Protests Erupt After Viral Video Shows Pennsylvania Police Officer Kneeling On Man's Neck

A group of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered outside the police precinct at 10th and Hamilton streets of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 11, after a video surfaced on social media where a police officer was seen forcing his knee on a man’s neck during an arrest.

In the 25 seconds "disturbing video" shot by an onlooker, three police officers are seen arresting a man outside the St. Luke’s Hospital-Sacred Heart on West Chew Street in Allentown. An Allentown police officer is seen holding the unidentified man down with his face in the pavement, while another officer places his knee on the man’s neck.

In the video, posted to Twitter by Black Lives Matter to Lehigh Valley, the man is heard crying “Mira, Mira!” — Spanish for “Look, look!”

The video created a furor and a group of protestors gathered to seek answers.

The protesters initially gathered at Seventh and Hamilton streets after the executive director of Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley, Hasshan Batts, posted a live Facebook video, calling for action.

"Where are we going to make it loud and clear that this is not OK?" he said during his Facebook live video, en route to the meeting spot. "If this is not OK to you, meet me on Seventh and Hamilton, right now."

The group then marched to the police precinct at 10th and Hamilton, chanting slogans such as "Say his name, George Floyd."

While some knocked repeatedly on the doors and windows of the precinct, others blocked the street, chanting "Hands up, don’t shoot." Few protestors also made phone calls to the precinct and the mayor.

Mayor Ray O’Connell arrived at the scene shortly before midnight. Responding to the protesters, he called the video "disturbing." "I think we need to gather all the facts and information before we go forward," O’Connell said.

"We’re going to take a look at it. We’re going to go through everything. And we’re going to give you an update as soon as we can," Allentown police Chief Glenn Granitz Jr. told the protestors.

"I don’t have a 24-hour, 48-hour time table for you," Granitz added.

On Sunday, the officials responding to the outcry released a statement saying the incident occurred when the officers with the Allentown Police Department were at the Emergency Room Department outside Saint Luke’s Hospital on July 11.

"While at this location due to an unrelated matter, APD officers observed a male outside who was vomiting and staggering in the street, eventually stopping in the driveway of the Emergency Room," the statement read.

"The observed erratic behavior resulted in the officers and hospital staff interacting with the individual. The individual began to yell, scream, and spit at the officers and hospital staff. As the officers attempted to restrain the individual, all parties fell to the ground."

"The individual continued to be non-compliant which required officers to restrain the individual and the hospital applied a split shield," the statement read.

According to the police, the man was escorted to the hospital. He was treated and was later released.

"The District Attorney has assigned two county detectives to the investigation. The investigation into this incident is moving swiftly," the statement read.