The Altoona Police Department has responded to a video that has gone viral, showing an Altoona patrolman punching a man inside his Logan Hills apartment on July 4th. The video shows a man and a woman, later identified as 43-year-old Ryan Coke, and 35-year-old Melissa Gleixner, as answering the door when police arrived. Earlier, Coke apparently had an argument with a man outside the apartment building who was playing loud music from his vehicle. Reportedly, threats between Coke and the man in the vehicle were allegedly made, which prompted a third party to call police. When officers arrived at the apartment the couple shared their story with officers and when Patrolman Travis Glass asked Coke for his name he refused, saying “no crime had been committed”. The video then shows the woman attempting to shut the door on officers, when Officer Glass, followed by other patrolmen, appears to push his way into the home. Once inside, Glass appears to punch Coke numerous times, after Officer Glass reportedly claimed that Coke had struck him in the head. The video then shows Gleixner attempting to intervene at this point, which prompted her being arrested. A participant in this incident filed a complaint over the weekend about police behavior in this case, and according to the Altoona Mirror, a review of the department’s “Use of Force Review Board” has begun. Both Coke and Gleixner have been charged with resisting arrest and harassment, among other counts. Both are scheduled for preliminary hearings on August 20th. Reportedly, no administrative action has been taken against Officer Glass at this time.
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