Officer fired: Bodycam reveals handcuffed man challenged TPD officer to fight at jail

Audio from body camera footage of a fight between a Tallahassee police officer and a handcuffed man being booked into the county jail reveals the suspect challenged the officer to a fight.

Two days after acknowledging that first-year officer Charles Hansford was fired and is likely to face criminal charges, the Tallahassee Police Department released body camera footage of the incident. The confrontation happened Jan. 17 inside the sally port of the Leon County Detention Facility after a 3 a.m. DUI arrest.

Four separate videos were released by TPD late Wednesday night. They include video of sobriety tests, the defendant's actions in the patrol car and the incident with Hansford and arresting officer, Edward Campbell. The handcuffed man's face was blurred and audio obscured in accordance with Marsy's Law, a victim's rights amendment approved by voters in 2018.

In a 4-minute body camera video that captures the encounter, Hansford and the defendant engage in a belligerent argument while Hansford asks if he would like to take a breathalyzer test. The suspect, a Black 22-year-old man, who was not named by police, refuses and then lobs multiple curse words and racial slurs at the white officers.

They have a back and forth just before entering the main doors of the jail.

“Take that badge off,” the suspect said. “I’ll beat you the f--- up.”

Hansford replies asking if the comment was a threat and says he will add additional charges.

They continue to argue and Hansford tells the defendant to shut up just before he slams him against the concrete wall. Campbell intervenes and pushes Hansford to the ground. Hansford gets up and continues to go after the suspect.

TPD Chief Lawrence Revell in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat Tuesday said the department has very clear parameters regarding use of force.

“Any time any officer steps outside that policy, and possibly state statute, we’re going to act swiftly to be transparent,” Revell said. “To have the relationship with the community we want, we have to be able to come forward when we get it right and more importantly when we don’t get it right. We can talk about transparency all we want, but unless our actions support what we’re saying, then they’re just words.”

Revell said he learned from TPD command of the incident while at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade.

TPD officials secured and reviewed security camera and body camera footage of the incident the next day. The video from the jail shows Hansford slamming the handcuffed man against the wall during an argument. Then the State Attorney’s Office was brought in.

“We knew there was an issue there which is why I opened the IA immediately because we had a concern there,” Revell said. “Wednesday, we got the jail video and it confirmed our suspicions or fears.”

State Attorney Campbell on Monday said he expected criminal charges to be filed in the case.

The arrested man was taken into custody following a crash at the intersection of Centerville and Blair Stone roads. He did poorly on field sobriety tests and was charged with DUI.

Hansford, who was hired in 2020 from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, operated a mobile breathalyzer machine and had just completed another DUI investigation at the jail. He remained there while Officer Campbell transported the arrestee, Revell said.

An 8-minute body camera video released by TPD is from the perspective of Campbell, who transported the arrestee to the jail and intervened in the altercation with Hansford.

The handcuffed man argued from the back of a TPD patrol car that somebody hit his car and fled. The video shows cars crashed on the side of the road.

“I’ve done nothing wrong officer. I’ve done nothing wrong,” he said. “You’ve got me f-ed up. I failed no test. I passed everything. Why am I in the back seat.”

After the fight, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper was brought in to do the breathalyzer. Revell said the incident could have a bearing on the DUI case, but it would be up to the State Attorney’s Office on how to proceed.

But “there is still validly to the original arrest and subsequent investigation that proceeded after this incident,” Revell said.

He lauded Officer Campbell for stepping in.

The same day Hansford’s termination was announced, TPD welcomed 13 new officers into its ranks. Revell said scenarios like the one that transpired at the jail are something for which recruits train.
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