Danica Davidson
December 13, 2023 
An Ohio man is in the news both for his alleged theft of Pokémon cards, as well as video of him being punched and tasered by police after the suspected crime. According to NBC4 out of Columbus, a Meijer employee at Westerville contacted authorities to say a man was in the process of stealing cards.
Allegedly the suspect grabbed enough Pokémon cards to equal $679.59, worked on removing security tags, and bolted from the store without paying for anything. The employee was able to say what kind of car the suspect got into afterward.
This eventually led police to 35-year-old Ernest Fields. An officer whose name was not made public found Fields. Two other officers, who were soon on the scene, said that Fields fought the first cop by “pushing him and attempting to take him down.” They said nearby store cameras can prove this is what happened. The Columbus Dispatch showed some video on their site, which appears to show Fields resisting arrest and grappling with the officer.
A video shared by NBC4 starts with the officer on top of Fields, punching him multiple times. More officers come on the scene and during the scuffle Fields is tasered. Fields can be heard yelling more than once that he’s sorry and that he can’t breathe.
Acting President of the Fraternal Order of Police Brian Steel gave a statement saying, “Westerville is one of the most professionally well-led departments in the Fraternal Order of Police. We know that they will give this a thorough review. If there was wrongdoing and some kind of policy violation, the officer will be held accountable. Initially watching it, my training experience, it looks like a good arrest all day long.”
Meanwhile, Cori Elaine Schleiffer, organizing director of Ohio Families Unite for Political Action and Change, shared concerns of what was caught on video and how it doesn’t always match up with the police report for the incident. “It’s really important that departments’ use of force policy be very public and that they hold themselves to that standard in a very public manner.”
Fields and two officers received medical treatment for injuries.
Source: NBC4
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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