Man with Parkinson’s disease allegedly injured during arrest at family’s home in Orange City
Video of elderly man’s arrest under review in Orange City
City officials are reviewing body camera video that shows the arrest of a 79-year-old man whose family says he has Parkinson’s disease.
ORANGE CITY, Fla. - City officials are reviewing body camera video that shows the arrest of a 79-year-old man whose family says he has Parkinson’s disease.
The video, posted on social media, shows officers taking Edward Bowman to the ground and into custody during a September incident at his home. His family is calling for the officers involved to be fired and says it is considering legal action against the city.
The backstory:
Police were called out to an Orange City home to supervise a woman collecting her belongings from her family’s home, from which she had been trespassed the night before.
Her stepfather, Edward Bowman, who lives on the property and is the sole person named on the mortgage for the home where the incident occurred, was standing in the doorway of the house.
Police told Bowman, a 79-year-old with Parkinson’s, to move. He declined, saying this was his property.
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They wound up arresting him, and allegedly injuring him in the process. His case for obstruction, resisting with violence, and battery on law enforcement officer, is still pending.
Goodman’s case was reduced to a misdemeanor and later dropped.
Goodman says her family is now considering a lawsuit against the Police Department for its treatment of Bowman, and that they want the officers involved fired.
The arrest
Bowman’s family says he has Parkinson’s – a disease the NIH says leads to tremors and balance problems, and can make a person slow and stiff.
Body camera video shows him repeatedly telling officers they were hurting him, and that he was having trouble walking or otherwise complying with their commands.
He wound up charged with obstruction without violence, resisting with violence, and battery on a law enforcement officer.
His arrest report claims he kicked and punched officers when they tried to arrest him.
That isn’t visible on the body camera, and Goodman denies it happening.
"How could [they] be kicked and punched when [he’s] literally on [his] knees?" she said to FOX 35 Reporter Marie Edinger.
Goodman’s case wound up being reduced to a misdemeanor, and then dropped altogether.
Bowman’s is ongoing.
Why were police there?
Police were called out because of Bowman’s step-daughter, Tammy Goodman.
A police report from the night before explains Goodman had gotten into an argument with family members at the house. Her ex-husband asked police to remove her from the house, and officers wound up giving her a trespass warning.
Police call logs from the next morning show she called to ask about that and was told she needed to handle it with her family. The body camera video shows her bringing that up repeatedly.
"I spoke to an officer this morning, it’s a civil matter," she said.
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The next day, she showed back up at the house while her ex-husband was at work, wanting to collect some of her things. Her daughter’s boyfriend wound up calling police.
The boyfriend specified to officers that he wasn’t concerned about having her removed.
"I just want her supervised," he can be heard on body camera video telling officers.
The escalation
At least one of the responding officers had been on the scene the night before, when Goodman was trespassed.
The officers ask the boyfriend who called them back out whether Bowman lived at the house, and whether he had a right to invite anyone over.
The boyfriend answered that Bowman lived in the mother-in-law suite, and that he didn’t know whether Bowman could invite someone over.
When officers walk up to the door, Bowman is standing by the doorway, in front of Goodman. Officers tell him to move, and he says no. So they move him forcibly.
Who owns the property?
While Bowman was being arrested, he repeatedly told officers he was on his own property.
The body camera video features exchanges like this:
Bowman: "This is my property."
Officer: "I don’t care."
Bowman: "You’d better care, this is my property."
Officer: "You’re under arrest!"
Bowman: "For what?"
Officer: "Impeding and resisting."
Bowman: "This is my property."
Officer: "Sure isn’t."
Bowman: "Yes it is."
Officers explain, the man who called them out there had said he was not the property owner. They didn’t check property records to verify that before placing Bowman in cuffs.
In actuality, Bowman is no longer the owner of the property. He’s lived there since 1998, but in 2023, he signed a Quit Claim Deed transferring ownership to his step-daughter, Tammy Goodman, and her now-ex-husband.
As part of the divorce agreement between Goodman and her ex, the ex-husband got to keep the property.
But on the Volusia County property appraiser’s website, Goodman and her ex are still legally listed as combined owners.
And Bowman is still the only person on the mortgage.
He lives in the mother-in-law suite out back behind the main house, and pays his share to do so. The children of his stepdaughter and her ex, along with the ex, live in the main house.
In an affidavit, the property owner said he did not mind Bowman being in the house.
What the city is saying
Orange City’s police chief and city manager say they’re reviewing the body camera video, which has been circulating online and "has understandably been found upsetting," they told FOX 35.
"City leadership acknowledges the public’s concerns regarding this incident and the video," their statement continues. "We understand that images of law enforcement interactions, particularly those involving an elderly individual, can be concerning, and we take every matter seriously.
"Because this matter is currently pending in the criminal justice system, we are limited in what we share at this time, but we remain fully committed to transparency.
Please know, we are committed to continuous improvement, accountability, and ensuring that our staff are equipped with the resources, including training, necessary to serve our community with professionalism, care, and respect."
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Orange City Police Department, Orange City’s police chief and city manager.