CLEVELAND — A Cleveland woman struggling with mental health had her arm snapped by police. Now, University Circle has agreed to a settlement and the victim is sitting down exclusively with News 5 Investigators.
Latoya Wilson told us she was having hallucinations during her walk in Lake View Cemetery in May of 2022. After the police response that day, she now has a $90,000 settlement with University Circle.
“I feel like I got some of my dignity back from the way that I was treated,” Wilson told us in a recent interview.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY IN MAY OF 2022
Wilson is diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder, which includes psychosis.
“What happened was I was going through a mental crisis,” said Wilson about that day. She had been walking for hours in the cemetery and, at times, chanting loudly.
When she was asked to leave at the cemetery's closing time, she refused, and then University Circle cops were called. John Garbo, Timothy Caine, and Bradley Nicholson responded from the police department. Wilson told them she would walk out the far exit, but that didn’t sit well with the officers.
“She’s committing a crime,” said one cop who can be heard on body cam. “We could just go hands-on and just do a whole use of force thing,” he added.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking,” said another cop.
One of the three responding officers even recognized she was having a mental episode.
“She definitely got some, I think, mental issue for sure,” said the third officer on the scene.
POLICE CHOSE USE OF FORCE
Despite that and despite the officers having gone through deescalation and mental health response training, within 12 minutes of arriving at the cemetery, they ended up snapping Wilson’s arm.
“Let me go!” Wilson can be heard screaming on body cam.
“Get down!” yelled an officer while trying to put handcuffs on her.
Wilson then can be heard yelling in pain.
“Her arm broke,” said one of the officers.
In her recent interview with News 5 Investigators, she reflected on just how serious that incident might have gotten.
“It could have been way worse,” she told us.
She’s right. At the hospital that day, officers talked on body cam about further harm than just a broken arm.
COPS: SHE 'SHOULD HAVE BEEN TASED OR SHOT'
“I mean, if that’s the alternative in that situation, I’d rather take that,” said one officer.
“She should have been tased,” said another off-camera. “Or shot,” he added.
“Or shot,” affirmed the first cop.
VICTIM'S MESSAGE TO EMERGENCY RESPONDERS
In this follow-through story, Wilson told us she wants her experience to be an example that other emergency responders learn from. Her attorney, Bruce Taubman, is a bit skeptical about that.
“People have been tried by juries, found guilty, and sentenced to prison, and the next week, the same thing happens,” Taubman told us. “So, I don’t know what the answer is.”
Wilson’s message is clear, though, about those suffering from mental health issues.
“We’re people, too,” she told us. “And sometimes everybody needs some help.”
University Circle chose not to go on camera. It has a new president and a new police chief since this incident happened.
President Kate Borders sent a statement:
“We regret the circumstances which led to Ms. Wilson’s injury in May of 2022. On November 9, 2023 a settlement was reached with Ms. Wilson in the amount of $90,000. We are satisfied that this legal matter has been amicably concluded and will allow all parties to move forward.
"A year after the incident occurred, Tom Wetzel was named the new Chief of Police for UCPD and I became the new president of UCI. While we both were deeply saddened to watch the footage involving Ms. Wilson, to comment beyond that would be inappropriate given the limited knowledge we both have of the event itself.
"Since neither of us were in place at the time of this incident, we are also unable to speak to the intentions of police leadership at the time regarding the discipline of the officers who were involved. What I can tell you is that UCI followed the established process for the University Circle Police Department’s Citizen Review Board to investigate and review complaints we receive about police officer conduct.
"Ms. Wilson made a complaint via telephone on June 20, 2022. UCI prepared a written complaint based on the information Ms. Wilson provided and immediately submitted it to an independent investigator who serves as UCI’s liaison to the University Circle Police Department’s CRB. The independent investigator tried to contact Ms. Wilson. At the advice of her counsel, Ms. Wilson declined to be interviewed by the investigator while criminal and civil cases were ongoing. The CRB subsequently decided to pause its review process until legal matters were settled.
"Chief Wetzel is implementing a culture of Community Policing that I fully support. That includes community engagement, thorough and regular community communications, new officers being hired, and a robust onboarding process along with regular trainings. Every day, we are working toward our vision of becoming an elite police force with a guardian and servant’s mindset.”
