A Sacramento police officer is under investigation after a video surfaced of him beating on a black man for allegedly jaywalking.
A bystander named Naomi Montaie caught the altercation on camera. Footage showed the officer approaching the man, identified as Nandi Cain Jr., as he crossed the street. In the video, the two men are seen exchanging words before the situation escalates and the officer throws Cain on the ground and attacks him. Montaie posted the five-minute video on Facebook.
The police department released a statement in light of the incident, saying that the officer was trying to detain Cain for jaywalking, but when Cain reportedly questioned the officer’s actions, the incident turned violent.
“For an unknown reason, the officer threw the pedestrian to the ground and began striking him in the face with his hand multiple times,” the statement continued.
According to reports, Cain initially faced charges for resisting arrest, however, the charges were later dropped upon his release. Cain then spoke with KCRA to explain his side of the story, revealing that he feared for his life.
“I thought I was going to be like the next Trayvon Martin,” he said. “I felt like they were going to draw a gun out and shoot me in my back or try to break my arms off or something,” Cain said of the officer, who called for back-up, summoning six additional officers to help detain Cain. “It was supposedly for jaywalking,” he said of the officer’s initial confrontation. “And then, when they put me in handcuffs and they were driving off, I heard them (talk) about they were going to get me for resisting arrest. But as you can see on the video clearly, I didn’t resist at all.”
The incident is currently under investigation by Internal Affairs. In the meantime, the arresting officer has been placed on paid administrative leave. Officials say they will be looking at all the evidence, including the dash-cam footage from the officer’s patrol car.
“The videos of this incident portray actions that we would consider unacceptable conduct by a Sacramento Police Officer,” the department said in a statement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7swkkSVoyg&feature=youtu.be
