Video showed a 25-year-old Black man who Illinois officers used a Taser on being choked to the ground allegedly for being in possession of marijuana.
Elonte McDowell admitted he should not have had the illegally possessed cannabis but he told ABC 7 the officers who arrested him this past Saturday should be held accountable for excessive use of force.
“This is what some police officers do and you have to put a stand on it,” McDowell told ABC.
The man’s girlfriend, Alyssa Retuerto, took video of the arrest and posted it to Facebook on Monday. It has since been viewed more than 17,640 times.
“He has a pulse right?” Retuerto can be heard asking in the video. “Can you guys make sure he has a pulse? ‘Cause look at his face.”
She was crying when she said the words, and McDowell wasn’t moving.
“If your fellow officer or fellow mate is doing something incorrect you need to be like, Hey! You guys just tased him or you’re choking him. Stop that,” McDowell said.
In a statement ABC obtained, the DeKalb Police Department said a “felony amount of cannabis was found,” and “McDowell attempted to flee. … Officers attempted to restrain McDowell, who continued to resist.”
“The DeKalb Police Department is reviewing all available video footage and statements regarding the use of force in this incident,” police said in the statement.
Illinois State Police has also launched an investigation, ABC reported. The state passed a law banning excessive force four years ago.
“It’s not OK,” McDowell told ABC. “It needs to get out there. It happened one too many times. This happens every day.”
The DeKalb officer has been temporarily reassigned during the investigation, ABC reported.
