A police department in Pennsylvania has begun an investigation after a video surfaced appearing to show an officer placing his knee on a man’s neck during an arrest.
Multiple police officers were involved in the apprehension of a black man outside of the Sacred Heart Campus of St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. A recording from a driver passing by appeared to show one officer placing their knee on the man’s neck. It’s unclear what happened prior to the video.
Police Chief Glenn Granitz said the Lehigh County district attorney and the Allentown Police Department are investigating the incident. One officer can be seen in the video using his upper body to pin the screaming man to the ground before shifting positions to use his knee.
BREAKING:@AllentownPolice were filmed Saturday evening applying the same force to a resident that the cops used to murder #GeorgeFloyd.
This happened here in #Allentown outside a hospital.
We demand answers. We demand change.
We’re Done Dying.#DefundThePolice pic.twitter.com/AbuyvkMNdT— Black Lives Matter to Lehigh Valley (@BLMlehighvalley) July 12, 2020
“The observed erratic behavior resulted in the officers and hospital staff interacting with the individual. The individual began to yell, scream, and spit at the officers and hospital staff. As the officers attempted to restrain the individual, all parties fell to the ground. The individual continued to be noncompliant, which required officers to restrain the individual and the hospital applied a spit shield. The male in question was escorted into the hospital for treatment. The male was treated and later released,” Granitz said, according to 6 ABC News.
Granitz said the police investigation is “moving swiftly.” He noted that the 23-second video posted on social media was a “significant” part of the investigation, but “the entirety of the interaction is being reviewed.” They are interviewing witnesses and additional videos are being reviewed.
Police use of force has come under intense scrutiny across the nation after the death of George Floyd. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died on Memorial Day after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes despite his pleas for air.
The officer who pressed a knee to Floyd’s neck, Derek Chauvin, was fired from the department and has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three other officers who were involved in detaining Floyd, who was suspected of using a fake $20 bill, were also fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Floyd’s death became a spark for nationwide protests seeking raise awareness about systemic injustices and police brutality against minorities.
On Sunday, the attorney for the Floyd family, Ben Crump, shared the video saying, “@AllentownPolice held down this man’s face to the pavement and then one of its officers placed their knee on his neck!! This happened yesterday and is exactly what led to #GeorgeFloyd’s death. We need this officer’s name and badge # NOW. #ICantBreathe.”
