A white New Jersey police officer is under fire after a video surfaced showing him repeatedly beating a black man in the face as he lay pinned on the ground.
The incident unfolded on Tuesday afternoon when Jersey City police officers responded to a street fight on Bostwick Avenue. While six officers initially arrived, authorities couldn’t confirm how many ultimately responded to the scene. It is also unclear why the man was singled out when the brawl included nearly 100 people. Nevertheless, in a clip filmed by a witness, a white officer repeatedly hits the unidentified African American man who lay pinned to the ground. The man is seen attempting to raise his arms in an effort to protect his face from the officer’s strikes. However, this does not deter the officer who continues to beat him. Activists are now calling for the officer to be fired, organizing a Peace In The Streets rally for this Sunday to demand that the Chief of Police fire the officer who used unnecessary excessive force.
‘Now it’s in Jersey City, New Jersey. Police have taken this quarantine as an excuse to ramp up their brutality to historic levels,’ Shaun King wrote on Instagram. ‘They are mauling and battering us all over the country. All in the name of social distancing. It’s an abomination.’
Activists are also calling for a public apology from the department, financial compensation to the victim, and mandatory training on dealing with inner-city communities.
James Shea, the Jersey City Public Safety Officer, said in a press conference on Wednesday that his office would be looking into the matter.
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