OKLAHOMA CITY ( KFOR ) — A prominent civil rights attorney has taken the civil rights case of a 71-year-old man slammed to the ground by an Oklahoma City officer during an October traffic stop.
News 4 has been following developments related to the October 27 incident. Multiple videos of the incident shared by Oklahoma City police show Lich Vu and Sgt. Joseph Gibson having a verbal argument over a traffic citation. Vu is seen on video telling Gibson to shut up and touching him, before Gibson proceeded to slam Vu to the ground.
Vu suffered a brain bleed as a result of the incident, broken bones and had to have surgery. Court documents said he was in poor health at the time of the incident and Gibson was in robust health.
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“The incident should have been de-escalated,” said civil rights attorney Devon Jacob , who’s representing Vu. “It was clear that Mr. Vu was not a threat.”
Jacob is a former police officer and former Deputy Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He’s taken on high-profile civil rights cases, serving on legal teams tied to George Floyd and Tyreek Hill.