Antoine Tolbert was arrested on May 23 for openly carrying two firearms while walking down St. Clair Avenue on Cleveland鈥檚 East Side.
Ohio is an open carry state, and it鈥檚 always been legal to carry a firearm as long as it鈥檚 not concealed by clothing. About three weeks after Tolbert was arrested, it became legal in Ohio to carry a concealed firearm without a license.
But in Tolbert鈥檚 case, the officers who responded had differing opinions on the law, and after a sergeant arrived on scene, the decision was made to arrest him on charges that did not apply and were quickly dropped.
Tolbert still ended up spending the night in jail and lost his new job at a local community development corporation when videos of the encounter spread across social media. He also said he was forced to move out of his house because the video was being used against him in a child custody dispute.
After parking his car at the Rite Aid at 105th Street, Tolbert walked alone down St. Clair at about 6:30 p.m., wearing body armor and carrying a shotgun in one hand. A handgun was holstered on his leg.
Police body cam footage from Tolbert鈥檚 arrest, released to 91制片厂, show disagreements among the officers who arrived on the scene.
This video shows an officer who was not identified and arrived to the scene early. The officer gets out of his patrol car, speaks with Tolbert briefly, debates whether any laws are being broken and does not detain or arrest Tolbert initially. He is however involved in the arrest at the end of the incident. Editor's note: This video contains language that some people may find offensive.
One officer, identified in police reports as Officer Santa, is clearly heard on the footage warning that arresting Tolbert would be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
鈥淚 mean we have this in the 4th [District] all the time and my boss would eat us alive if we tried to detain that guy,鈥� Santa said. 鈥淧ersonally, I don鈥檛 work out here. I don鈥檛 know how the bosses run out here. That鈥檚 a tough call.鈥�
Tolbert is part of an activist group called . They conduct armed patrols of neighborhoods on the city's East Side to prevent violent crime. Tolbert has spoken to Cleveland Division of Police cadets about his group and the neighborhoods where they鈥檒l work as officers.
Santa and her partner, who mentions in the footage that he knew Tolbert from a class at the police academy, spoke to Tolbert from a distance and stayed by their cars.
鈥淟isten man, a lot of people don鈥檛 like that you鈥檙e kind of walking around with a gun,鈥� Santa said to Tolbert.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a personal problem,鈥� Tolbert responded.
鈥淲e just want to make sure you鈥檙e OK,鈥� Santa said.
In this video, an unidentified officer arrives at the scene with a police dog. The officer brings the dog out of the car near the end of the incident and stands nearby while the K-9 becomes agitated and barks at Tolbert as officers confront and detain him. This officer also was not clear on whether Tolbert was breaking any laws. Editor's note: This video contains language that some people may find offensive.
Tolbert was allowed to continue down St. Clair. But other officers, who are not identified in police reports, decide to arrest him.
鈥淏e advised, it is open carry but he can鈥檛 walk down the street with a gun in his hand like that,鈥� said one unidentified officer on the radio.
Some officers claimed that Tolbert needed to use a sling to carry the shotgun over his shoulder.
According to Buckeye Firearms Foundation Executive Director Dean Rieck, there鈥檚 no law saying how the firearm has to be carried. He said Tolbert wasn鈥檛 committing a crime.
鈥淭here is no legal reason for the police to arrest anyone for open carrying who is not otherwise committing a crime,鈥� Rieck said.
A spokesperson for the Cleveland Division of Police did not respond to questions about Tolbert鈥檚 arrest or whether the department was reviewing the officers鈥� actions.
Eventually a Sergeant Henderson arrived and made the decision to arrest Tolbert.
鈥淚mproper handling of a firearm. He can鈥檛 walk down the street with a firearm in his hand,鈥� Henderson told an officer at the scene. 鈥淗olster is one thing. But walking down the street with a firearm in his hand. Can鈥檛 do that.鈥�
only applies inside a motor vehicle. Tolbert was walking. Henderson also said he was being charged with inducing panic because people who saw Tolbert walking with a gun called 911.
This video from the body cam worn by Sgt. Henderson shows his decision to arrest Tolbert before arriving at the scene, confrontation with the armed activist and subsequent conversations with former Councilman Basheer Jones and two people who identify themselves as Tolbert's parents.
According to the incident report released by Cleveland police, Tolbert was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and inducing panic. Those charges were both dropped after Tolbert was brought to jail. A grand jury in June also later declined to charge Tolbert with carrying a concealed weapon.
The police videos show more of the tense moments before Tolbert鈥檚 arrest than . Officers in a total of eight police cars responded to the scene from multiple districts, including gang units and a K-9. They also requested assistance from a police helicopter.
Once the decision was made to arrest Tolbert, the K-9 was brought out of the car. One officer used a ballistic shield as he began to approach. Several other officers, with their guns drawn, circled Tolbert and slowly moved closer as he stood on the sidewalk near 89th Street.
鈥淎t that moment, I was like, wait a minute, something is seriously wrong here,鈥� Tolbert said. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking around, there鈥檚 a K-9 in the middle of the street that was trying to get me. I was not putting my gun down so this K-9 can attack me or so you can shoot me.鈥�
Tolbert was arrested without incident and brought to county jail. He is planning to file a lawsuit against the city sometime later this month.
