The City of Erie has released their findings from the investigation of two police officers’ use of force during an arrest caught on video, finding that the use of force was within department policy but other violations were found. <\/p>\n
The investigation, led by City of Erie Police Deputy Chief Chris Janus, examined the vehicle pursuit, collision between a police cruiser and Sparks, Taser deployment, body camera footage and department policies. The review determined that officers did not intentionally strike Sparks with a cruiser and did not continue using force after he was handcuffed.<\/p>\n
Eight days before the incident, an officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Sparks for an outstanding arrest warrant, but Sparks did not comply. The same officer made contact with Sparks during the June 28 encounter when Sparks fled on an e-bike. Deputy Janus detailed the initial encounter during the investigation release.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe officer attempted to stop him and take him into custody on the outstanding arrest warrant,\u201d Janus said. \u201cThe officer initiated his emergency lights and order Mr. Sparks to come over to him. Mr. Sparks ignored the officer and continued to round him and his cruiser and fled on the e-bike.\u201d<\/p>\n
A second officer was requested for assistance and positioned a cruiser to block Sparks’ path. When Sparks ran, an officer deployed a Taser and both officers delivered what the department defines as compliance strikes. Body camera footage showed an officer kneeling on Sparks’ shoulder to maintain control, which department policy permits for gaining compliance. City of Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah outlined the primary focus of the review.<\/p>\n
In their review, officials concluded that the officer driving the cruiser did not intentionally hit him with it, showing dash cam footage of Sparks not looking where he was going on the bike until it was too late and that the officer was stopping the cruiser when the collision happened. <\/p>\n
\u201cTwo questions were of particular interest to me,\u201d Lorah said. \u201cFirst did the officers continue using force after Mr. Sparks was brought under control and handcuffed? Second, did the officer operating the police cruiser accelerate?\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the officials, body cam footage was missing from one of the officers in the arrest because it was placed in “sleep mode” during the encounter, which is a violation of department policy. <\/p>\n As for when Sparks was being taken into custody, officials said he was actively resisting as officers tried to place him in handcuffs, resulting in the two officers striking him three times each and the Taser that was deployed being ineffective, falling within the department’s use of force policy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evidence did not establish the officer intentionally struck mr sparks with the police cruiser,\u201d Janus said. \u201cThe evidence did not establish that officers continued using force after Mr. Sparks was brought under control and handcuffed.\u201d<\/p>\n Video of the collision circulated online and prompted public concern at City Council meetings. Jerry Roberts, an Erie resident, expressed concern over the incident footage on July 1st, 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I saw was attempted murder; what I saw is aggravated attempted assault,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n Sparks’ uncle stated that he felt conflicted after viewing the body camera footage.<\/p>\n The officer whose’s body cam was not on during the incident, resulting in their immediate demotion and the department changing its policy to disable sleep mode on body cameras and require officers to keep them operational during their shifts. City officials did not disclose the identity of the demoted officer. <\/p>\n \u201cWe have to do what’s right; we have to protect and investigate everything that we can. I feel we have done that,\u201d Devlin said.<\/p>\n A local advocacy group called Justice Recovery Project responded to the city’s findings. They released a statement saying in part:<\/p>\n “The Erie community has long suffered from police overreach, racist policies and targeting by bad actors in the police department. This prejudice is once again on full display.”<\/p>\n The group is also requesting an external investigation, the release of the full body and dash cam footage, and a review of the department’s policies by an outside consultant. Their full statement is available online here<\/a>. <\/p>\n Previous Coverage:<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWATCH LIVE: City of Erie holds press conference on Keven Sparks investigation\t<\/a><\/p>\n