Sunday, October 16, 2016

Minnesota Police Officer Under Fire For Brutal Arrest Of Jaywalker!

Edina Police face controversy after its officer manhandles a man for allegedly jaywalking.

The reasons why Colin Kaepernick for not standing for the national anthem. The police brutal treatment of people of color. These incidents create tension between #BlackLivesMatter and those in law enforcement.

The Huffington Post reports that a viral video circulated online featuring a suburban Minneapolis police officer brutally taking down a jaywalker.

In the seven minute video, the man is first seen arguing with an Edina police officer. The officer holds the back of the jacket of the man in an apparent attempt to prevent him from running.

"You're walking down the middle of the street," the officer says in the video, as he appears to forcefully pulls the man towards the center lane and around a parked car.

"I'm on the damn white line!" the man yells. "You can't just put your hands on me like that!"

The woman filming this incident is trying to calm the situation by saying that to the officer that he should help him find a place where to walk.

"He's scared, sir. It's scary," the woman calls out during the event. "It's because he's Black," she adds, in a lower voice. The woman who filmed it is Janet Rowles. She hired an attorney.

The police defend the officer's actions. The city confirms that the one of the sidewalks was closed and the video caught the tail end.

The statement said that the man had been walking in the roadway shortly before recording started.

When the officer turned his lights on and hit the signal, the man wearing headphones turned an acknowledged the officer. The officer claimed that he ignored command.

The man was arrested and cited for disorderly conduct and failure to obey traffic signal. He was freed after posting bail.

The NAACP is calling for a full investigation for the incident. They believe that the officer's action were dehumanizing and degrading.

"Watching that video and seeing a Black man being manhandled and emasculated by Edina Police was not only painful and humiliating, it was a vivid reminder that Blacks are still too-often seen as second class citizen in the State of Minnesota and in this nation," said Nekima Levy-Pounds, the local president of the Minneapolis NAACP.

"There's was absolutely no reason for the officer to stop him from walking. I easily passed him in my vehicle because he was hugging the right side next to construction, literally walking on the white line that marks the shoulder," Levy-Pounds said in a statement.

Edina Police didn't have any comments at this time.

This comes as no surprise but Minneapolis-St. Paul was dealing with the fatal police shootings of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile. They were unarmed at the time and the police shot them on sight.

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