Navy Veteran Beaten, Pepper Sprayed By Federal Officers During Portland Protest, Video Shows

Amid nationwide protests against police brutality, a 53-year-old U.S. Navy veteran was beaten several times with a baton by a federal officer during a recent protest in Portland, Oregon.

Christopher David was watching television at his home Saturday, July 18, when he learned President Donald Trump has sent federal officers to the city to deal with local protestors. David immediately decided to talk to the officers.

"I felt these gentlemen were violating their oath of office, and I wanted to talk to them," David told Portland Tribune.

He wore his Navy sweatshirt and Navy wrestling hat assuming that the officers would listen to him as he was a veteran. But things didn’t go according to the plan. When he tried to talk to the officers outside the federal courthouse in Portland, he was beaten several times with a baton. The incident was caught on camera.

"Literally at that moment a bunch of guys came out of the courthouse and ran into the street. I was in the park and watched these guys body blast the protestors," David told Oregon Live.

In the video, David is seen standing impassively as an officer beats him and another pepper sprays him. He then turns back and walks away. The video has since gone viral on Twitter with 13 million views.

"I walked over and stood there in the street. I wanted to ask them about the oath they took. Everyone was screaming. No one heard me. Then one of the officers hit me and kept hitting me. It didn’t seem like any of them were trained for this," David told Oregon Live.

"I knew I was never going to react. I was never going to fight back. I'm a little too old to be beaten by a bunch of young guys," he said.

David suffered two fractures in his hand and may require surgery.