The Real Gang-Bangers
A gang of San Francisco cops attacked a homeless amputee after calling his crutches a weapon.
It took 14 San Francisco Police Department officers to take down and restrain a one-legged, Black homeless man, armed with crutches and apparently dangerous. The incident is the latest embarrassment for the U.S. police, who face constant accusations of unreasonable use of force.
The confrontation was captured on video released by journalist Chaedria LaBouvier via blog platform Medium, and shows white police officers taking down a one-legged homeless Black man on the city’s central Market Street. According to witnesses, police were called in to the scene to take care of a suspicious man waving some “sticks” around.
The video of the incident, which happened on August 4, shows the extent of humiliation and brute force exercised immediately after the man was wrestled to the ground by SFPD officers. As the disabled male struggles to move, cops pin him down.
“These are my crutches. I use these to walk,” the man tried to explain. But even after realizing that the man had a prosthetic leg, the police continued to use overwhelming physical restrain and man-handled him, forcing his head to the ground.
Beaten to the ground, the suspect at one point said, “what the f**k is you doing this to me?” as more officers arrived to form a cordon around the incident area. “Is this respectable? When I say ’no, is this what you do to me?” the man said.
Witnesses spoke out against police brutality from the start of the video but to no avail as cops continued to abuse the one legged man. The camera operator especially noted the “lack of respect” for the suspect as clothes were pulled off the man during the incident. First one can see the man’s buttocks being exposed, and minutes later his entire back.
—HipHopWired, August 18, 2015
http://hiphopwired.com/2015/08/18/14-san-francisco-cops-amputee-crutches/