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Oklahoma cop charged with knocking a 71-year-old man to the ground during a traffic stop

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Oklahoma cop charged with knocking a 71-year-old man to the ground during a traffic stop

The Oklahoma City police officer who knocked a 71-year-old man to the ground after a traffic stop has been charged with aggravated assault and battery, the local district attorney announced Thursday.

Body camera footage from the Oct. 27, 2024 incident showed Sgt. Joseph Gibson stopped Lich Vu, 71, for an illegal U-turn after a minor incident.

In the footage, Vu denied making a U-turn, said his car was hit by another person and the officer asked him to sign the citation. Vu eventually got out of the car and the two got into an argument that escalated.

The body camera video shows an officer talking to the driver as he sits in the driver’s seat with the door open.

Security video footage from a nearby business showed Vu appearing to touch the officer’s arm and Gibson immediately grabbed Vu’s hand, pulled it behind his back and threw him to the ground. The interaction took place within seconds and footage showed Vu hitting his head on the pavement.

Vu was hospitalized with significant injuries, including an orbital fracture, neck fracture and cerebral hemorrhage.

District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna said in a statement that her office “takes all incidents of use of force very seriously” and “in this specific case, determined that the officer’s actions were an unreasonable use of force.”

Under state law, assault and battery are considered aggravated if there is serious bodily harm and if it is committed by “a person of strong health or strength upon one who is old, decrepit or incapacitated.”

Oklahoma City police declined to comment on the charges Friday but said Gibson remains on administrative leave.

If convicted by a jury, the penalty for aggravated assault and battery is zero to five years in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections or zero to one year in the Oklahoma County Detention Center and/or a fine of up to $500.

The incident sparked outrage among the Vietnamese community.

“I feel like this is due process justice at its best,” Thuan Nguyen, president-elect of Oklahoma’s Vietnamese American Community, told NBC affiliate KFOR on the officer’s charges.

Nguyen said he has kept in touch with the Vu family and is now home but still recovering.

“I’m still in a lot of confusion,” said Nguyen. “I do know that he may not be able to walk anymore.”

The Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police said Thursday it supports Gibson, who they said “handled this call for service with professionalism.”

“It is very disappointing to see a police officer being charged for actions he took in good faith while in the line of duty. Sergeant Gibson was following his de-escalation training and protocol when he was attacked,” President Mark Nelson said in a statement. “We acknowledge the injuries suffered by Mr. Vu, and we sympathize with him and his family. However, we strongly believe that every detail of this incident matters and should be taken into consideration.”

“We are deeply concerned about the impact this decision will have on officers’ ability to rely on their training and professional judgment to maintain order and protect the public,” the statement concluded.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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