West Virginia State Police superintendent says in-car camera captures teen being thrown

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Video footage of a 16-year-old boy’s arrest in Berkeley County, W.Va., last month shows the teen being picked up and thrown by police, West Virginia State Police Superintendent J.L. Cahill said in a radio interview on Monday.

“We’re about gaining control of people, not throwing them away from us,” Cahill said in the interview on West Virginia MetroNews’ Talkline show with Hoppy Kercheval.

The in-car video footage from a Nov. 19 confrontation following a vehicle pursuit prompted state police to place Troopers Michael Kennedy and Derek Walker on administrative leave without pay. Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Austin Ennis also was separately placed on administrative leave without pay on Friday in connection with the incident.

A total of five officers appear on the video “at one time or another,” Cahill said in the interview. He did not say whether all of the officers were part of the altercation with the boy or whether the other officers in the video were with the state police or another law enforcement agency.

Cahill said the video does not show the teen being body slammed, describing the action as being a “body toss.”

The action occurred after the boy was taken out of a vehicle that he crashed into a utility pole while attempting to evade law enforcement, Cahill said.

The video shows the juvenile being taken out of the vehicle, placed on the road and in the process of being handcuffed, “that’s when you see ... a series of blows and resistance. and at one point near the end (of the video), you’ll see … I guess you call it a body toss, where (the boy) is picked up and thrown,” Cahill said.

The crash into the utility pole, which can be viewed on video, occurred shortly after the teen rear-ended a Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department cruiser, according to police.

Sheriff’s Deputy C.S. Merson, who was driving the cruiser, was en route to a call off U.S. 11 near the community of Spring Mills, W.Va., when he was rear-ended, according to police.

He pursued the boy after being rear-ended. Keller has said the teen eventually crashed farther down the road and was apprehended.

Merson received a few stitches on his hand and did not require time off due to the injury, Keller has said.

After crashing into the pole, the vehicle began smoking and almost appears to be on fire in the video, which Cahill said spans about a minute, Cahill said.

Herald-Mail Media has requested the release of the video. Cahill on Monday cited pending internal and criminal investigations as a reason for not releasing it.

The alleged incident also is the subject of an internal investigation by the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department; an outside investigation by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, as requested by Berkeley County Sheriff Curtis Keller; and a review by an investigator with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.

Though the video footage of the incident raised questions, Cahill also defended the law enforcement agency’s overall performance. He said there have been relatively few incidents during his tenure that have embarrassed the agency and the people involved in those situations are no longer with the state police.

In announcing the troopers’ suspensions on Thursday, Gov. Jim Justice said the in-car video footage taken at the scene shows the boy being beaten by the two troopers. Justice did not mention the involvement of any other law enforcement officers in the altercation.

The suspension of the troopers was linked to the apprehension process where the “response to resistance/aggression actions” by the officers came into question, State Police Major Reginald Patterson said in announcing the personnel actions on Thursday.

Cahill said law enforcement work can be physically challenging when officers try to control someone who is under the influence of a controlled substance, such as methamphetamine, bath salts or alcohol.

“However, having said that, you watch a video and you just don’t see a level of aggression or resistance much, then that’s where we’re at,” Cahill said.

The teen driver was taken to the hospital for observation, then released, Keller has said.

Cahill said in the radio interview that the mother of the juvenile does not want the video released, but he didn’t know what legal standing she might have.