A wanted 28-year-old man was arrested outside Park Place on Brookpark Road in Brook Park around 11 p.m. on Sept. 5 after a traffic stop turned into a wrestling match with police, leaving one officer injured. The man had refused to get out of his Nissan Rogue, pulled his hands away after officers handcuffed him, and was eventually wrestled to the ground before he was taken into custody.
According to Cleveland.com, police had several outstanding warrants for the man's arrest before the confrontation even began. Officers spotted him driving the Nissan Rogue westbound on Brookpark Road, approaching a red light at West 139th Street, the outlet reported.
Conflicting Accounts of the Red Light
Police said the man ran the red light and did not slow down until the last second, per the same account. The man, however, insisted the light at Brookpark Road and West 139th Street was actually green when he passed through it — a dispute the outlet's reporting leaves unresolved between the two versions.
What happened next, as the report describes it, sent the SUV's front end dipping violently as police tried to pull the vehicle over. The man did not stop immediately, instead turning southbound onto West 140th before finally entering the Park Place parking lot at 14011 Brookpark Road, where he parked.
Suspended License, No ID
Officers learned the man's driver's license was suspended and that he did not have a driver's license on him, the outlet's report notes. Police ordered him to stop and asked him to step out of the SUV, but he refused, prompting officers to open the vehicle's door themselves.
The man reportedly asked officers what probable cause they had to detain him before eventually exiting the SUV on his own. Once out, he grabbed his waistband with both hands, according to the report, and officers told him to place his hands behind his back.
Struggle Leaves Officer Hurt
After police placed him in handcuffs, the man pulled his hands away and resisted, leading officers to wrestle him to the ground, the outlet's account states.
Police searched the SUV and found two open bottles of vodka inside, per the same report. The man gave officers his social security number during the encounter, and officers photographed a cut on his hand as part of documenting the arrest.
The man told officers his face had been scratched and that one of his dreadlocks had been pulled from his head during the struggle, and he complained of shoulder pain on the ride to jail, the outlet reported. Paramedics examined him at the scene, but he refused transport to a hospital.
The Park Place complex on Brookpark Road has turned up in other Brook Park police matters over the years — including an intoxicated man refusing to leave the lobby this past spring and a drunk driver found parked outside the building in 2022 — though those incidents remain unrelated to this arrest.
