BROOKLYN, Ohio (WOIO) — A Brooklyn police sergeant who was responsible for reviewing use-of-force cases has been fired for using excessive force against a handcuffed woman.
Last May 19 Investigates first exposed a separate incident involving that officer in which he was accused of assault.
Now we’re learning Sergeant Paul Stein was terminated last fall after an internal investigation found he struck a woman five times in the face — while her hands were cuffed behind her back.
The incident happened September 4.
Stein had worked for the Brooklyn Police Department for 18 years and earned a six-figure salary.
Previous incident involving hit-and-run allegations
This was not Stein’s first controversial incident.
On April 30, Juan Wyckoff said Stein’s truck hit his car on I-90 and then sped off at more than 100 miles per hour.
At the time, Wyckoff didn’t know Stein was an off-duty police officer on his way to work.
“I’m like he literally just tried to run me off the highway and kept going,” Wyckoff said.
Wyckoff followed the truck and recorded it driving erratically on his cellphone.
The Chevy Silverado can be seen weaving between other vehicles on the highway in an apparent attempt to flee Wyckoff.
At one point, the truck exits I-90 and races through Rocky River’s residential neighborhoods, barreling through red lights.
When both arrived at the police station, Wyckoff followed Stein to the employee entrance.
Surveillance video captured Stein aggressively pushing Wyckoff away and kicking his leg.
“When is assault on camera not a crime?”
“That makes no sense because if I would’ve defended myself, I wouldn’t have been able to talk to nobody.”
Wyckoff wanted to press charges, but after police investigated, Stein only received a traffic citation and a written reprimand.
September incident leads to termination
The September incident began when police arrested a woman on an outstanding warrant for aggravated menacing.
The report states she was intoxicated and acting “uncooperative and belligerent.”
Officers cuffed her hands behind her back and decided to place her in a restraint chair.
The report says Stein stepped on her stocking feet to stop her from kicking.
She said his boots were hurting her and yelled at him to get off.
When he refused, the woman spat directly into his face.
Stein suddenly slapped her left cheek with an open hand, then punched her left jaw three times with a closed fist.
When another officer grabbed his right arm, Stein switched hands and struck her again, this time with his left fist.
Chief calls actions ‘excessive and egregious’
Police Chief Scott Mielke wrote that he believed “this incident rises to the level of malfeasance – intentional conduct that is wrong or unlawful.”
He called the punches “excessive and egregious.”
During Stein’s pre-disciplinary hearing, he prepared a written statement saying his “objective was not to harm the subject, but to stop her from spitting at me again.”
He said, “the force I used was reasonable.”
Stein claimed, “the strikes were not delivered with a high degree of force” and “the suspect wasn’t harmed.”
However, reports show the woman had lacerations to her lip and bruising to her jaw line.
Officers took photos to document her injuries.
At the end of his statement, Stein wrote handwritten notes reading “undergoing counseling,” “on the verge of a nervous breakdown” and “under pressure since the traffic incident.”
Stein was terminated on September 17.
He was one of three officers at the department in charge of reviewing use-of-force incidents.
The city said a special prosecutor has been appointed to the case, but no charges have been filed.
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A Brooklyn police sergeant who was responsible for reviewing use-of-force cases has been fired for using excessive force against a handcuffed woman.