Wheeling police clear officers accused of excessive force

Wheeling police have cleared officers of excessive force allegations leveled by two siblings who claimed they were treated roughly as they were taken into custody on misdemeanor charges last month.

Police said in a statement Thursday that after a thorough investigation they found the complaints unfounded and the officers' use of hands-on force was reasonable given the siblings' lack of cooperation and failure to follow directions.

"The officers followed standard operating procedures in a manner designed to protect the officers from injury and to effectuate a lawful arrest with minimal force," the statement reads.

The allegations surfaced after an amateur video taken of the June 6 arrests of Christian Ruiz, 19, of Wheeling and Ashley Rodriguez, 21, of Chicago was posted online.

The video showed an officer pinning Rodriguez on a sidewalk and then against a car parked outside a village apartment complex. He repeatedly warns her, "You're gonna get Tased," and to "relax."

"We told you how many times to walk away," the officer can be heard saying in the video, captured from a balcony above the parking lot. As police restrained her, the woman yells, "Get off me." She also sounds as if she's crying.

Police later released three more videos of the confrontation.

Rodriguez is charged with two counts of obstructing a police officer. Ruiz faces aggravated assault and obstructing charges after police said he charged toward another officer, putting her in "reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery."

Both are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 4.