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While he was down on the ground, Court put his knee on Williams' neck, Williams said. One of the officers then cuffed both of Williams' wrists, he said. At some point after falling out of his chair, Williams said his shorts slid down his legs. With his hands cuffed behind his back, Williams said he was helpless and unable to pull his pants back up. He said police left him for five to 10 minutes on the pavement in that position, with his genitals showing, as neighbors and onlookers watched the scene unfold.
William Decker, a relative of Williams who witnessed the arrest, said he was appalled by what he saw. Williams is the brother-in-law of Decker's wife from her previous marriage. "The tenants were screaming 'Pull his pants up! Give him some dignity!'" Decker recalled.
Decker said he noticed Williams was bleeding from his mouth during the incident. Williams said he's unsure of why he was bleeding from his mouth. There are specks of blood present on the collar of the blue shirt he was wearing that day.
Dozens of police respond
Eventually, Williams said a detective uncuffed him, and someone pulled his pants up before paramedics attended to him. Dozens of police responded to the apartment complex as a small crowd of onlookers and residents gathered.
Williams was taken to Mercy Medical Center Merced and treated for a shoulder injury, which Williams claims was a result of the officer pulling back his arm. A diagnostic imaging report from the hospital states that although there's no fracture or dislocation on Williams' left shoulder, he may have an underlying rotator cuff tear.
Williams' left arm is in a sling. Without both arms, he said he'd be unable to move his wheelchair without help until his shoulder heals, which could take weeks.
Police took Phifer, Williams' wife, into custody during the incident on an outstanding $10,000 misdemeanor warrant for domestic violence.
A tenant in the apartment complex, 36-year-old Clifton Alexander Allison, was also arrested on suspicion of carrying an illegal weapon (a double-bladed folding knife) and with resisting arrest.
After being treated, Williams was taken to the John Latorraca Correctional Center, where he spent six days in a dorm with older inmates. He was released from jail Friday around noon, after the Merced County District Attorney's Office decided not to file charges against him.
Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse II said his office rejected Williams' case because there wasn't enough evidence to file charges. "While we do not doubt the officers may have had probable cause in arresting Mr. Williams, in our view we would not likely obtain a conviction in a jury trial," Morse said. "We are ethically precluded from filing any case in which we do not believe we have a likelihood of securing a conviction."
Williams said he's not surprised the District Attorney's Office didn't file charges because he maintains he did nothing wrong. While Williams said he was concerned about the officers taking his daughter away from him, he insisted that never posed a threat to police.
Other than having his daughter taken away, Williams said the worst result of the incident was being subjected to the public embarrassment of being handcuffed on the ground with his pants down, in full view of apartment residents.
Recounting the experience, Williams broke into tears. "How much resisting am I going to do with no legs? No feet?" he wept. "It's ridiculous what they did to me. How far am I gonna run? Where am I gonna go?"
