FARGO — Two of three officers who faced complaints after a witness to a domestic dispute was handcuffed have been cleared of wrongdoing by Fargo police. The third officer received a reprimand and corrective training.
Faith Shields-Dixon, a civil rights activist, and her husband tried to separate a fighting couple on the 400 block of Broadway just after 9 p.m. in May 2023.
When police arrived, the woman accused Shields-Dixon of strangling her. When that confession was recanted shortly thereafter, Shields-Dixon had already been handcuffed by Fargo police officers and was not immediately released.
Contributed by: Faith Shields-Dixon
In a complaint filed in February against the officers involved, Shields-Dixon claimed that her pre-trial detention left her with a sprained hand, injured wrists and a broken Apple Watch.
“We need to protect ourselves from Fargo police because they are the ones causing pain and trauma,” Shields-Dixon told The Forum. “They were there to protect the woman that night, but instead they hurt her.”
Chris Flynn / Forum
Following her complaint, Police Chief Dave Zibolski found that one of his officers had violated department policy, but not in the way Shields-Dixon thought.
“I understand that this was a traumatic encounter for you,” Zibolski wrote in a letter to Shields-Dixon. “I don’t think Officer (Tyler) Pool was trying to be malicious, but he did indeed fail to follow the training provided to the Department on pre-trial detention and handcuffing.”
There is no evidence to suggest that officers used unreasonable force during the arrest, Zibolski said.
When Fargo police officers arrived on Broadway after Shields-Dixon’s call, they found six people fighting, according to an internal investigation completed by the Fargo Police Department and obtained by The Forum through an open records request.
“The fight is believed to have revolved around two people involved in a domestic dispute,” the investigation said. “Passers-by on Broadway tried to stop the attack. The initial scene was chaotic.”
Shield-Dixon’s husband, Charles Dixon, was attacked when he tried to break up the fight before officers arrived. The report states that the unnamed man later pleaded guilty in court to simple assault on Dixon.
The report shows that both Shields-Dixon and Dixon were talking calmly to Poole when he arrived on the scene.
Meanwhile, Officer Shelby Layman spoke to a woman with bruises on her neck and asked who attacked her. Layman said in the report that the woman’s testimony was misleading, but she identified Shields-Dixon as her attacker.
At this point, Layman asked Pool to retain Shields-Dixon. In the investigative report, Layman stated that she never told Pool to handcuff her, only to have him detain her at the scene.
Pool and Officer Johnny Lewis handcuffed Shields-Dixon and placed her in a squad car. In the investigative report, Pool said he decided to handcuff Shields-Dixon for everyone’s safety.
“Faith (Shields-Dixon) was very upset when she demanded to know why she was being detained,” Pool wrote in his report. The report shows that an analysis of body camera footage does not show officers using force to apply handcuffs.
The report shows that at no time did Shields-Dixon resist arrest. As she was led away, her husband protested against her being handcuffed, according to video footage reviewed by The Forum.
“She won’t cause you any problems, man, so you don’t have to act like one,” Dixon said.
On the way to the police car, Shields-Dixon told Pool and Lewis she was having a panic attack, and an ambulance was called.
“After about three and a half minutes in the squad car, Faith (Shields-Dixon) says her arms hurt. Neither OFC (Officer) Lewis nor OFC Pool confirms this statement,” the report states.
About 15 minutes later, Shields-Dixon was released from her handcuffs so she could see the ambulance crew.
The report states that when she was untied, Shields-Dixon stated that she did not want Pool anywhere near her and asked Lewis to remove his handcuffs.
“It is important to note that during my assessment, I did not observe any conduct by OFC Pool towards Faith or Charles that was disrespectful, discourteous or otherwise,” the report stated.
Shields-Dixon was released from custody when she exited the ambulance about 33 minutes after her arrest.
The report concluded there was no evidence that Pool or Lewis used unreasonable force to arrest Shields-Dixon.
Zibolski agreed, stating in a letter to Shields-Dixon that there was no evidence that any force was used during her arrest and that body camera footage showed her watch was intact after the incident.
However, Pool violated department policy that requires officers to “perform their duties while exercising excellent judgment, discretion and decision-making ability,” Zibolski said in a letter to Pool obtained by The Forum.
He said there was no need to handcuff Shields-Dixon during the incident. The report found that she posed no threat to herself, police or others and was cooperative with police before her arrest.
“Both the Department and the public expect that we are competent and knowledgeable in our responsibilities,” Zibolski wrote to Pool, “and that we will exercise the least amount of restraint necessary.”
As a result, Pool received a verbal reprimand, additional training and a policy review.
In addition to the use of force complaint against Pool, Shields-Dixon and Dixon filed an unsubstantiated complaint against Lewis and a complaint against Layman for failing to have reasonable cause to arrest her and for failing to adequately interview all witnesses at the scene.
Zibolski completely exonerated Layman of her complaints and found the complaint against Lewis to be baseless.
For Shields-Dixon, it wasn’t the outcome she expected. The bruises on her wrists told the truth, she added.
“I was screaming the whole time because of my arm,” she told The Forum. “It ended in a tragic evening.”
Contributed by / Faith Shields-Dixon
She added that after her release, she went to the emergency room and underwent hand physiotherapy for weeks. She asked why ambulance staff had not been interviewed as part of the police investigation into her complaint.
She added that the situation made her think twice before deciding to help someone else.
“My husband was hit in the head. The Fargo police treated me brutally because we were trying to help a woman,” Shields-Dixon told The Forum. “The mental suffering this has caused cannot be undone.”
Pool should never have handcuffed her “as if I was a threat,” Shields-Dixon said. “He shouldn’t have even touched me.”
David Samson/Forum
The punishment he received was “nothing for what he caused me,” she said. “Personally, I don’t think he should be on the police force at all, I really don’t.”
She said what she really wanted was an apology.
“I hope that more people will come out and speak up when these types of things happen, and don’t be afraid to talk about it no matter what,” she said. “Keep fighting for justice. He should never have done what he did.
Shields-Dixon was one of three Black residents who filed complaints against the Fargo Police Department this year, alleging racial profiling or excessive force.
The officers involved in the other two complaints were cleared by Fargo police in April.
