The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Man accused of punching Sinclair officer gets out of jail

Demonstration at Sinclair ends in 4 arrests

Man, 68, drowns at Caesar Creek Lake
5/26/12
Water rescues prompt warning from health officials
5/25/12
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
5/25/12
Raleigh Trammell’s defense opens in felony trial
5/25/12
UD to move satellite campus to Dublin
5/25/12
> More headlines

By Angela Watson Gay Updated 10:22 PM Friday, May 22, 2009

A Michigan man arrested Wednesday for allegedly punching a Sinclair Community College police officer is out of jail.

Daniel Pollion, who calls himself a friend of the Milwaukee, Wis.-based-group Faithful Soldier School of Evangelism, was released from the Montgomery County Jail after posting a $2,000 bond.

He faces assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges accusing him of punching Officer Michael Beane while the group was evangelizing on campus.

Pollion, Friday night, May 22, said he didn’t even attempt to hit the officer.

“It can’t be construed as assault or even attempted assault. They were on the offensive, not us,” Pollion said.

The Christian group has launched a call to action, urging people to call and write the Dayton city prosecutor’s office, the county prosecutor’s office, the Dayton Daily News, Charles Gift, director of public safety for Sinclair, and Beane.

“Maybe when it’s an ideology or viewpoint we don’t embrace people seem to be apathetic,” Jason Storms, director of the group, said Friday night.

“But people need to step up, have some integrity and put their neck out there and say, ‘hey this is wrong.’ We’re urging people to look at this thing as objectively as possible.”

Storms said they have two Sinclair students who said they saw the incident involving Pollion.

The group also posted two short, video clips under “Sinclair arrest” on YouTube. One shows a female campus police officer telling a member of the group that she is on private property. A female voice can be heard saying, “We have a right to be here.”

The officer replies, “You wanna go to jail, too?”

The other clip, taken later in the afternoon, shows Pollion on the ground being arrested.

Natasha Baker, director of public relations for Sinclair, said the college has received e-mails and phone calls from around the country about the incident.

“It is a very serious matter and we don’t have things like this happen often and it deserves our attention,” she said.

According to a statement from the college, external investigators will review the incident and report to school President Steven Lee Johnson.

Sinclair’s policies “regarding public demonstrations, soliciting, use of the campus by external parties, and free speech will be thoroughly reviewed by legal counsel as approved by the Ohio Attorney General,” according to the statement.

Nine members of the group were on campus Wednesday as part of their outreach when there was a dispute over the use of signs and the distribution of literature without a permit from Sinclair. The group also plans to challenge the constitutionality of Sinclair’s having a permit policy.

According to Gift, two members of the group were arrested. Storms was cited for disorderly conduct. Pollion and Katie Carroll were later arrested after Beane tried to confiscate Carroll’s cell phone for video evidence. Carroll and other two people arrested posted bail Wednesday.

Share this article