A Facebook post criticizing Evansville Police about a weekend arrest has the department on the defense. On Tuesday, EPD shared body camera video and it’s side of the story.
One of the suspects in the arrest wrote a long post on Facebook criticizing officers during the incident.
On Sunday, July 8, officers were called to the 400 block of Riverside Dr. for a reported overdose.
Body camera video shows Michael Lile on the bathroom floor of the home overdosed on heroin, and an officer provides Narcan to revive him.
The video shows an officer handcuffing Lile’s brother, Seth Lile, who officers say was resisting arrest.
Police say after Michael Lile was revived, he ran out of the home with one officer saying he had a felony warrant. Officers chased him down the street and used a taser to detain him.
In the video, Seth Lile is heard telling an officer “People fear you.” The officer is then heard saying “Good, I’m glad they do.”
“That statement itself doesn’t sound professional,” said EPD Sgt. Jason Cullum, “but a healthy fear of law enforcement does impact people’s behavior and it can reduce the odds they will victimize somebody if they do have a healthy fear of law enforcement as far as stepping in and doing their job.”
EPD says three females were inside the home at the time of the incident. Body camera video showed an officer turning off one of three females’ cell phones and deleting video she was recording, which Sgt. Cullum the video was inadvertently moved to the trash bin. He added that officers have the right to control people and the environment during an active crime scene including preventing recordings.
Michael and Seth Lile were both charged with drug possession and resisting law enforcement.
Seth Lile posted on his Facebook page condemning EPD during the incident. Click here to read his post.
You can watch body camera video released by Evansville Police. ***Warning: some may find parts of the video disturbing.***
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(This story was originally published July 10, 2018)
