Did Police Brutality Contribute to the Death of ‘IM GAY’ Oklahoma Activist Keith Kimmel?

Investigation continues into the death of Keith Kimmel, the man who was found dead on Wednesday a few days after scuffle with police at a local gay bar left him bruised and bloody. Kimmel made national headlines earlier this year when he announced he was suing the state of Oklahoma for the right to own a licenses plate with the phrase "IM GAY" on it.

Watch a KTUL interview with Tulsa police about the incident, AFTER THE JUMP…

 An autopsy is scheduled to be performed on Kimmel, the Norman Transcript reports: "No autopsy had been done on Kimmel as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Medical Examiner's office. There was no word about when the autopsy will be performed."

I discovered a copy of the detailed police complaint taken Monday, three days after Kimmel alleges he was beaten by officers. In it, Kimmel says his head was slammed against the side of the patrol car and dragged across the parking lot on the pavement. He says police threatened to dislocate his joints if he didn't sit still, punched his testicles, and made derogatory remarks about his weight and his sexual orientation. Kimmel says, "It is my position that the TPD essentially beat me up, abused me physically and verbally and then dumped me at the emergency room at St. Johns Hospital for treatment. This incident is a blatant hate crime and it is absolutely inexcusable."

Here's the main part of the complaint:

Upon being removed from the bar, an officer began to interrogate me. I was asked to sign a receipt and leave the property, which I refused to do because I did not recognize it and was not given the opportunity to examine it. When I attempted to examine it, an white male officer told me not to come closer and to stand back. I also stated that my drivers license was in the possession of someone other than me in the bar and told them I would not leave without my license. Several officers snickered and said they didn't know what I was talking about. At one point one of the officers stated words to the effect that he was “getting tired of my mouth.”

Shortly after this I was placed under arrest, handcuffed and slammed onto the hood of a nearby car. I was not read any rights nor told what I was being charged with. The officers then dragged me around the parking lot on my stomach, first by trying to shove me into a patrol car. They hit my head on the door frame several times and when I was too tall to fit into the car, they attempted to stuff me in regardless which resulted in my neck being bent at odd angles. I have experienced severe pain and stiffness in my neck since the incident.

When it was determined that I would not fit in the first vehicle, the officers then dragged me across the parking lot to a second vehicle. At one point, when trying to stuff me into the second vehicle on my side, I felt several punches to my testicles but I could not see who delivered them. There were many officers present by this point and lots of flashing lights. My memory gets hazy at this point, but I remember the officers trying to stuff me into this vehicle on my side. The vehicle was long and narrow, like a van. I could not breathe and began to choke, when they left me in there for a long time. Eventually, they pulled me out and onto a stretcher and put me into an ambulance. I remember struggling herein and I remember someone threatening to start “dislocating joints” if I did not be still. I cant describe him, but I did see his face. If I saw his face again I would recognize it.

 The officers made several crude comments about my weight like “get the grease,” “anybody got some Crisco oil” and “get your fat ass in there” throughout this process. Several derogatory remarks were made with regard to my sexual orientation and the entertainers and/or patrons of the bar. At some point during all of this, my pants fell to my knees and the officers pulled them completely off. The officers bent my wrists and fingers in various positions, causing extreme pain immediately and later swelling. I remember hearing an officer mention something to the effect of “we are experts at putting people in their place without leaving marks, they train us on that” when I cried out about the pain and how they better not break my hand.

I was then transported to St. Johns Hospital by ambulance summoned by TPD. When I woke up in the hospital, all of the police officers were gone and my property was in a Tulsa Police Department Evidence bag. There was a paper inside about preventing drug and alcohol abuse, but no ticket from the police or any charges. When I announced to the Emergency Room staff that I was leaving, they made no effort to stop me and the security officer told me that the police did not tell him to hold me, so I was free to go. The staff gave me a couple of bus tokens and I went back to End Up to get my car.

I then drove back to the Oklahoma City area. After talking with a friend, I decided that I should file a formal complaint regarding this incident and make the media aware of the incident, because it could repeat itself and someone else may become the victim of this brutality. I asked a friend to help me by taking photographs of my injuries to document them. Several of the photographs follow as an Exhibit “A” to this complaint. All photographs were taken by Kerri Logsdon. Contact information is available upon request. Additionally, an affidavit is signed and notarized by her regarding these photographs.

(photos from police complaint)

Kimmel says he believes that officers knew who he was because of the "IM GAY" license plate lawsuit:

"I find it hard to believe that TPD officers did not know who they were dealing with and I think that at some point, someone recognized me, the officers realized they went too far in their brutalization of me and decided to attempt to cover it up by dumping me in the hospital and hoping I would not remember what happened the next day. I do have a memory of what happened and I felt then and still am experiencing pain on an a physical and mental level as a result of my encounter with TPD.I will not be silenced and I will continue to stand up for and fight for my rights. What The Tulsa Police Department has done to me has not changed any of that. In fact, it has only strengthened my resolve and my desire to see that justice is served in this case. I am not sure if the treatment I received from TPD was in retaliation for my lawsuit or not, but I feel the investigators should know this information up front."

Read the full complaint HERE (PDF).

Watch a KTUL interview with Tulsa police about the incident, AFTER THE JUMP…