LAPD is releasing body cam footage of a brutal arrest … showing an officer unloading punch after punch after punch on a man accused of trespassing on a vacant lot.
The April 27 arrest made national news last week thanks to a citizen’s video of the incident, but now we can see and hear everything leading up to the arrest. Two officers responded to a call for alleged trespassing, and at first the man — wearing an Eric Dickerson Rams jersey — left the lot without incident.
Once the man was on the sidewalk, though, things got heated. The officers told him to leave the area, but he refused, saying he was doing nothing wrong because his family lives there. It quickly turned into an argument as the man said, “What the f**k you gonna do, my boy?” … and the officer told him to assume the position.
AGRO COP ASSAULTS NON VIOLENT FOO IN BOYLE HEIGHTS pic.twitter.com/VPeIpVG4YG
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The man said, “You don’t f**king scare me fa***t” … and the officer then attempted to get his hands behind his back to slap on handcuffs. That’s when a struggle began, and one officer started swinging on the suspect … throwing more than 20 punches, while his partner stood at the ready to fire her taser.
Back up eventually arrived and the man was arrested. He was later released with cuts to head and face.
Police Chief Michael Moore says he’s releasing the body cam footage to show transparency on the part of LAPD. He says the officer who threw the punches has been taken off the street pending an Internal Affairs investigation.