A Florida police ficer has been put on leave after a video surfaced showing him kneeling on the back a black man’s neck circulated online.
A Sarasota, Florida police ficer has been put on leave by his superiors after a video surfaced showing him exercising excessive force on a citizen. Last week, 46-year-old George Floyd was killed as former Minneapolis police ficer Derek Chauvin kneeled on the back his neck. Floyd pleaded for his life, cried out for his mother, and repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Witnesses begged Chauvin to move his knee over while three other ficers held Floyd’s body down or were complicit and didn’t say anything as Floyd suffocated for nearly nine minutes.
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On Monday, a white ficer who wasn’t identified was shown in a recently released video arresting a 27-year-old black man named Patrick Carroll. The Sarasota Police Department shared details the arrest, stating the Carroll was being detained after allegedly violently assaulting a woman. According to USA Today, Carroll “was later charged with felony possession ammunition by a convicted felon.”
After Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino was shown the clip the arrest and the ficer kneeling on the back Carroll’s neck, the unidentified ficer was reportedly put on leave. “Chief DiPino was disturbed to see an ficer kneeling on the head and neck an individual in the video,” SPD said in a statement. “While it appears the ficer eventually moves his leg to the individual’s back, this tactic is not taught, used or advocated by our agency.”
The person filming told the arresting ficers, “You got your knee on my man’s neck, man, on his neck, bro.” At the time his arrest, police reportedly stated Carroll didn’t complain any injuries and didn’t require medical attention. However, in a recent interview, Carroll stated that he was pushed to the ground while asking why he was being detained and suffers from asthma and scoliosis. Watch below.