TOLEDO, Ohio — Two Toledo police officers are under internal investigation by the department for an incident on that occurred on Jan. 1, a Toledo police spokesman confirmed, and it's not the first time their conduct has been called into question.
Officers Ashlyn Pluff and Adam Hobbs can be seen on dash and body camera video using strong physical force while arresting two women accused of reckless driving they had pulled over.
While collective bargaining agreements prevent the release of details into the specifics of the investigation, the footage shows the incident beginning when the pair of officers pulled over a vehicle they claimed was swerving past a tow truck that was helping at the scene of an accident.
Watch body and dash cam footage below. WARNING: Profane language present throughout.
Melvena Smith was in the driver's seat of the car and Kaylynn Smart was in the passenger seat. In the TPD report, the officers claimed they smelled alcohol, and an open bottle of tequila was seen on the floor of the passenger side.
Hobbs' body cam shows the officers demanding the occupants get out of the car as Hobbs flung open the passenger door.
"Why'd you open the door like that," Smart asked.
"You just went through an accident scene, and you just struck another car," Hobbs said.
Hobbs and Smart then repeatedly tell each other to shut up before Hobbs orders Smart to get out of the car.
When Smart doesn't immediately comply with that order, Hobbs is seen grabbing her out of the car, throwing her to the ground and referring to her with expletives as he hit her repeatedly with closed hand stuns. The woman is heard begging for Smith to call her mom.
Hobbs wrote in the report of the incident that Smart gave him multiple scratches to his face and spit food on him.
The driver in the incident, Smith, then walked over to the scene. Officer Pluff then grabbed Smith and attempted to put her in handcuffs, but Smith pulled back and began kicking Officer Pluff in the leg.
Officer Pluff then grabbed Smith by the hair, and Officers Pluff and Hobbs together took her to the ground and put her in handcuffs.
Officer Pluff then screamed for Smith to let go of her hand and can be seen hitting Smith multiple times while she is handcuffed. Smith and Smart accused Officers Pluff and Hobbs of abuse as they were escorted to a police cruiser.
Both women were charged with assault on an officer and Smith was charged with driving under the influence. But Smith was not breathalyzed at the time, according to the police report.
Smart in particular was noted by the officers in their report to be screaming expletives on the ride back to the station, and once there was covered with a spit guard.
Both Officers have previous reprimands from the department.
Pluff's first reprimand occurred after her involvement in the July 2022 arrest of Olympic boxer Oshae Jones, were she was admonished for her "demeanor," cited for yelling at a mother and child during the arrest, and throwing multiple profanities at Jones. Also, in body camera footage from the arrest, she could also be seen hitting Ms. Jones in the back of the head while in cuffs, which officers said was justified because Jones was resisting arrest.
Pluff was reprimanded again for a February 2023 incident where she was again admonished for yelling during an arrest and using profanity.
After Pluff was reprimanded for violating the "demeanor" section of the TPD Manual in the arrest of Jones, she was told future violations of the section could result in an "ascending level of discipline."
Officer Hobbs' first two reprimands occurred Feb. 19, 2022, when he was responding to a suspicious persons call. He encountered the suspect, who had multiple active warrants, but following the search he turned off his body camera and let the suspect go free.
The Internal Affairs report notes Officer Hobbs failed to complete a thorough investigation. The caller was never contacted, no police report was filed and Hobbs chose to release the suspect, which the IA report called a poor use of discretion.
He was reprimanded for "neglect of duty" and "recording incidents."
Hobbs' most recent reprimand occurred on Sept. 30, when he was the second vehicle in a pursuit of a suspect. He had to drop out of the chase, but re-joined later as the third vehicle.
He was reprimanded for pursuit caravanning.
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