The Oklahoma City police officer who slammed a 71-year-old man to the ground following a traffic check has been charged with one count of aggravated assault and battery, the district attorney’s office stated Thursday.
Body camera footage from the Oct. 27, 2024, incident shows Sgt. Joseph Gibson stopping Lich Vu, 71, for making an unlawful U-turn following a minor incident.
In the video, Vu denied doing a U-turn, claiming that his car was hit by another driver, and the officer requested he sign the citation. Vu eventually got out of the car, and the two got into a heated altercation that escalated.
Security video footage from a nearby company shows Vu appearing to touch the officer’s arm, at which point Gibson grabbed Vu’s hand, yanked it behind his back, and slammed him to the ground. The interaction occurred in seconds, and the footage showed Vu colliding with the concrete headfirst. Hospitalization followed Vu’s serious injuries, including an ocular fracture, a neck fracture, and a brain bleed.
District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna stated in a statement that her office takes “all use-of-force incidents very seriously” and “in this particular case determined the officer’s actions were an unreasonable use of force.”
Under state law, an assault and battery is considered aggravated if it causes substantial bodily harm and is done by “a person of robust health or strength upon one who is aged, decrepit, or incapacitated.”
Oklahoma City police declined to comment on the charge Friday but said Gibson was still on administrative leave.
If convicted by a jury, the sentence for aggravated assault and battery ranges from zero to five years in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections or zero to one year in the Oklahoma County Detention Center, plus a $500 fine. The act aroused outrage in the Vietnamese community.
“I feel like this is the due process of justice in its best form,” Thuan Nguyen, the President-Elect for the Vietnamese American Community of Oklahoma, told NBC affiliate KFOR, on the officer charge.
Nguyen stated that he has remained in contact with the Vu family and is currently at home, but he is still recovering.
“Still in a lot of state of confusion,” Nguyen said. “I do know that he may not be able to walk again.”
The Oklahoma City Fraternal Order of Police said Thursday it stands in support of Gibson, who they allege “handled this call for service with professionalism.”
“It is very disappointing to see a police officer face felony charges for actions taken in good faith while serving in the line of duty. Sgt. Gibson followed his de-escalation training and protocol when assaulted,” President Mark Nelson said in a statement. “We recognize the injuries that Mr. Vu sustained, and we are sympathetic to him and his family. However, we believe strongly that every detail of this incident matters and needs to be considered.”
“We are deeply concerned about the impact this charging decision will have on the ability of officers to rely on their training and professional judgment to preserve order and protect the public,” the statement concluded.