CANTON, Ohio — As the Canton Police Department continues their investigation into one of their officers appearing to kick a suspect who was on his knees with his hands in the air, 3News is hearing from Canton's mayor on the case. We're also learning more about the officer's training history and current employment status as community outrage continues to grow.
Canton police reported that on Saturday night they were called to the parking lot of the Mahoning Manor apartments to investigate a large group of people arguing, and "officers ordered the suspects to the ground and they appeared to be complying when Officer Brandon Momirov kicked Jaemiier McElroy in the chest."
Video appearing to show this has gone viral and outraged much of the community.
"I am always alarmed and even to some degree, there are times just shocked," said Hector McDaniel, president of the Stark County NAACP, of the video. "I'm going to say I was also greatly disappointed in policing in the community."
He told us he wants to hold the city of Canton and its police department more accountable. We asked him what he proposes is done.
"Solutions for us are going to center around an oversight committee and or a board that we believe can bring assistance in terms of bringing policing in line with the written mission and goals that it already has,” he said. "It is about making sure that policing does not drift too far to the left. We believe that that's what's occurred here in Stark County, specifically in Canton.”
On Wednesday, we asked Canton Chief of Counsel Kevin L'Hommedieu about the city creating this type of board. He responded:
"Canton created the Community Relations Commission by executive order in 2001 and was last renewed by Executive Order 2-2016. Its primary role is to 'review[ ] the Canton Police Department Internal Affairs Bureau’s completed investigations of alleged police misconduct.' It consists of seven people appointed by the Mayor who live, work, or own businesses in the city. They continue to meet quarterly. In fact, they have a meeting scheduled for September 4."
McDaniel is one of the mayor's appointees on this commission.
When we asked him how his proposed police oversight board would differ, he explained that he wants to see a committee that is independent of the city of Canton and has subpoena power.
"Because the goal of having oversight is for it to be independent and have that lateral kind of independence and not have to work under the shadow of any authority, so to speak," he said. "When we talk about oversight, I think (of) a component that helps policing — not harms, but helps and aids policing, specifically in terms of the relationships that need to be developed between community and policing. And I think it helps also to the internal aspect of accountability."
3News asked Canton Mayor William Sherer II what his office plans to do about the Momirov case. His spokeswoman sent the following statement:
"We fully understand the community is looking for answers and the want for immediate action be taken, however, there are protocols in place that must be followed. I want to reiterate that the behavior seen in the video is unacceptable. This behavior will not be tolerated. It is unfortunate that we continue to have these occurrences arise that reflect on our entire police department. With that being said, I support our police chief and understand we must follow the process that is in place in order to do better moving forward."
Looking into Momirov's training history in the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy database on the Ohio Attorney General's Office website, Momirov's has been a police officer since 2016.
His first stint with Canton Police lasted from June 2020 to July 2021, and his second stint with the department started in June 2022. It's unclear what he did in between these stints.
He has an extensive training history with over 70 completed courses on record, including "Use of Deadly Force and Legal Guidelines" and "Policing in the 21st Century: Use of Force and De-Escalation Webcast."
3News has requested Momirov's personnel files from Canton PD.
On Wednesday, we also asked for an update on his current employment status.
A spokesman for the force responded, "Officer Momirov is currently working in a restricted capacity. The incident is under review."