none of this would have happened.”

Placidi argued at Monday’s hearing that surveillance video from inside the tavern shows McLaurin’s hands were visible and did not go to his pockets, so Allison could not have seen McLaurin transfer drugs from one pocket to another.

“He’s mistaken,” Placidi said. “He didn’t see what he thought he saw.”

Erie County Judge Daniel Brabender ruled at the conclusion of the hearing that police had probable cause to arrest McLaurin. The judge also declined to dismiss any of the charges against McLaurin, who remains in the Erie County Prison on $175,000 bond.

Use of force

The incident raises questions about the Erie Bureau of Police’s use of force policy, said Nicci Page, a lawyer with Placidi’s firm who previously prosecuted police misconduct as a member of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board’s Administrative Prosecution Unit.

Page attended Monday’s court hearing and watched the video of McLaurin’s arrest.

“My first reaction when I first saw it was, ’Oh my gosh, that was totally and completely uncalled for,’” Page said in an interview after the hearing. “I think that is the natural reaction of any reasonable person who sees that. I don’t see any explanation for why that force was necessary to begin with and certainly not why it was used to the extent that it was used.”

Erie police’s use of force has been under heightened scrutiny since an officer was caught on video kicking a seated protester during what police described as a riot in downtown Erie late on May 30.

That unrest came several hours after a peaceful protest in memory of George Floyd, a Black man who died in the custody of police in Minneapolis on May 25.

Erie Mayor Joe Schember announced on June 15 that the officer who kicked the protester had been suspended for three days and would remain on desk duty until he completed sensitivity training. City officials have declined to identify the officer.

Members of Erie City Council began discussing the idea of a citizen’s review board to investigate police misconduct after the May 30 incident.

Four members of City Council — David Brennan, Liz Allen, Kathy Schaaf and Michael Keys — have since told the Erie Times-News they support working with Schember’s administration to form a citizen’s review board.

Page also addressed members of Erie City Council at a Thursday study session on the possibility of launching a review board.

On Monday, Page said the video of McLaurin’s arrest is evidence that the Erie police’s use-of-force policy should be reformed.

The policy, she said, should have a clear rubric defining when force can be used and should instruct officers to try deescalation techniques before using force.

“If the policy in Erie allows an officer to use whatever they determine necessary, that policy is inadequate, inappropriate and inconsistent with what’s in the best interest of the citizens of the city and the officers themselves,” Page said.

Contact Madeleine O’Neill at moneill@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @ETNoneill.