City Holds Press Conference on Keven Sparks Investigation

Mayor Devlin and the Erie Police Department announced their findings following the investigation into the arrest of Keven Sparks on June 28. A video circulating on social media appeared to show Sparks being hit by a police cruiser while riding an e-bike after he was pursued by law enforcement for multiple outstanding arrest warrants. The video also appeared to show officers striking his head and abdomen as they held him on the ground.

Since July, constituents have expressed concern over the arrest at council meetings, fearing excessive use of force by the officers on the scene. 

During the press conference on August 24 at 11 a.m. Mayor Devlin, Chief Lorah, and Deputy Chief Janus outlined their investigation process and the results of the investigation.

"Transparency should do more than just communicate conclusions. It should help all of us better understand the systems, responsibilities, constraints, and opportunities that shape moments like this one," Devlin said. 

Janus explained the events leading up to the arrest with accompanying dashcam footage. One of the officers initially attempted to stop Sparks on East 24th St. "The officer initiated his emergency lights and ordered Mr. Sparks to come over to him. Mr. Sparks ignored the officer and continued around him and his cruiser and fled on the e-bike," Janus said. 

According to the evidence available, including dashcam footage and vehicle speed data, Janus found that the officer did not intentionally speed up to strike Sparks with the police cruiser when he drove up onto the sidewalk to block Sparks's path. "The officer did not change his trajectory, nor did he turn his wheels to intentionally hit Mr. Sparks," Janus said. 

The investigation also concluded that the officers did not continue using force after Sparks was handcuffed by using available body camera footage, taser data, and conducting interviews. 

However, there were policy violations at the scene, including one of the officers having his body camera in "sleep mode." Due to this and other unspecified policy and personnel infractions, the officer was demoted. The EPD's bodyworn camera policy was changed as a result of the incident to ensure that the "sleep mode" function is disabled and that body cameras remain on at all times during active duty. 

"When an officer's actions are consistent with policy, I have a responsibility to say that. When they are not, I have a responsibility to address it, and when an incident shows us something we can improve in our policies, training, supervision, or practices, we need to make those improvements," Lorah said.