One of the Athens, Ohio, police officers who helped arrest a University of Cincinnati student this past weekend has twice been accused in federal court of using excessive force, including against an Ohio University student.

A witness and friend of 21-year-old Ty Bealer, the UC student arrested early Sunday, told The Enquirer about the circumstances leading up to the arrest. Video showing part of the arrest has been viewed more than half a million times.

Many, including student leaders at Ohio University and the school's chapter of the NAACP, have condemned the officers' actions, calling them aggressive and unnecessary. Bealer is black.

Zachary Davis, Bealer's friend and former high school classmate at Westerville North High School, said they were out celebrating a friend's birthday before the incident in Athens.

"This is a completely twisted and backward incident," Davis said, adding that Bealer had been punched earlier in the night and that the group had left J-Bar, a student watering hole on North Court Street where the altercation took place, to defuse the situation.

The group left before cops arrived on scene, Davis said.

"None of the cops really wanted to listen to anybody," said Davis, who added he stood feet away from the officers as they rushed at Bealer, tackled him, elbowed him in the head and deployed a Taser. "They just decided to come in and tackle Ty, and the entire crowd is yelling, 'This is excessive and you guys don't know the story.'"

Bealer has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and obstructing official business.

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One of his parents earlier said by text that the family did not wish to comment.

Athens police has launched an internal investigation into the officers' use of force during the incident, a routine step in all use of force incidents.

Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Pyle said during a Monday news conference that Bealer resisted the officers upon being approached and tried to flee.

"What I have seen, the officers' use of force was reasonable," Pyle said.

The incident was not the first time an excessive force accusation has been lodged against one of the officers involved, Ethan Doerr.

Doerr was most recently sued, along with the city of Athens and other police officers, in April.

The suit stemmed from a spring 2018 arrest, in which "Doerr used excessive, gratuitous, and unreasonable force while on duty when he physically assaulted (the plaintiff) without justification," the suit says.

Jacob Francis, the plaintiff, was a student at Ohio University. He was walking back to his dorm one night with friends when he became upset during a "loud discussion," his suit says.

Doerr "aggressively approached" Francis, the suit says, and without cause "very suddenly and violently grabbed Jacob's arms."

Francis, afraid, started walking away, toward his dorm. Doerr then deployed his Taser, the suit says. Francis fell down the stairs, hit his head on a brick wall and lost consciousness. He suffered multiple facial fractures.

The suit accused Doer of excessive force, assault and battery.

In a court response filed in June, Doerr denied the allegations against him. The case is ongoing in federal court.

Charging documents written by police in the Bealer case state he "pulled away from Police Officer (Ethan) Doerr and grabbed Police Officer (A.J.) Spear while they were investigating the defendant for disorderly conduct," the Athens News reported.

Spear is also a defendant named in the Francis lawsuit.

In response to a question at the Monday news conference, Pyle said "there's no relation – no correlation at all" between the Francis excessive force lawsuit against Doerr and Doerr's involvement in Bealer's arrest.

Francis' lawyers are David Malik and Sara Michelle Gedeon. Gedeon confirmed by phone that a 2016 suit against a Logan Police Department officer by the same name, Ethan Doerr, is the same person as the Athens officer sued by Francis.

In that case, Michael Moe of Sugar Grove, Ohio, accused Doerr of arresting him without cause and using "unreasonable force," according to the suit, which he filed on his behalf without legal representation.

Moe was initially charged with obstructing official business, but the charge was dropped, according to his suit.

The suit was later dismissed, according to court records. "I believe they dismissed for some sort of settlement," said Capt. Ryan Gabriel of Logan police.

Davis, Bealer's friend, said Bealer dropped his wallet while waiting in line to enter the J-Bar, which is in the same building as the Junction, a defunct Athens watering hole favored by students for decades.

As Bealer stooped to retrieve it, a bouncer shoved him, Davis said. Davis did not know why the bouncer shoved Bealer but speculated that it may have appeared Bealer was trying to get inside.

Moments later, a man exited the bar and punched Bealer, Davis said, and then retreated into the bar.

Davis, who is a contractor in Columbus, said Bealer became "rightfully upset," leading to an altercation near the front door.

"The bartenders and bouncers were trying to keep Ty out of the situation," Davis said, "and (seemed) totally OK with the kid punching Ty in the face."

Davis, Bealer and the rest of their friends left. As they were walking away, officers arrived. They first shoved Bealer against a nearby vehicle, Davis said, and when the other two met Bealer, the three officers "threw him to the ground."

"From ... my point of view, it didn’t look like he was trying to fight back," Davis said of Bealer, adding it seemed Bealer was trying to figure out why he was being tackled.

Bealer is a senior studying chemical engineering, an at-large member of UC's student senate and a UC soccer club member.

He attended Westerville North High School in suburban Columbus. The school's web page describes him as a 2016 graduate with multiple awards who acted as a junior mentor.

Davis, who is white, said race may have been a factor in the incident's escalation. "I absolutely believe that the situation would have gone different if Ty was white."