Eric Wilson was on his way home from his job at Lighthouse for the Blind when he was stopped by two Little Rock Police officers alleging he “fit the description” of a suspect. The LRPD police department claim they received a call about someone fitting Wilson’s description who was running away from or chasing someone and who appeared to be afraid.
“I had just got off of work,” said Wilson who then missed his bus and began to walk home. That’s when he was approached by Little Rock’s finest.
“Hey, come over here and talk to me,” the officer can be heard saying on dash camera video.
Because Wilson is blind, he had no idea who was calling him, or what they wanted. He began to get worried.
“I could have possibly been getting robbed,” Wilson said. “I didn’t know what was about to happen.”
Despite being afraid, Wilson complied with the officers, but it didn’t matter.
One of the officers jumped on his back and slammed him to the ground. According to the police report, the officers feared for their safety while they were harassing the innocent blind man.
In their report, an officer said Wilson “pulled away violently causing me to lose grip,” and that he was “afraid that Wilson would strike myself or my partner with the handcuff.”
However, the video doesn’t show Wilson posing a threat to officers at all.
“When they tell him to ‘come over here,’ he walked towards them,” Reggie Koch, Wilson’s attorney said. “When they tell him ‘take your hands out of your pockets,’ he takes his hands out of his pockets. What more do they want?”
Police also claimed they thought Wilson’s clock, which reads him the time out loud, was a gun.
“Why would I get thrown to the ground?” Wilson asked. “If anything [the officers] should have been trying to help me.”
After his attack, Wilson went to the hospital to be treated for his injuries. He was diagnosed with a strained lumbar. He’s since filed a formal complaint against the LRPD.
The LRPD has declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation into the case.
