The Ohio State Highway Patrol arrested Evans for reportedly driving while intoxicated on State Route 725 in Centerville on March 30. At the time of her arrest, Evans’ blood-alcohol level was two times the legal limit if .08, according to the Highway patrol.
Evans was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where her attorney said the excessive force incident occurred.
In a video of the incident, Evans can be seen handcuffed and being held by Sgt. Eric Banks. In the incident report, Banks wrote that Evans used her legs to press against the wall and vaulted towards him. The deputy then guided her to the ground to prevent Evans from falling on him, which resulted in Evans hitting her face and torso on the floor, according to the report.
Evans suffered multiple facial fractures and a possible contusion to the inferior left frontal lobe of her brain after being slammed on the floor, Bly said.
The sheriff’s office told Evans her injuries were self-inflicted by either doing a back flip off a bench or falling down a flight of stairs, Bly said, adding that it took nearly three months for Evans to learn she was injured while being booked into the jail.
“Emily weighs 110 pounds,” he said. “I don’t believe she was a danger to anyone in that jail. I think the deputies overreacted.”
Bly also said one of the deputies pointed a taser at Evans’s head while she was handcuffed and being pressed against a wall. That deputy, who was not identified, received a verbal reprimand, the sheriff’s office said.
Chief Deputy Rob Streck declined to comment specifically about the incident involving Evans, but said “use of force should stop once the situation is under control.”
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