Wake County’s top prosecutor has ordered an investigation into whether law enforcement officers broke the law when they took two patrons to the ground inside a Raleigh bar during an ID check.
Surveillance video obtained by WRAL, which happened early Friday at Alchemy bar in the city’s Glenwood South district, showed two men being taken to the ground and handcuffed after being approached by plainclothes officers who were conducting an operation targeting underage drinking.
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The patrons were at least 21 years old and were ultimately released without being charged, according to authorities who ultimately cited dozens of other people as part of the operation. The officers involved in the incident were from Wake County Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
The Wake County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that it had launched a review into the matter.
On Thursday, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told WRAL that she has since asked the Wake County Sheriff's Office to conduct a separate investigation into the officers’ actions for her office to review.
“Ultimately, as to whether there is a criminal violation of law or not, yes, that will be our office's decision to make,” Freeman said.
Wake County Alcoholic Beverage Control Law Enforcement Chief Scott Broadwell said the men refused to produce identification when asked. He described the officers’ actions as “absolutely justified.”
Broadwell wasn’t inside the bar during the encounter.
He said he was at the operation's command center in the parking lot and relied on accounts from the officers involved. The surveillance video, however, can’t entirely corroborate officers’ account since the camera didn’t record audio.
After later watching the surveillance video with WRAL, Broadwell said the video matched an officer’s account.
Bar employees dispute parts of officers’ story.
Alchemy General Manager Derrick Andrews told WRAL Wednesday that he didn’t recognize the group as law enforcement until “after the fight.” He said that was when he saw identification pulled from beneath their civilian shirts.
“From everything I saw in the video, and everything we heard about afterwards, this individual was scared and confused, not combative whatsoever,” Alchemy owner Dan Lovenheim told WRAL Wednesday.
Freeman said investigators will need to sort through those accounts before her office can make any determination.
“You're going to have to talk to the public witnesses, the owners that were there, but you also need to hear from law enforcement,” Freeman said. “And I think it's really hard to have a full picture, particularly when you don't have audio.”
Freeman said investigators will also need to determine whether other video or evidence exists.
“We're not going to prejudge this,” she said.
Law enforcement officers are allowed to use some force under certain circumstances, she said, including to bring someone into compliance or custody. Investigators will have to determine what happened before officers went “hands-on” with the men and whether the force used was legally justified.
“Was this an assault under criminal law, or was the use of force lawful?” Freeman said.
That determination is separate from the Wake County Sheriff's Office's internal investigation, which is expected to examine whether agency policies were violated.
Freeman said criminal determinations in cases like this are typically made within 60 to 90 days, once investigators have interviewed the people at the scene and gathered the necessary information.
Abraham Rubert-Schewel, a North Carolina-based civil rights attorney, said he is representing the patrons. No lawsuit had been filed as of Thursday.
Freeman said any potential lawsuit would be separate from the criminal review and the Sheriff's Office's internal investigation.
“They may be making a determination as to whether they believe that their clients suffered some sort of damage for which they want to file a lawsuit,” Freeman said.
