MANSFIELD, Ohio — During an interview with Channel 19 News investigative reporter Mike Mason, Mansfield Police Chief Jason Bammann stated that his officers “do not lie.” The statement came while discussing a traffic stop involving Officer Adamescu and a violent confrontation with an elderly man.
In his written report, Officer Adamescu stated that the victim “balled up a fist and lunged towards this officer.” However, body camera footage from the incident does not appear to support that account. Several other statements contained in Officer Adamescu’s report are also not corroborated by the video recordings. In multiple instances, the report appears to conflict with the events shown in the body camera footage released by the Mansfield Police Department’s Records Department.
Among the statements included in Officer Adamescu’s report are the following:
- “Caldwell continuously kept yelling over this officer (Adamescu) and not letting Ms. Henderson answer questions.” We observed no yelling by Mr. Caldwell in the video before Officer Adamescu forcibly snatched Mr. Caldwell’s identification from his hand. Before speaking with Mr. Caldwell to get his ID, Officer Adamescu had already removed Ms. Henderson from the vehicle and questioned her near the rear of the truck. He then returned to the passenger side to identify Mr. Caldwell.
- “Caldwell continuously showed nervous indicators, by breathing very heavily, not looking at this officer (Adamescu), and being very confrontational from the start of the stop.”After reviewing the available video, Mr. Caldwell appears calm, although clearly aggravated about being stopped. We did not observe behavior indicating nervousness. It is not possible to determine from the video whether he was breathing “very heavily,” but his speech was clear and did not sound as though he was out of breath or breathing heavily.
- “Due to the nervous behavior of both parties, this officer (Adamescu) asked Ms. Henderson for consent to search the vehicle.”At no point in the videos reviewed did we observe behavior that would lead a reasonable person to conclude either Ms. Henderson or Mr. Caldwell was nervous. We did not observe any indicators of nervousness. They were, however, visibly upset, aggravated, and eventually angry.
It is also worth noting that the Supreme Court has ruled that nervousness alone cannot establish reasonable suspicion for a search. Citizens often display nervous behavior during encounters with law enforcement, and courts have recognized that such behavior, by itself, is not sufficient justification for further detention or a search.
- “As this officer (Adamescu) grabbed the ID, Caldwell balled up his fist and lunged toward this officer (Adamescu).”The body camera footage does not appear to support this statement.
The accuracy of information contained in a police report is critically important. Prosecutors rely on those reports when determining whether criminal charges should be filed. If the facts documented in a report are inaccurate or false, innocent people may face criminal prosecution.
Officer Adamescu’s history also includes a July 2021 arrest by the Ohio State Highway Patrol for operating a vehicle while impaired (OVI). During a video recorded by the State Patrol, Adamescu told troopers, “I’m not breaking any rules, man… I didn’t do anything wrong.” He was later found guilty of OVI and additional charges. A weapons-related charge filed in that case was later dismissed.
Taken together, Adamescu’s denial during his own OVI arrest—later contradicted by his conviction—and the statements contained in his police report regarding the elderly man’s traffic stop, which appear to be contradicted by body camera footage, raise questions about Chief Bammann’s statement that his officers “do not lie.” The apparent discrepancies also raise questions about the accuracy and truthfulness of Chief Bammann’s public statements regarding his officers.
We did not believe it was necessary to identify additional incidents involving allegations that Mansfield police officers were untruthful.
In the interest of transparency, we are providing the police report, links to three videos—two body camera recordings and one dash camera recording—and the photographs released by the Mansfield Police Department’s Records Department.
We encourage readers to review the materials for themselves and let us know if we have overlooked or misrepresented anything.
We also do not know why the Mansfield Police Department’s Records Department redacted Mr. Caldwell’s name from the report, and we were unable to locate any law that specifically authorizes that redaction.
The Mansfield Police Department also photographed Officer Adamescu following the incident. We assume those photographs were intended to document injuries allegedly sustained during the confrontation. Readers can review those photographs, along with photographs of Mr. Caldwell, and draw their own conclusions.
Where has the integrity and professionalism in the Mansfield Police Department gone? When police show up, citizens do not know if they are there to help them or to terrorize them.
We recommend you read the police report first and then watch the videos.
Police report:
Video Links (Appleseed News’s YouTube Channel, Facebook does not support video this large)
Officer Adamescu’s Body Cam
Officer Adamescu’s Dash Cam
Unknown Officer’s Body Cam
