Multiple videos have gone viral of a Jan. 23 incident on Willis Street in Redding that show a lengthy struggle between 39-year-old Kevin Hursey and several Redding Police Department officers, including a K-9 unit.
Today Redding Police Chief Bill Schueller released a statement in response to the incident, and in acknowledgment of the dramatic footage captured by a number of witnesses.
Opinions are divided regarding whether officers acted appropriately, or if they used excessive force.
One witness, who said he saw part of what happened, said that from where he stood, it appeared the officers “handled it pretty well”.
Another witness was driving up Shasta Street around 3 p.m. and had just turned right onto Willis Street when the witness saw two officers with guns drawn and pointed at a man. The witness described the scene as something out of a TV show.
“I started taping. All I was really worried about was bullets,” the witness said. “I was in shock with the amount of cops and forces they used.”
The witness saw the suspect on his knees, but then he’d stand up again.
“He would act like he was going to comply, but would be back to not complying,” the witness said. “He wouldn’t go to the ground. The shot with the bean bag was what dropped him”
According to the RPD press release, initially, two RPD officers responded to a complaint from a nearby business that Hursey was attempting to get into parked cars.
Schueller said that officers deployed a “less-than lethal bean bag round” and a police canine.
“Ultimately, the man was taken into custody after a significant struggle,” Schueller said in the statement.
Officer stomps suspect’s head
One portion of the video that many viewers found disturbing was one officer’s violent assault upon the suspect while Hursey was lying on the ground, while also being attacked by the K-9.
Schueller addressed that action and said that the end of the video showed “one Redding Police Officer forcefully stepping on the head of the suspect” which resulted in immediate steps taken by Schueller and some staff members.
“Some of the force used is disturbing and may violate the standards of training and conduct required by the members of the Redding Police Department,” Schueller said in the press release.
“The officer in question was placed on paid administrative leave as required under California law and the Redding Police Officers Association Memorandum of Understanding. The officer’s peace officer powers were suspended.”
Click here to read RPD Chief Bill Schueller’s full statement.
According to some witnesses, a few of whom recorded the incident with cell phones, at first Hursey seemed willing to comply with officers’ instructions to kneel on the ground. A witness said that at one point a kneeling Hursey’s hands were upon his head, but then he “popped back up” into a standing position.
Witnesses said that within minutes, more RPD vehicles arrived at the scene and clogged traffic off Eureka Way between Willis and Shasta streets. An RPD SUV arrived with a K-9 unit, and the dog was sicced on Hursey, who remained on the ground surrounded by a minimum of six officers, and the dog.
One video recorded Hursey shout, crying, cursing, and repeatedly yelling, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” The video also recorded an officer ordering Hursey to quit fighting the dog.
The voice of a woman videotaping the incident explains what’s happening. At first, she seems to empathize with the officers dealing with a suspect who won’t follow orders to get down. But her tone changes as more officers and more vehicles arrive.
“Damn, there are like 20 cops in here … they finally got – he’s smart – they got him on his knees,” she said. “They’ve got like 50 cops on him. I thought they were gonna pop him!”
As she exited her car for a better view, her cell phone’s audio picked up her open door’s chime, sirens wailing, and Hursey’s screams.
“Oh! They got the dog out! They got the dog out!” she said. “They kicked him in the face!”
The attempted arrest took a violent turn when one Redding Police Department officer raised his foot and smashed it onto Hursey’s head.
Redding is not Memphis
The timing of the video released of Redding’s Jan. 23 incident could be better. The Redding video that includes evidence of at least one officer’s use of excessive force coincides with national news about a video of five Memphis, Tenn., officers whose beating of Tyre Nichols resulted in Nichols’ death.
In Memphis, the officers involved in Nichols’ death were fired immediately. However, In Redding, such swift terminations are impossible. Tennessee and California have far different laws that regulate police investigations, due process, and consequences for alleged misconduct by law enforcement officers.
According to a North State legal expert who spoke on the condition of anonymity, California has such strict due-process laws that it’s a massive challenge for departments to fire even the worst police officers. The expert said that what often happens is that bad cops bounce around from one police department to the other, and with rare exceptions, the public is none the wiser.
The expert said that typically, when an officer is being investigated, they’re put on paid administrative leave, and if the investigation clears the officer, they’re allowed to return to work. Sometimes internal affairs are involved. However, things become yet more complicated if the department wants to fire an employee.
The Shasta County legal expert said that a “Skelly hearing” is at the heart of law enforcement’s due process laws. A Skelly hearing is mandatory in the event of termination, demotion, suspension, reduction in pay, and transfer with an accompanying loss in pay.
Under the protection of Skelly rights, even the most egregious officer is entitled to notice of intent and copies of materials related to the offending action, as well as rights to respond to an impartial reviewer, and opportunities to appeal the charges, all of which could drag on for many months.
Meanwhile, the offending officer will most likely be placed on paid administrative leave.
Suspect’s condition
Hursey is no stranger to encounters with Redding police. In 2012 he was arrested for a number of violations, including vehicle theft.
2012 Kevin Hursey mug shot.
In 2018 he was arrested after jumping from a Redding bridge into the Sacramento River.
A 2018 Kevin Hursey mug shot following his arrest for jumping off a Redding bridge.
Regarding Hursey’s encounter with officers on Monday, one witness, who guessed that the incident between RPD officers and the suspect lasted for about 20 minutes, was uncertain if any of Redding’s Crisis Intervention Response Team partners were called by RPD to assist with Hursey and to de-escalate the situation.
The witness recalled feelings of fear that the arrest could become fatal.
“My thoughts were they were going to shoot, so I was worried, and I think if the man just had complied it wouldn’t have gotten so bad,” the witness said. “But at the same time, the cop booting him in the face was too much and should have never happened.”
That witness saw an ambulance arrive but did not see if Hursey was put inside the emergency vehicle.
Regarding Hursey’s current condition, the RPD press release said Hursey had sustained minor to moderate injuries during the arrest. His injuries were treated at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, after which he was booked at the Shasta County Jail.
Hursey’s charges include resisting and obstructing an officer, violence against a peace officer, prowling, vehicle tampering, interfering with a police canine, being intoxicated in a public place, and violating the terms of his Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS).
Note: A News Cafe received permission to publish the video provided by a witness who recorded the incident.
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