GREELEY, Colo. — Denver7 has obtained body camera video of an incident that led to a Greeley officer facing excessive force charges.
The Weld County district attorney released video from two officers. One of those perspectives is of Officer Ken Amick, the 15-year veteran of the Greeley Police Department seen in the video putting Matthew Wilson in a choke hold — a move no longer allowed by state law.
Wilson says he doesn’t recall much of what happened that day.
"I just remember hearing his voice and telling me to stand up and walk like a man," Wilson said.
Greeley officers were called out in early June when Wilson went into a building asking for work to install fire safety devices. Employees at the building didn’t take it that way.
"I guess I gave them a fright when I was talking about it. They took it as I was threatening to burn down the building, which I wasn’t," Wilson said.
Wilson said he’s been diagnosed as bipolar and was having a manic episode that day.
"At times, I’ve heard voices. I wasn’t trying to hurt nobody, you know? I was just trying to do something decent," Wilson said.
When officers tell Wilson he has a warrant and they plan to search him, the 36-year-old with a history of resisting arrest was reluctant. Then, he agrees, but only under one condition: The officer must first give him a hug. Amick complies, however, the interaction quickly takes a turn.
The body camera video from Amick can be viewed in the player below:
The body camera video from the other officer can be viewed in the player below:
In the body cam footage, Amick tells Wilson he's grabbing his hand while Wilson is in handcuffs. Amick then appears to put Wilson in the choke hold as a result. When Amick places Wilson in the choke hold, it appears another officer grabs Amick’s hand.
After Amick let him out of the choke hold, Wilson said it dropped him to his knees. When he gets back to his feet, it wasn’t long after that a second altercation took place. Amick claims Wilson is grabbing his hand again, and he then knees Wilson in the leg multiple times to get him to let go.
"All I remember is my wrist hurting and feeling super uncomfortable. So, I reached, while I was handcuffed, I reached across my back with my other hand to try to pull it down a little bit," Wilson said. "I remember being yelled at about letting go of his hand, and I didn’t really understand that I was holding his hand at the time."
Both body camera angles appear to show Amick having Wilson’s left wrist bent at an uncomfortable angle.
The Greeley Police Department says two officers contacted their supervisors regarding Amick's tactics. An investigation led to Amick being place on unpaid leave, and he is now facing second-degree assault charges.
While Wilson awaits his time in court, he hopes what took place can act as yet another example of the need for mental health training.
"Justice to me would be better training for these protocols. They seriously need to be trained with somebody who has mental health issues," Wilson said.
The Greeley Police Department did not return a request for an interview.