In August, prosecutors declined to file charges against Cole for the assault, but, in an 8-0 vote, the council voted to ask prosecutors to reconsider and file assault charges. The council also requested that the state permanently revoke the police officer’s certification to prevent him being hired at another department and for the court to expunge the arrest from Yourse’s record, and drop all charges against him.
Prosecutors had stated in August that they would not pursue charges against Yourse.
The incident began when Cole and his partner were called for a possible burglary at Yourse’s mother’s home, after a neighbor saw Yourse trying to lift the garage door with a shovel. When they arrived, Yourse was sitting on the front steps and explained to the officers that he had been trying to see into the garage to check if his dog was in there while he waited for his mother.
The encounter was tense, but peaceful, until the officer lunged at Yourse and punched him in the face, seemingly for no reason.
“I don’t have no weapon,” Yourse can be heard screaming in the footage. “I’m trying to cooperate.”
Around 100 activists gathered at the city council meeting, and gasped at the violence as it played.
— Sarah Krueger (@SarahKruegerTV) September 26, 2016
“The sad reality is that too many people in this community can relate to this,” Councilman Justin Outling said of the footage.
Cole resigned from the department on August 19, just over a week after he was placed on administrative duty. The investigation concluded 11 days later, with investigators determining that the officer had violated four department directives: use of force; courtesy toward the public; arrest, search and seizure; and compliance to laws and regulations, Journal Now reports.
“This is not the city of Greensboro I want to be mayor of,” Vaughan said, agreeing with the city council’s legal requests.
