A key member of Cleveland’s Community Police Commission was arrested this weekend and is now charged with public intoxication.
Anthony Body, who already has a criminal past, is accused of being drunk in public and was arrested while fighting another man. But he tells newsnet5.com the incident Saturday morning is one big misunderstanding, and plans to fight the charge in court to clear his name.
When asked: ‘were you drinking, were you drunk that night?’ Body dodged the question saying, “I was down here enjoying the game.”
But the police report says he confessed to drinking when they took him into custody that morning—a version of the story Body refutes.
“I wasn’t belligerent. I wasn’t causing any problems or anything. I came to the aide of someone who couldn’t assist themselves,” Body says.
Body says it all went down at a parking lot on West 10th Street and Main Avenue in The Flats. A man came up to the car he was in, broke out a car window and then robbed his friend in the driver seat.
Body says his friend has a prosthetic leg, so he ran after the man who robbed him.
"That’s when I began to intervene…so I chased him," said Body.
Police showed up after hearing shots in the area, but Body says police didn't believe his story.
“They falsely said gun shots. There was no questions asked, they came with their guns drawn automatically. I did request a breathalyzer and I also told him that I could walk the line but he did not allow me.”
This is not Body’s first run-in with the law. He’s had six other misdemeanor convictions since 2008. So could this cost him his seat on the commission?
“I don’t think this incident should disqualify me,” Body said. “We’re all fallible. We all make mistakes. I tried to come to someone’s assistance and I ultimately end up getting in trouble.”
Not only will Body fight the charge in court, he says he will use this situation to reform the recommendations he makes on the police commission.
No word on if he will be removed from his position at this time.
