Thomas Gounley

TGOUNLEY@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Springfield police said Monday evening that the use of force by an officer during a late April disturbance as bars closed in downtown Springfield is currently under review.

The News-Leader sought additional comment — beyond what a police spokeswoman gave last week — after an individual sent footage of the blows exchanged between Officer Thomas Jordan and 24-year-old Courtney N. Lewis, who has been charged with second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer in connection with the April 27 incident.

The 18-second video shows Jordan tangling with a small crowd in front of the nightclub Zan and pushing Lewis to the ground. Turning back to the crowd, Jordan appears to yell, "Get back!"

Within a matter of seconds, Lewis stands back up and confronts the officer before hitting him as he looks away. Jordan then winds up and appears to hit her with a stiff right arm, ultimately falling on top of her and restraining her.

The video was shot by Turk Santoro, 20, of Springfield. He said in a phone interview Monday that he arrived downtown at 12:30 a.m. April 27 and was in line at Dice Bar & Lounge when he saw people exiting Zan, which is nearby.

"They came flying out of the club, cause the bouncers were pushing everyone out," he said.

Like many people, he said, he went over to watch and pulled out his phone to record video.

"People were just gathering around watching," he said. "Everyone going to watch a fight, you know?"

Initially, Santoro said, those gathered were loud but jovial — even laughing. That changed, he said, when Lewis was knocked to the ground the first time.

"When he hit the girl, you felt the shift in the crowd," he said.

Santoro said he was compelled to send the video to the News-Leader — in addition to posting it on his personal Facebook page, where it has been shared hundreds of times — because of the way police characterized the response in media reports following the disturbance.

"They were out there being overphysical, overbearing," he said.

Santoro said he felt the actions by police prompted the unruly crowd, which eventually grew much larger than that seen in the video. Two individuals were later arrested for refusing to cooperate with officers' commands, although they have not been charged.

"At least both sides of the story can be seen now," Santoro said of the video.

Springfield police spokeswoman Lisa Cox said Tuesday that the officer documented his use of force, that all use of force is reviewed and that the review process is not complete yet. She said police first saw the video on Saturday, a day after Santoro posted it to his Facebook page.

Cox said last week that the episode began when two officers, including Jordan, were dispatched to Zan about 1:15 a.m. due to "several combative people inside the business," and that officers assisted in getting them outside.

"Due to feeling that their safety was in jeopardy, the officers called for backup, as many people around them were trying to fight."

According to a probable cause statement, Jordan was assessing the crowd when he saw a woman, later identified as Lewis, "step towards him and assume a fighting stance."

"Lewis pulled her right arm back and balled up her first as she prepared to punch towards him," the probable cause statement reads. "Officer Jordan ducked his head and Lewis punched the left side of his forehead. Officer Jordan used a right armed brachial stun to the left side of Lewis' neck. Lewis fell down to the ground and he secured her in handcuffs."

Jordan suffered a scratch on the left side of his face, according to the probable cause statement, and some swelling on the left side of his forehead.

Later on April 27, Lewis told police "that she did not remember anything from the previous night because of her severe intoxication" and "indicated that she did not have any injuries," according to the probable cause statement.

She was released on $10,000 bond.