Los Angeles police have opened an investigation after a viral video on social media showed an LAPD officer sucker punching a handcuffed Black man in the face during a traffic stop, sparking outrage among residents and civil leaders who called for the white cop to face criminal charges.
The violent incident happened July 28 in the historic Watts community, where the unnamed officer in the Southeast police division was “removed from field duties,” according to a statement from LAPD on X.
The man was pulled over in the 1700 block of East 113th Street, several blocks east of the Nickerson Gardens housing development, according to reports.
The video, circulating on X since Sunday, starts out by showing the heavyset suspect in red shorts and a white T-shirt being frisked by two uniformed officers in the middle of a residential street.
The man’s arms were already double-cuffed behind his back as the Black officer, his back to the camera, rifled through the man’s pockets while the white officer roughhoused the larger man, holding him in place by his right arm.
Suddenly, the handcuffed man shouted at the officers in protest.
“What did I do, though!” he yelled angrily. Suddenly, the white officer reared back and delivered a crushing blow that didn’t really faze the man but prompted him to shut up immediately.
The hard right cross landed squarely to the side of the man’s face, bopping him a little sideways, but it didn’t knock him out.
The smack of the blow echoed through the air after the officer’s fist connected, causing witnesses to scream in horror.
Those filming the episode from across the street began jeering the white officer, accusing him of police brutality.
The handcuffed man limbered up after the punch and never raised his voice again as the officers manhandled him some more and tightened the cuffs around his wrists.
“You’re resisting,” one of the officers can be heard saying as they take him away. “No, I’m not,” the man responded.
Before the video ends, the man calmly vows to sue the officers.
The department confirmed the incident but has not explained the circumstances that led to the man’s arrest.
The LAPD did not indicate whether the white officer was suspended (with or without pay) or if he has been reassigned to desk duty amid the investigation into his controversial actions.
Since the video surfaced online, Los Angeles civil rights leaders and organizations have called on District Attorney George Gascón to swiftly file criminal charges against the unidentified officer.
Najee Ali, a community activist in L.A. who serves as the director of Project Islamic Hope, called for accountability.
“The video speaks for itself. The young man was punched in the face. Coldcocked for no reason. Standing there handcuffed and not restraining whatsoever,” he said, according to Fox 11.
“What we saw in that videotape never should have happened,” Ali added. “We need to have these officers in handcuffs put in jail for assaulting citizen. … He was punched for no reason. He did not understand why he was punched because he was not resisting. Clearly, he’s a big man, but to be sucker punched. Caught him off guard.”
Ali gave several statements to the media throughout the weekend in support of the man who the officer assaulted.
“It’s shocking that this officer would assault a handcuffed man who’s already restrained. It’s not resisting. It’s as if they hadn’t learned anything since the Rodney King beating, which is also videotaped,” Ali said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “He doesn’t deserve to be on the force. He deserves to be in handcuffs, sitting in a jail cell.”
Rodney King was a Black motorist who, after a high-speed chase in 1991, was brutally beaten by four white LAPD officers, leading to criminal charges of assault and excessive force. However, the officers were each acquitted the following summer, sparking the deadly and destructive Los Angeles riots in 1992. The case became a pivotal moment in the long history of police brutality against people of color in the United States.
