Attorney Justin Bamberg, left and and his client Clarence Gailyard, right, watch police body camera video of an officer stomping Gailyard in the neck as Bamberg holds a news conference on in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Orangeburg Public Safety officer David Lance Dukes was fired and charged with a felony after the July 26 incident.Photo: Jeffrey Collins/AP/Shutterstock
Criminal charges have been filed in South Carolina against a fired policeman seen in body camera footage stomping on the head of a 58-year-old man while he was already on his hands and knees, PEOPLE confirms.
Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Officer David Lance Dukes, 38, was arrested on July 31 on first-degree assault and battery charges stemming from the July 26 attack, according to Dukes' arrest warrant.
Dukes has not yet entered pleas to the charges and has been released on bail.
“This is a difficult situation and an unfortunate situation,” Dukes' lawyer, Jack Furse, toldThe Times and Democrat, adding his client “has absolutely no violent history and he’s not a proclivity to violence.”
The warrant states Dukes and another officer responded to a report of a person with a gun on Colleton Street in Orangeburg.
Upon arrival, Dukes, with his gun drawn, allegedly approached Clarence Gailyard, who was unarmed and walking with a stick.
Gailyard was ordered to the ground, according to his attorney, Justin Bamberg,who spoke toThe Times and Democrat. However, because of a previous injury, which left Gailyard with rods and pins in his leg, he moves slowly.
Scar can be seen on the forehead of Clarence Gailyard.Jeffrey Collins/AP/Shutterstock
The attack happened when Gailyard was unable to comply immediately — while he was on his hands and knees.
“Dukes raised his right leg and forcibly stomped with his boot on the victim’s neck and/or head area,” the warrant reads.
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A second officer on the scene worked quickly to deescalate the situation,the Associated Press reports.
Later, when command staff arrived on scene, she contradicted Dukes' account of what happened and provided her body camera footage as proof, according to the AP.
Dukes' termination was announced on Friday.
PEOPLE was unable to reach him or his attorney for comment.
source: people.com
