A now-viral video has led to the launch of a formal investigation into the action of 2 officers on the Phoenix Police Department, as it shows them using excessive force in the arrest of 2 African American adults.
Two children were also involved, ABC News confirms. You can see an edited version of the video at the bottom of the page, as well as the full 12-minute clip that launched the investigation.
“The Phoenix Police Department takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and for this reason, this incident is currently being investigated by the Professional Standards Bureau,” Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson says in a statement.
The misconduct allegations refer to one officer pointing a gun at the car in which the mother and her 2 children were, while another swept the handcuffed man’s leg from under him and later tried to take the youngest of the children from their mother’s arms.
Police responded to the scene after the elder child reportedly walked out of the store with a doll that her parents hadn’t paid for. The cops caught up with the family as they were about to exit the parking lot, and what is seen in the video followed. Eyewitnesses intervened to take the screaming children from the mother, so the officers could cuff her.
Throughout the video, both man and woman are compliant and do not resist. The man can be heard saying that he’s complying and that he “didn’t do anything” – he even apologizes to the cop after he’s kicked to the ground.
After the violent incident, neither man nor woman was arrested or charged with any crime.
Sgt. Thompson says the officer who kicked the “suspect” and tried to rip the child from his mother’s arms has been moved to a desk job, but the officer who pulled a gun on a car with children remains on active duty. He also insists that this incident was more serious than it was reported on the media, but he refuses to elaborate on it.
“The Phoenix Police Department takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and for this reason, this incident is currently being investigated by the Professional Standards Bureau,” Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson says in a statement.
The misconduct allegations refer to one officer pointing a gun at the car in which the mother and her 2 children were, while another swept the handcuffed man’s leg from under him and later tried to take the youngest of the children from their mother’s arms.
Police responded to the scene after the elder child reportedly walked out of the store with a doll that her parents hadn’t paid for. The cops caught up with the family as they were about to exit the parking lot, and what is seen in the video followed. Eyewitnesses intervened to take the screaming children from the mother, so the officers could cuff her.
Throughout the video, both man and woman are compliant and do not resist. The man can be heard saying that he’s complying and that he “didn’t do anything” – he even apologizes to the cop after he’s kicked to the ground.
After the violent incident, neither man nor woman was arrested or charged with any crime.
Sgt. Thompson says the officer who kicked the “suspect” and tried to rip the child from his mother’s arms has been moved to a desk job, but the officer who pulled a gun on a car with children remains on active duty. He also insists that this incident was more serious than it was reported on the media, but he refuses to elaborate on it.