Lawyer presses police for more video of arrest

CAMDEN (AP) — The lawyer for a New Jersey man who was paralyzed during an arrest in June is pressing for authorities to release further video of the incident, while a government official is accusing her of theatrics.

Twenty-one-year-old Xavier Ingram was paralyzed from the neck down during his interaction with police in Camden on June 12.

He contends in a lawsuit that officers injured him by stepping on his back and neck. But the Camden County Police Department says he slipped and fell as police were chasing him and that's what caused the injury.

A two-minute video has been released. It was taken from a police "skycam" used for live monitoring of the streets of a city that has been ranked as one of the nation's most dangerous. The video shows the man running from police, then abruptly on the ground. Officers surround him. But in the grainy video, what is happening is not completely clear.

Lawyer Beth Baldinger said during a news conference Friday that her client ran from police after an officer grabbed him.

He has been indicted on weapons offenses, drug possession, receiving stolen property and resisting arrest. Authorities have said he was carrying heroin had dropped stolen handgun shortly before he was arrested.

A spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's office declined to comment, saying the police conduct in the case is being investigated. But the office previously said there were no indications of excessive force.

"I have never seen such a total lockdown of information," Baldinger said.

She said what happens after the video cuts off would show what happened.

Without seeing more evidence, Ingram's family does not accept the explanation that he was injured in a fall.

"It's just a cover-up," his sister Ashley Ingram said at the news conference. "There's no way you can slip and fall and have all that happen."

Dan Keashen, a spokesman for the Camden County government, criticized Baldinger for speaking out now.

"This is theatrics and a totally frivolous lawsuit," he said. "This woman is looking to win in the court of public perception, not the court of law."

Ingram sued the police in September seeking damages. While a specific monetary request was not part of the filing, Baldinger said she expected that it will take "tens of millions" of dollars to care for Ingram for the rest of his life. He is in a hospital.

This week, Baldinger filed a lawsuit on behalf of another man, Darren Dickerson, who said he was beaten by police that same night after he told officers to stop hurting Ingram.

Dickerson was at the news conference, but did not speak there.

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