Blue On Black Crime: Atlanta Police Beats Black Man During Arrest
#BLACKLIVESMATTER Happening right now…this is how #AtlantaPolice is treats black men, this man is not offering any resistance.
"Black men aren't safe in Atlanta. This is what I call a #BlueOnBlackCrime, as an organization, we stand against police brutality regardless the color of the officer. We now hereby DEMAND an internal investigation and will aggressively seek the immediate TERMINATION and expect CRIMINAL CHARGES to be filed against the officer in question." – Sir Maejor President of Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta
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Posted by Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta on Friday, June 23, 2017
An Atlanta police officer has been placed on administrative leave after video surfaced of him punching a restrained man in the head.
The graphic footage was captured on June 22 and uploaded to Facebook by Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. A spokesperson for the organization told the newspaper that the arrest occurred on Broad Street and Upper Alabama in Little Five Points.
“Black men aren’t safe in Atlanta,” Sir Maejor, president of the local BLM chapter, wrote in the post. “This is what I call a #BlueOnBlackCrime — as an organization, we stand against police brutality regardless the color of the officer.”
The organization has demanded an internal investigation of the incident and promised to “aggressively” seek the officer’s termination. They also expect criminal charges to be filed.
The name of the cop in question isn’t being released at this time.
The Atlanta Police Department issued a statement on the matter, confirming that the officer seen in the video had been suspended.
“Following the conclusion of the internal investigation, Chief Erika Shields will review the evidence therein to determine the appropriate disciplinary action, if any,” the department said.
The incident comes on the heels of multiple instances of police violence in the Atlanta area.
In April, two Gwinnett County police officers were fired after a video showed them punch and kick a Black motorist during a traffic stop. And surveillance footage of a high-profile police shooting outside an Atlanta police annex earlier this year conflicted with the cop’s account of what happened before he fired his weapon.
