http://youtu.be/5knaPf2hUns
Another video of excessive force at the hands of the police
This past weekend, a 15-year old girl was punched and choked by a police officer in Mesa, Arizona. In the clip, the officer can be seen approaching the teen, striking her twice in the face, then placing her in a chokehold after hitting she hit the ground. The teen can be heard pleading with the officer to stop as well as stating that she “can’t breath”, once the chokehold was applied. A second officer can be seen in the video attempting to subdue the teen. The man who filmed the incident, Luis Paul Santiago, who happened to be driving by at the time, posted the clip to his Facebook page. Since Friday, the video has gone viral, being shared over 1.8 Million times. Santiago also claims that the police attempted to delete the footage from his phone.
A woman whom identified herself as the teenager’s mother also attempted to plead with the officers, explaining that the child has mental issues and suffers from asthma. In response to the behavior, the second officer allegedly told the woman that his partner had done everything correctly and “could have shot her dead”. The identity of the police officers involved in this incident have yet to be revealed.
It is not certain whether or not chokeholds are barred from use by police in Arizona, nor is there a clear explanation as to what led to the incident. This comes at a time when the entire nation is experiencing civil unrest following the non-indictment of police officers involved in the killing of Ferguson, MO teenager Michael Brown as well Staten Island’s Eric Garner.
