DANVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — We're following through on a story LEX18 brought you earlier this week in Boyle County. All charges against John Hardwick, a Danville man with dementia, were dismissed with prejudice stemming from an incident on Oct. 15.
On a quick shopping trip to Walmart with his wife, 66-year-old Hardwick tried to buy two packs of beer not realizing he didn't have his license. Following the cashier to customer service, police showed up.
Hardwick's attorney, Ephraim Helton, explained to LEX 18's Kayleigh Randle that Hardwick has dementia and was confused by the situation.
"He sees the beer and you'll see him retrieve the beer here, very politely, nicely," Helton said.
Surveillance video shows Hardwick speaking to a Walmart loss prevention employee, placing the beer in his cart, then placing it back on the table several times.
"There's no effort to leave Walmart, there's no effort to run with this. He's following all of the directions of loss prevention," Helton added.
WATCH MORE: New Body Cam Footage Released of KY Dementia Patient's Arrest
Helton adds that Hardwick isn't throwing his arms up or causing a scene. An officer reaches for his handcuffs, and that's when the scene escalates. Body camera video showed Hardwick being taken to the ground.
Someone following this story closely, who started a Change.org petition, asked that we hide their identity over fear of retaliation.
That person is demanding the dismissal of Officer TJ Godbey and the suspension of two other officers from the Danville Police Department involved in the incident.
"You never think it's going to happen in your hometown until it does and it just really you know struck me as something that I have the capacity to do something about. As a community we have to protect one another."
That community member is taking action, asking people to sign this petition to send a message to Danville Police.
LEX 18 reached out to the Danville Police Chief about this case. In a statement, Chief Anthony Gray said:
