Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY - Techniques used by two police officers to subdue a man whose videotaped arrest received widespread attention were found to be within department policy, the Police Department said Thursday.
Donald Pete was struck repeatedly by Officers Greg Driskill and Eddie Dyer as they tried to handcuff Mr. Pete during an arrest last year.
The arrest was filmed by a man who videotapes prostitutes in downtown neighborhoods and makes the videos available to police to use in prosecutions.
Officers Driskill and Dyer are shown kneeing Mr. Pete, using pepper spray and hitting him several times in the legs with their batons as Mr. Pete lies on the ground.
Members of the black community criticized police after the videotape was shown on television news programs. Mr. Pete is black; the officers are white.
"The use of force techniques utilized by the arresting officers were reviewed and found to be within departmental policy and training guidelines," the Police Department said in a news release. "Corrective action was taken in reference to the profanity used during the arrest."
Mr. Pete was taken into custody when police found him in his truck with a prostitute.
Officer Driskill was the first officer on the scene and was unable to handcuff Mr. Pete, who Officer Driskill said appeared to be trying to chew up some kind of drug.
When Mr. Pete could not be immediately handcuffed, Officer Driskill hit him more than two dozen times with his baton and used pepper spray. Officer Dyer also struck Mr. Pete after arriving to help Officer Driskill.
The Police Department said it is developing a policy on how to best handle subjects trying to swallow contraband.
Officers Driskill and Dyer returned to full-duty status in February after federal officials declined to file civil-rights charges against them and state prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges.



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