Sarasota Arrest Video Shows Officer Kneeling On Man's Head, Neck

SARASOTA, FL — Sarasota police released helicopter video Tuesday of an arrest last month in which a city police officer was seen kneeling on the head and neck of a man as he was being taken into custody.

Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino, who spoke out against the handling of the George Floyd arrest in Minnesota, ordered an internal investigation into the May 18 daylight arrest of 27-year-old Patrick Carroll, who is accused of possessing four .22 caliber bullets as a Florida convicted felon and misdemeanor charges of domestic battery and resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.

"Chief DiPino was disturbed to see an officer kneeling on the head and neck of an individual in the video," Sarasota police said. "While it appears the officer eventually moves his leg to the individual’s back, this tactic is not taught, used or advocated by our agency."

Craig Schaeffer, chief assistant State Attorney for the 12th Judicial Circuit, which includes Sarasota, told Patch his office had not been asked to consider charges in the case of the officer seen kneeling on the head and neck of Carroll.

"If charges are submitted to our office by law enforcement, our office will review them and act in accordance with the law," Schaeffer said on Tuesday.

Carroll told reporters he suffers from asthma and scoliosis. "While they're saying I was resisting, I'm just moving around so I can have circulation in my body and my throat," he said.

Watch the arrest video from a Saraasota County Sheriff's Office helicopter below:

Protesters gathered peacefully outside the Sarasota police headquarters late in the day Tuesday to honor the memory of George Floyd as they have in many parts of the country.

Deputy Chief Pat Robinson and Capt. Demetri Konstantopoulos of the Sarasota Police Department took a knee during the protest similar to what Florida Highway Patrol troopers did at a peaceful demonstration in Boca Raton the night before.

Last week DiPino suspended her agency's use of a "vascular neck restraint," a technique that compresses the carotid arteries and jugular veins of suspects to gain compliance. Police said the technique did not allow officers to use their leg or knees.

The Sarasota Police Department's procedure permitted officers who were trained in the vascular neck restraint technique to use it on any person who demonstrated "active physical resistance to resist arrest" and who appeared to have the ability to physically harm the officer or others, if the use of lesser force was not likely to "achieve safe control of the subject."

Sarasota police said Carroll did not require medical attention. They said he didn't complain of any injuries during the arrest, which occurred along 23rd Street near Dixie Avenue.

"The Sarasota Police Department has not received any complaints from citizens regarding this video but is taking this incident seriously," police said.

A Sarasota police report of the incident said Carroll was taken to the ground after he attempted to pull away from officers and refused to get into the police vehicle when he was placed in handcuffs.

To report a tip, call the Sarasota Police Department Internal Affairs Division at 941-263-6027. Alternatively, call Chief DiPino at 941-263-6012 or Heather Robison, who is the administrator for the Sarasota Police Advisory Panels at 941–263-6322.