PHOENIX (AZFamily) — More than four years after the arrest of a former Phoenix police officer for using excessive force and assaulting a handcuffed man, the department has released new body-camera footage of the attack.
The department arrested Conner Wesley Orth-Smith on July 23, 2021, after prosecutors reviewed the body-worn footage and expressed concern about how the situation unfolded.
How it started
Officers responded on July 16, 2021, to Banner Estrella Medical Center on reports of a fight involving security guards at the hospital. In the bodycam, Orth-Smith arrives as two security guards appear to be restraining him outside of the hospital.
The video then shows Orth-Smith asking him to get up, but the man claims his leg is broken and he is heard saying that he “didn’t do nothing, man.” After a brief struggle and argument, the former officer said, “Let’s go, dude,” and both of them appeared to be heading back to the police car…