Two fired Savannah police officers allegedly tied a T-shirt around a suspect’s mouth and forced his jaw closed, according to an incident report obtained by a state media outlet.
Daniel Kang and Octavior Arango were fired earlier this month.
According to the incident report obtained by GPB News, the officers kicked down the door of an apartment while trying to serve a warrant. Inside, they encountered Darryl Faitele, who was not the suspect.
Arango said he put his knee on Faitele’s upper back as Faitele lay facedown before handcuffing him. After this, Arango described blood on Faitele’s chin and shirt.
The report said Faitele spit at the officers. Arango, according to the report, “forcefully shoved Faitele’s face back with (his) gloved hand and took (Faitele) to the ground” and “forced his jaw closed.” Officers pulled Faitele’s T-shirt over his face and tied another shirt over his mouth.
Faitele was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter presented the body camera footage and an internal investigation’s results to Mayor Van Johnson, who appointed a task force to review the department’s use-of-force policies in the wake of George Floyd’s death while in Minneapolis police custody.
District Attorney Meg Heap plans to present the case to a grand jury next month.
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