Police release video of lieutenant shoving man in wheelchair

A 33-minute dashboard camera video depicting a Lafayette, Ind., police lieutenant shoving a man in a wheelchair into the street has been released by the Lafayette Police Department nine months after the Oct. 1, 2013 incident.

In the video, Lt. Tom Davidson is engaged in a conversation with Nicholas Kincade, 25, who uses a motorized wheelchair. Kincade, according to police reports, told employees from a charter school nearby that he was armed with a gun.

Officers quickly determined that Kincade didn't have a gun, but they found a pocket knife that Kincade said he carried for protection. School personnel had asked police to inform Kincade that he was no longer welcome near the school.

Police Chief Patrick Flannelly said Tuesday that Kincade had started to leave when he hit Davidson with his wheelchair.

A report prepared by Davidson states that he "gave a two-handed strike, open handed" to Kincade's right shoulder when the subject drove the powered chair onto his foot and shin.

The video shows Kincade falling from his wheelchair as it topples. He sustained facial abrasions when he struck the pavement.

Flannelly said Davidson acted "reflexively" but that the use of force could have been avoided had he simply taken one step out of the way.

Kincade was handcuffed and arrested for battery against a law enforcement officer, a Class D felony, but the charge was dismissed five months later. In May, LPD's Civil Service Commission disciplined Davidson with a 30-day suspension and supervisory probation for a year.