Fargo police officer reprimanded for handcuffing witness – InForum

FARGO — Two of three officers who were charged with handcuffing a witness to a domestic dispute have been cleared of all charges by the Fargo Police Department. The third officer received a reprimand and training to improve his or her skills.

Faith Shields-Dixon, a civil rights activist, and her husband attempted to separate the arguing couple in the 400 block of Broadway shortly after 9 p.m. in May 2023.

When police arrived, the woman accused Shields-Dixon of choking her. When Shields-Dixon recanted her statement shortly thereafter, Shields-Dixon was already handcuffed by Fargo police officers and was not immediately released.

Article by Faith Shields-Dixon

In a complaint filed in February against the officers involved, Shields-Dixon stated that her temporary arrest left her with a twisted arm, bruised wrists and a broken Apple Watch.

“We need to protect ourselves from the Fargo Police Department because they are the ones causing pain and trauma,” Shields-Dixon told The Forum. “That night, they were there to protect a woman, but instead they hurt one.”

Chris Flynn / The Forum

Following her complaint, Police Chief Dave Zibolski concluded that one of his officers had violated department policy, but not in the manner Shields-Dixon suspected.

“I understand this was a traumatic experience for you,” Zibolski wrote in a letter to Shields-Dixon. “I do not believe Officer (Tyler) Pool intended to act maliciously, but he did not follow department training regarding temporary detention and handcuffs.”

There is no evidence that the officers used excessive force during the arrest, Zibolski said.

When Fargo police officers arrived on Broadway following Shields-Dixon’s call, they found six people fighting, according to the Fargo Police Department’s internal investigation, which The Forum obtained through a public records request.

“It is believed that the fight involved two people involved in a domestic dispute,” the investigation said. “Passersby on Broadway attempted to stop the attack. The initial scene was chaotic.”

Shield-Dixon’s husband, Charles Dixon, was attacked as he tried to break up the fight before officers arrived. An unnamed man later pleaded guilty in court to simple assault against Dixon, the report said.

Both Shields-Dixon and Dixon spoke calmly with Pool when he arrived at the scene, the report said.

Meanwhile, Officer Shelby Layman spoke to a woman who had bruises on her neck and asked her who attacked her. The woman’s statements were confusing, Layman said in the report, but she identified Shields-Dixon as her attacker.

At that point, Layman asked Pool to arrest Shields-Dixon. In the investigative report, Layman said she never asked Pool to handcuff her, only to keep her at the scene.

Pool and Officer Johnny Lewis handcuffed Shields-Dixon and placed her in a patrol car. In the investigative report, Pool said he chose to handcuff her for safety reasons.

“Faith (Shields-Dixon) was very upset and demanded to know why she was being restrained,” Pool wrote in his case report. According to the report, the body camera footage does not show that officers used force to handcuff her.

At no point did Shields-Dixon resist arrest, the report said. As she was led away, her husband protested being handcuffed, according to bodycam footage reviewed by The Forum.

“She’s not going to give you any trouble, man, so you don’t have to act like that,” Dixon said.

On the way to the patrol car, Shields-Dixon told Pool and Lewis that she had a panic attack and an ambulance was called.

“After sitting in the patrol car for approximately three and a half minutes, Faith (Shields-Dixon) states that her hands hurt. Neither OFC (Officer) Lewis nor OFC Pool corroborate this statement,” the report states.

About 15 minutes later, Shields-Dixon’s handcuffs were removed so she could see the paramedics.

When her handcuffs were removed, Shields-Dixon said she did not want Pool near her and told Lewis to take the handcuffs off her, the report said.

“It should be noted that during my review, I did not observe any behavior by OFC Pool toward Faith or Charles that was disrespectful, rude, or otherwise,” the report said.
Shields-Dixon was released from custody when she exited the ambulance approximately 33 minutes after her arrest.

There is no evidence that Pool or Lewis used unreasonable force to arrest Shields-Dixon, the report said.

Zibolski agreed, stating in a letter to Shields-Dixon that there was no evidence that force was used during her arrest and that bodycam footage showed her watch was intact after the incident.

However, Pool violated department rules that require officers to “exercise excellent judgment, discretion and decision-making skills in the performance of their duties,” Zibolski said in a letter to Pool that was seen by the forum.

There was no reason to handcuff Shields-Dixon during the incident, he said. She was not a danger to herself, police or others, the report said, and she cooperated with police before her arrest.

“Both the Department and the public expect us to perform our duties competently and competently,” Zibolski wrote to Pool, “and to exercise as little restraint as possible.”

As a result, Pool received a verbal warning, additional training and a policy review.

In addition to their use of force complaint against Pool, Shields-Dixon and Dixon filed a complaint for excessive force against Lewis and a complaint against Layman for not having probable cause for their arrest and for not adequately interviewing all witnesses at the scene.

Zibolski completely exonerated Layman of her allegations and found that the complaint against Lewis was without merit.

For Shields-Dixon, this was not the outcome she wanted. The bruises on her wrists told the true story, she said.

“I was screaming the whole time about my arm,” she told The Forum. “It turned into a tragic evening.”

Article by Faith Shields-Dixon

After her discharge, she went to the emergency room and spent weeks doing physical therapy for her hand, she said. She asked why emergency personnel were not interviewed as part of the police investigation into her complaint.

The situation made her think twice before intervening to help someone else, she said.

“My husband was hit in the head. I was brutalized by the Fargo police, all because we were trying to help a woman,” Shields-Dixon told The Forum. “The mental anguish that caused – you can’t undo that.”

Pool should never have handcuffed her “as if I were a threat,” Shields-Dixon said. “He shouldn’t have even touched me.”

David Samson/The Forum

The punishment he received was “no compensation for what he did to me,” she said. “Personally, I don’t think he should even be in the police force, I really do.”

What she really wants is an apology, she said.

“I hope that more people will take to the streets and speak out when things like this happen and that they won’t be afraid to speak out no matter what,” she said. “Keep fighting for justice. He should never have done what he did.”

Shields-Dixon was one of three black residents who joined others in filing complaints against Fargo police this year, accusing them of either racial discrimination or excessive use of force.

The officers involved in the other two complaints were acquitted by Fargo police in April.