William
Pryer's daughter claims he will need surgery due to three fractured facial
bones and a busted eye socket.
Activists
allege Akron police brutality, police tell a different story Akron.
Some
Akron community leaders are saying that the case of police brutality involves
an elderly man in their city.
They
allege when police arrested William "Yogi" Pryer at his home, there
was unnecessary force used by the two officers responding to the call.
Pryer's
daughter, Tisha Jerels, claims the man will need surgery due to three fractured
facial bones and a busted eye socket.
The
allegations stem from a dispute over the possession of a trailer. Pryer, who
police say is 66, allegedly took a woman's trailer and then wouldn't speak with
police when they came to inquire about the incident. Officials say the trailer
was registered to the woman who complained.
According
to the police report, two officers went to the home to meet the woman who
called in about recovering her property.
When
they got there, Pryer's fiance said he was resting and didn't want to speak;
however, Pryer allegedly came to the balcony. Once he appeared, police say he
told them he would speak with the woman on Monday about the property.
At
that point, police say they requested Pryer talk with them about the incident.
When Pryer became uncooperative, officials report they went inside.
Jerels
previously told Channel 3 News that her father owns concession stands and rents
trailers. Jerels alleges Pryer was simply reclaiming the trailer because the
client had not paid him for it and that police did not have permission to enter
his home because he was not in the wrong.
Police
concede they did not have a warrant but had permission from Pryer's fiance to
enter the home.
Both
parties say the incident that left Pryer bloodied and bruised happened in the
bedroom.
The
Stop the Violence Akron movement president say police beat up Pryer.
"They
entered his home ... and went in his bedroom and started to beat him ... and if
his fiance hadn't said ... 'Stop, you're going to kill him' ... they probably
would have killed him," Darrita Davis tells Channel 3's Hilary Golston.
However,
Akron police Lt. Rick Edwards claims Pryer resisted police, and that's why
officers had to use force in restraining him.
Edwards
claims Pryer was accidentally caught on the side of the face with an officer's
upper arm and that his officers called the paramedics. He says the man was only
treated for a bloody nose.
"We're
not out here just beating people up," Edwards said. "We're out here
doing what we need to do. ... There were some actions on Mr. Pryer's part that
created some of this altercation."
Police
aren't saying Pryer won't be charged, but he hasn't been yet.
Golston
spoke with Pryer twice over the phone.
He's
not talking on camera on the advice of his attorney, who says Pryer is not well
enough to be interviewed per doctor's orders.
Family
members were also subsequently asked not to speak with the media.
Golston
also spoke with the woman named in the police report. She does not want to be
identified but corroborates what police say about the trailer belonging to her.
The unidentified woman called police on Pryer.
The
officers are still working and have not been put on administrative leave.
A
rally was held Tuesday outside of Pryer's home to call attention to the issue
of police brutality.