A witness recorded footage of San Diego police officers repeatedly punching an unarmed man in the face, head, and legs after tackling him to the ground on Wednesday, May 12, in La Jolla, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The incident happened around 9:00 A.M. at La Jolla Village Drive and Torrey Pines Road said, Nicole Bansal. While recording the brutal incident she recognized the man as a homeless person who frequents the area.
"It's so excessive and unnecessary," said Bansal.
The San Diego Police Department spokesman Lt. Shawn Takeuchi said the incident started when the 34-year-old man ignored officers who confronted him about urinating in public.
The president of the NAACP San Diego branch, Francine Maxwell responded to the event by emailing a letter to police Chief David Nisleit.
"We are deeply saddened and angered to see the San Diego Police Department act with such violence against someone who presented no apparent risk to anyone," Maxwell wrote in the email calling for an immediate investigation.
Takeuchi said the department is aware of the video footage and the internal affairs unit is investigating the incident which includes the review of body-worn camera footage.
“From a distance, the officers tried to talk to the man. The officers decided to approach the man because urinating in public violates the law,” Takeuchi wrote. “The man would not stop to speak with officers therefore an officer held the man to detain him.”
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