Incident
Date | Sep 19, 2018 |
Time | 12:00 AM |
Department | Burlington Police Department |
Officers | Cory Campbell , Jason M. Bellavance |
Address | Burlington, VT |
Incident Description
Officers Campbell and Bellavance responded to What Ale's You after a call by the bar owner. Bellavance pushes Jeremie Meli, whose head slams into a wall and is unresponsive. When his brother asks Campbell if they can stop, Campbell and Bellavance pull him the ground.
Summary based on body cam footage from the linked article: "Meli says “you guys started the fight.” Bellavance then shoves him, and Meli falls over and slams his head into wall outside the building. A loud thump can be heard in the video, and his eyes can be seen rolling back. His brother, Albin Meli, can be heard in the video saying that Jeremie Meli was unresponsive.
Later, after officers had handcuffed Jeremie Meli, who had regained consciousness, Albin Meli puts his hand on Officer Cory Campbell’s shoulder and asks, “I’m sorry to say this, but can you please tell them to stop?”
Bellavance and Campbell then pull Albin Meli to the ground. Medics later arrived on the scene to treat Jeremie Meli, and were told by Bellavance he lost consciousness."
Links
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Article describing incident and response
VT Digger article including description of body cam footage and lawsuits. - Alexandre Silberman
Videos
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Bodycam Footage: interaction with Jeremy Meli
Burlington Police body cam footage of the incident - VT Digger