Warning: Video in this story depicts a violent incident and the aftermath, including pictures of the man hospitalized.
Robert Buckner says he was punched four times in the face by two Accomack County sheriff's deputies and suffered serious injuries during what he calls a violent arrest at his home.
The Accomack County Sheriff's Office maintains deputies did not violate policy.
Home security video captured the March 29 incident when three Accomack County deputies arrived at Buckner's house around 10:20 p.m. to arrest his wife on charges that were later dropped.
The WTKR News 3 Investigative Team issued a Freedom of Information Request for the body camera worn by the deputies the night of the incident and paid $160 dollars for the video from the Accomack County Courthouse.
Buckner also provided WTKR with the footage from his home surveillance video.
The footage from both videos show how the situation escalated quickly. Buckner admits he had been drinking that night but denies allegations that he assaulted the officers. He says he is a disabled veteran with a hearing issue and was leaning in to understand why his wife was being taken away in handcuffs.
"I was simply asking why. I think any normal husband, if their significant other was being arrested they would want to know why, then it just gets really brutal," Buckner said.
The video shows Buckner being taken to the ground then punched.
Watch: Synced video of bodycam and security footage shows the full incident
Next you see a deputy approach his wife and take her down to the ground as well. Deputies also charged her with obstruction of justice but she was found not guilty.
"She was standing still, and she took one step back as he was approaching her, and that's when he grabbed her, took her to the ground," Buckner said.
Audio from the scene captures one deputy explaining the incident to another department member:
“Luke was explaining the warrant process to her and he steps closer, steps up on us and you could tell he’s drunk. He is swaying back and forth and he’s like ‘make it make sense’ and I was like ‘look man, she’s got a warrant for this and we also have a search warrant for her cell phone’. And he was like ‘and make it make sense’ and Luke finished the process, and was like ‘all right go ahead and put your hands behind your back’ and he goes whoa, whoa, whoa, and runs in at Luke and her so me and Shane grab him. He grabs a hold of Shane on his vest and rips his vest. I grabbed him around his legs, dump him. He grabs me by my hand and start squeezing on my finger, so I blasted him twice in his face and now he is bleeding.”
Buckner said he suffered four stitches near his eye, a broken nose and a concussion. An ambulance arrived at the scene and you can hear Buckner repeatedly asking to go to the hospital.
About 33 minutes after being punched several times, a deputy drove him to the hospital.
Buckner said he doesn’t understand several things about that night.
He said why were they serving a search warrant so late at night for a family that does not have a criminal record. He also doesn’t understand why there was no sense of urgency to get him medical attention while his face was bleeding. He also doesn't understand why deputies resorted to punching him so quickly.
"Why 10:30 at night? Why was my medical denied? Why such use of force...” Buckner said, “Their first move was fist to the face,"
He spent four days in jail and required treatment at Sentara in Norfolk for his eye injury.
WTKR asked the Accomack County Sheriff's Office about the use of force, the amount of time it took for Buckner to get medical attention and we asked if anyone was available for an interview with us regarding this matter.
"In response to your email in reference to Robert Buckner our agency investigated the incident and found that the deputies did not violate any policy during the execution of his arrest. Just to clarify, the court found Mr. Bucker guilty on obstruction of justice with force."
The sheriff's office confirmed one deputy involved is no longer with the department, but said it was unrelated to this incident.
A judge found Buckner not guilty on charges related to assault on law enforcement but guilty of obstruction of justice. For his wife, the original charge of her arrest was dismissed. Deputies additionally charged her with obstruction of justice and she was found not guilty of that charge.
"Reputation on the shore is everything," Buckner said. "When you get your name in the newspaper for charges, especially heinous ones such as assaulting a police officer, who you do support, it is real ugly and demeaning, and very unfair."
Buckner says he suffered headaches for three months, has a scar on his head and continues to have flashbacks from that night.
When asked if he did anything wrong that night, Buckner said no, but added he would not have leaned in to the deputy because he did not want to get beat up.
"If I had to play that back again, I guess I wouldn't have approached and just found out from the courthouse," Buckner said. "Definitely don't want to be beaten."
The family says they are moving forward with a lawsuit.
