MANSFIELD — Mansfield police Chief Jason Bammann said Thursday an officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the April 22 arrest of a Bowman Street man injured during the incident.
Bammann issued an emailed statement after a Wednesday night report by a Cleveland television station about the arrest of a 67-year-old man stopped by officer Michael Nelson outside a closed business at the corner of West Fourth and Bowman streets.
The incident happened just before 1 a.m. and resulted in the arrest of Charles Roberts, a Bowman Street resident.
In the body-worn camera footage, the man was being questioned for allegedly “jaywalking” across the street, a violation of city law under 371.05 under Mansfield’s codified ordinances.
According to the TV station report, the man had walked to the store to purchase a can of soda from a vending machine.
Nelson questioned Roberts, who said, “Jaywalking? That’s some petty-ass shit.”
Nelson, who joined the department in 2023, asked the man to turn around and put his hands on the vending machine.
Roberts refused and a brief struggle ensued, resulting in Nelson taking Roberts to the ground of the paved parking lot.
According to the TV report, Roberts sustained broken ribs as a result and was hospitalized for his injuries.
Other officers quickly arrived on the scene, as seen in the TV station report. Richland Source on Thursday afternoon asked the MPD for copies of the body-worn camera footage.
According to Mansfield Municipal Court records, Roberts was initially charged with obstructing justice, resisting arrest and walking on the roadway (jaywalking).
He was found guilty of the jaywalking charge earlier this month and fined $25, plus court costs. The other charges were dismissed.
Bammann said the MPD conducted an internal review of the incident, including the camera footage and witness statements.
“I determined that Officer Nelson’s actions were consistent with the training and protocols provided to all officers of the Mansfield Division of Police. The use of force in this incident, I deemed appropriate given the circumstances and in full alignment with established policies and procedures,” Bammann said.
Bammann emphasized the use of force was not a response to the offense of jaywalking — rather, it was a direct result of Mr. Roberts’ actions during the encounter.
“To describe the incident as ‘body-slammed for jaywalking’ is inaccurate and misleading, as it fails to reflect the reality of the situation and instead creates an exaggerated narrative,” Bammann said.
“The escalation occurred solely because of Mr. Roberts’ resistance to lawful commands. Compliance with those commands would have prevented the necessity of any physical intervention.”
Bammann said Roberts created a “dangerous situation” for the officer when he put his hands into his pockets.
“Our officers are out, proactively policing. At 1:30 in the morning, you don’t know … the gentlemen could have been out committing burglaries or some kind of other crime,” he told Richland Source.
“The officer was 110 percent in the right to conduct a pat-down for officer safety. If you watch the video, you see the way Mr. Roberts reacts didn’t allow for that.”
In an interview with the Cleveland TV station, Roberts shamed the officer and said Nelson “violently and brutally” slammed him onto the concrete parking lot.
Roberts has the right to take his complaint to the City of Mansfield’s civilian Police Review and Community-Police Relations Commission.
The commission assesses police internal investigations to determine if the probes were “thorough, accurate, credible and impartial.”
The commission, which has no current authority to conduct its own investigations, can also make recommendations to the mayor and police chief on how to improve the public and the department.
The commission in its current form is defined in Section 175 of the city’s codified ordinances and can be read here.
According to the statute, the commission is to “study and review those functions of the Division of Police investigations process consistent with the purpose and intent for which it was created; provided, however, that the Commission has no authority to conduct its own investigations, call or subpoena witnesses or impose disciplinary action against any police employees.”