OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper who is on leave for the second time this year over excessive force complaints said in his report on the latest incident that he hit a man with his baton only after he appeared to physically resist arrest.
Acting on an open records request from The Associated Press, the patrol Friday released Trooper Daniel Martin's narrative of Kristopher Douglas' Oct. 3 arrest in Holdenville on an accusation of obstructing police.
In July, Martin received a five-day suspension without pay after scuffling with a paramedic during a traffic stop involving an ambulance. A cell phone video of that scuffle was widely distributed on the Internet, and after initially refusing, the patrol released the dashboard camera video taken from the trooper's cruiser.
In the latest incident, Douglas has complained about the baton blow and the actions of another trooper he said put a knee on his back. Martin and the other trooper, Tommy Allen, remain on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
Martin said in his report that Douglas, 28, of Holdenville, disobeyed four requests to move back from the scene of a traffic stop where the two troopers were working and appeared to take a fighting stance before Allen put Douglas in a neck hold.
"Trooper Martin delivered one baton strike to Douglas' left thigh in order for him to comply with commands and not resist," Martin wrote in the report.
Allen then put Douglas on the ground and handcuffed him, according to the report.
Martin said Douglas was sweating and clenching his teeth and that he feared the man may have been intoxicated and preparing to fight.
After his arrest, Douglas said "he would not normally interfere with a traffic stop and realized that he made a mistake and should have listened to commands to step back," Martin said.
Douglas has told Oklahoma City television station KWTV that he was just trying to go inside a friend's house when troopers pulled up to handle a traffic stop and ended up arresting him.
Capt. Chris West, a patrol spokesman, said dashboard camera video from this incident in Holdenville — about 75 miles southeast of Oklahoma City — will be released once the agency's internal review is complete.
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