Police Officers In Louisiana, Pennsylvania Cities Under Review For Kneeling On Black Suspects

In the wake of mass protests over the killing of George Floyd, authorities are investigating incidents of excessive force used against suspects in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Both cases involve police officers reportedly kneeling on the necks of suspects.

“The investigation into this incident is moving swiftly,” the Allentown Police Department said about the situation.

The Allentown investigation came after a cell phone video released Saturday showed an officer kneeling on the neck of a suspect who was facedown near St. Luke’s Hospital’s Sacred Heat Campus. Its release sparked a protest in the area later in the day.

GRAPHIC VIDEO: @AllentownPolice held down this man’s face to the pavement and then one of its officers placed their knee on his neck!! This happened yesterday and is exactly what led to #GeorgeFloyd’s death. We need this officer’s name and badge # NOW. #ICantBreathe pic.twitter.com/3qSlKGSgF4
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) July 12, 2020

Officers had been in the area seeing to an unrelated matter when they came upon a man staggering and vomiting. When approached, the man became agitated, yelling and spitting at the officers.

“As the officers attempted to restrain the individual, all parties fell to the ground,” the police department explained. “The individual continued to be non-compliant which required officers to restrain the individual and the hospital applied a spit shield.”

The man was later taken to the hospital for treatment and released soon after. The department has confirmed that the district attorney will be reviewing the investigation.

In Baton Rouge, a cell phone video taken on Sunday night showed an officer kneeling on the neck of a 17-year-old Black male before lifting him up and walking him away in handcuffs. The Baton Rouge Police have not explained why the young man was detained. They have also declined to release his name to the public due to his status as a minor.

“A cop doing this after George Floyd knows exactly what they are doing,” area activist Gary Chambers Jr. said about the incident.

Mayor Sharon Weston Broome confirmed the investigation and said that Police Chief Murphy Paul planned to meet with the teen’s family on Monday afternoon. She also said that the department is seeking court permission to release bodycam footage of the incident.