WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA9) — WASHINGTON -- One of the two officers who's under investigation for searching a D.C. backyard without telling the homeowners has now been linked to a brawl with residents in the Deanwood neighborhood.
WUSA9 has learned that Officer Joseph Gupton was at the scene of a police and community melee a month after that questionable search.
Back in May, Officer Gupton and his partner on the Gun Recovery Unit entered the fenced-in backyard of the family of Jeff Price and conducted a warrantless search.
According to the cellphone video, the officers ignored the repeated requests and pleas by family members to produce a warrant or leave the property.
Just days before that search, 22-year-old Price was killed when his illegal dirt bike collided with a police cruiser. The family is suing MPD alleging the officer caused the accident when the cruiser cut off the bike.
They felt like the search, which produced nothing, was a form of "intimidation and harassment."
"It further traumatized the family," said Jay Brown, Price's uncle.
On June 25th, Officer Gupton was back in that community and involved in a controversial brawl with residents.
WUSA9 obtained a police report of a June 25th incident when members of the Deanwood community and several officers were involved in a melee that was caught on cell phone video. According to the police report, three residents were arrested for simple assault on three police officers, including Officer Gupton.
Gupton and his partner, Officer Whitehead, who conducted the search back in May have been removed from the Gun Recovery Unit and returned to their home Districts: 6D and 7D.
When WUSA9's Delia Goncalves asked Chief Peter Newsham about the move to return them to the exact communities that felt violated by the officers' actions, the chief initially did not know where the officers were assigned.
After getting confirmation from his assistant chief, Chief Newsham said the following regarding the video:
"We have seen the video and we can all draw assumptions from that. We’re going to conduct an investigation. If we can sustain the misconduct that most of us are assuming occurred in that video then they will be dealt with accordingly. I can’t make those judgments before hand. I don’t think it would be appropriate to prejudge my employees before having all the facts."
The DC Police Union Chairman Officer Stephan Bigelow, Jr. agreed and said, "it is due process."
He continued by adding if the police officers' misconduct had put anyone in danger they would have been reassigned to a different district.
