FRANKFORT, Ohio — Newly released body camera footage and details from state troopers show a man resisting arrest during a traffic stop for a loud exhaust, claiming ethnic discrimination and yelling about potential deportation before being subdued with a stun gun inside his home.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol on Thursday provided additional information about the Jan. 15 incident, which began as a routine stop but escalated into a brief pursuit and confrontation.
A patrol spokesman told the Scioto Valley Guardian that troopers from the Chillicothe Post pulled over a 2006 Ford Focus around 8:13 p.m. for an equipment defect in the village of Frankfort, near High Street and Doc Stinson Alley.
The driver, identified as Duane A. Hale, 48, of Frankfort, ignored commands, resisted arrest and fled into his nearby home, the spokesman said. Troopers followed and deployed a less-lethal Taser to take him into custody.
Hale was charged with failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, resisting arrest, defective exhaust and driving under suspension. He was booked into the Ross County Jail.
Body camera video released by the patrol shows Hale alleging discrimination based on his ethnicity during the encounter, though troopers emphasized the stop was solely due to the vehicle’s loud exhaust and not related to his background; it was Hale who escalated the matter by fighting and running.
The footage also captures Hale running into the home and shouting that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would deport him. It remains unclear whether Hale is a legal U.S. resident or the basis for his deportation concerns.
The incident initially prompted a response from additional agencies, including the Ross County Sheriff’s Office, after two troopers briefly stopped communicating over radio during the arrest, according to an initial report.
No injuries were reported, and authorities said no further details were available.