Driver, 71, Hospitalized After Cop Throws Him to the Ground

An elderly man was hospitalized after an Oklahoma City police officer threw him to the ground in the course of giving him a traffic ticket, reports USA Today. In newly released body camera footage, the officer identified as Joseph Gibson tells a driver he's being ticketed for an improper U-turn following a minor collision on Oct. 27. "I didn't U-turn," says the man identified as 71-year-old Lich Vu, who claims he was hit by another driver. "She hit me and I got the citation?" Gibson, who also ticketed the other driver, tells Vu he needs to sign the ticket or else he'll be taken to jail. "I'm ready to go to jail," says Vu. "Ridiculous," responds Gibson. Later, in separate surveillance footage, Vu appears to tap the officer's chest with the back of his hand, the Guardian reports. "You shut up," Vu says, per the outlet, raising his index finger to his mouth.

"Get on the ground," replies Gibson, who grabs Vu's arms, pulls them behind his back, then appears to throw the man to the pavement, smashing his head. In Gibson's report, however, he writes, "I pulled on Lich's arm, and he fell to the ground," per KWTV. Vu suffered a skull fracture, Thuan Nyugen, president of the Vietnamese American Community of Oklahoma, tells NBC News. Vu's daughter says the reported cancer patient suffered a fractured neck and now requires a feeding tube, per KWTV. Police said "there was a use of force, and an elderly man sustained serious injuries that required hospitalization," adding the officer is "on administrative leave pending the conclusion of the investigation."

The footage features Vu's wife backing up her husband's claim that he didn't make a U-turn. Gibson is seen explaining to Vu that signing the ticket is not an admission of guilt. Vu continues to plead his case before the officer says they are "done arguing about this," adding "we argue in court." Though Vu speaks English, Nyugen says language barriers can impede communication with law enforcement. He also says there's indications of "implicit bias" in the way members of the Asian American community "are always the last to be heard … whether we're the person that is at fault or not." No matter what caused the incident to escalate, Gibson ought to be fired for excessive use of force, Nyugen adds. "We want justice to be served," he tells NBC. (More Oklahoma City stories.)