Police officers in Seattle caught on camera hitting man on ground with batons at bus stop | Breaking News in US
Two police officers in the US are under investigation after they were filmed beating a man on the ground with their batons at a bus stop.
Footage posted online showed the officers repeatedly hitting the man with truncheons in Seattle last Friday.
During the 40-second clip, one of the officers appeared to grab the man’s hair before he puts a knee on the back of his head to pin him down.
The video does not show what happened before the officers started beating the man.
Seattle’s Office of Police Accountability, a city watchdog, is investigating the incident.
The city’s interim police chief Sue Rahr – who only took over the role last week after the removal of her embattled predecessor Adrian Diaz – said she had reviewed the video and understood the concern it had caused.
Her statement added: “While OPA is conducting a full comprehensive investigation as required by our accountability process, my staff is gathering information, including all available videos for my review so I have a more complete picture of the entire incident.”
It is not known if the officers have been suspended while the investigation is being carried out, or what happened to the man.
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The video was recorded by Deeanthony Marcell as he was passing by on a bus.
He told NBC News affiliate KING 5-TV: “I don’t know what he did, he might have done something I don’t know what he did, but that’s not okay – there’s two of you guys.
“They were doing him in before I even got the camera pulled out.”
The investigation comes at a difficult time for the police department.
Last week, Seattle’s mayor Bruce Harrell announced Mr Diaz was being replaced after four years in the top job, amid accusations of discrimination against women and people of colour.
