The only thing worse than committing actual crimes? Taking a rest stop in a local park during an 11-hour road trip from seeing your grandchild, according to one cop.


Advertisement

Sgt. Clay Hilton of the Spokane Sheriff’s Office was placed on leave last week after footage depicting an August arrest, in which the (hopefully soon-to-be-former) officer brutally beat 62-year-old Kevin Hinton for watching a movie in a parking lot while on a road trip rest break, began making the rounds on social media.


The ordeal began after Hilton approached Hinton while watching a movie in his car during a break on his long drive.


“It’s a crime to be in the park after hours and this is considered the park,” Hilton told Hinton.



Though Hinton was compliant, ready to leave — “Alright, I'll go watch another place to watch a movie,” he said — Hilton refused to let him go, demanding identification, his name and that he leave his vehicle.


Their interaction quickly took a turn for the physical, after the officer grabbed the driver and threw him to the ground, arresting him and ultimately beating him.


“Why did you hit me?” Hinton said, audibly crying several minutes into the ordeal


“Because you weren’t listening,” Hilton fired back at the bloodied driver.


As the clip continues, Hinton sounds audibly pained and rightfully so — the incident left him with eight broken ribs, a severe concussion, a disfigured lip, and a punctured lung. 


Though the charges against Hinton were ultimately dismissed without prejudice, according to The Spokesman-Review, the Spokane Police Department is investigating the gory ordeal.