Clinton Rice

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Grand Rapids police arrested a 26-year-old man earlier this month after a physical struggle that was partially caught on video and shared on social media.

The 8-second video share on social media depicts two officers attempting to detain a man outside a local gas station, with a third officer joining and using a pair of knee strikes to the man's upper arm.

Grand Rapids Police Sgt. Catherine Williams said the incident was reviewed by the police department's internal affairs unit, training unit and police chief. All parties determined that appropriate force was used during the arrest.

Partial video of the encounter was viewed more than 13,100 times during its first 10 days.

Video footage from the two responding officers' body-worn cameras was obtained by MLive/The Grand Rapids Press through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Police were dispatched shortly before 5:30 p.m. May 6 to a report of a "violent individual" trespassing at the Speedway gas station at 400 Leonard St. NW in Grand Rapids.

Officers who responded to the call did not find the individual, who had previously been banned from the gas station. They left, but were called back around 11:30 p.m. to a second sighting of the man.

A responding officer spoke with the clerk, who identified the man and warned police that he was "very violent."

Police spoke with Clinton Rice, 26, and discovered that he had a warrant out for his arrest. He told officers he was returning to the store to get his bag and then he was going to leave.

Officers told Rice he wasn't permitted on gas station property. They attempted to arrest him for trespassing but he became "verbally and physically non-compliant," Williams said.

When Rice refused to put his hands on his head, officers attempted to pull his arms behind his back. Rice responded to the officers with a threat of violence, according to the body-cam footage.

During the arrest, two officers and the individual fell to the ground where the struggle continued. Both officers' body-worn cameras fell off when the officers went to the ground.

With the cameras recording only audio, Rice can be heard shouting threats to assault and kill the officers.

"I see you again, you're dead," Rice said. "I'll break your (expletive) face. You're a dead man."

A third officer, driving by, noticed the struggle and rushed to his coworkers' assistance. He delivered two knee strikes to Rice's upper arm -- a technique Williams said is used to make the arm temporarily motionless so that it can be restrained.

Police said Rice did not report any injuries following the arrest. The officers didn't immediately report injuries either.

Rice was charged with resisting and obstructing a police officer, as well as trespassing. He was released from the Kent County Jail on May 8, but was arrested again three days later and charged with trespassing and a controlled substance violation.

His record includes several convictions of trespassing, causing a public disturbance and disobeying police. On April 11, he was charged with hindering and opposing a police officer and trespassing in Wyoming.

Rice was still in custody at the jail on Wednesday, May 23.

Multiple attempts to reach the man who posted the video for comment were unsuccessful. He commented on the video post that the "cops rolled up on (Rice) because he looked suspicious he didn't cooperate to there demands nor should he ..."