Black Man Videotapes His Own Arrest, Assaulted By Police For ‘Driving Slowly’ Four Houses Away From Home [Video]
The below YouTube video, titled “Our ‘perfect’ justice system at work,” is going viral with more than 30,000 views and gaining more press since the day it was published on March 26. According to the description of the YouTube channel by Ryan Brown, he and his brother, Benjamin, suffered at the hands of Officer David Nelson of the Colorado Springs Police Department when they were stopped and ordered out of their car. The brothers were then handcuffed, with Ryan being pushed to the ground as shown in the video — all without the officers identifying themselves or telling them why they were being stopped.
“What’s the reason why you’ve pulled us over, officer? You’ve failed to identify yourself. My hands are visible. My brother is being put in handcuffs. We’ve been pulled over for no reason.”
The fact that the video is going viral has caused the Colorado Springs Police to investigate the video, reports CBS News — footage that the ACLU is calling racial profiling. The internal affairs department has ended their initial fact-finding mission into the controversial traffic stop after Ryan filed a complaint and showed police the video, per Catherine Buckley, a representative for the department.
“I’m recording this.”
The police officers in Brown’s video are still on active duty. Benjamin Brown can be seen placed in handcuffs while his brother continually asks the police officers what they did wrong — if anything. Officer Allison Detwiler next opens Ryan’s door as he continually warns the officers that he is videotaping their actions and that his hands are raised. Ryan unlocks the passenger side door and Nelson pulls on him to get out of the car, still not answering any questions, but mumbling something about resisting arrest — all without telling the duo why they’ve been stopped, at least not on video.
“Now I’m being perceived as a threat because we’re being pulled over for absolutely no reason. Am I being placed under arrest? I’m asking for the reason why we’re being pulled over.”
Benjamin reports that he watched the police officers wrestle Ryan to the ground at gunpoint after they placed Benjamin in the back of a squad car, fearing they’d shoot his brother.
“Why are you pulling on me? I have no weapons. This is assault. You have no reason to pull me out of the car. You see this? Excessive force.”
That’s when Ryan reports that the police stopped his smartphone from recording and tossed his phone into the snow, causing fears of what tragedy could happen next.
“I was scared that the officer was going to pull the trigger. They work for us. They’re supposed to serve and protect us, everyone, equally.”
The Browns lived four homes away from where they were stopped. And while the police report neglected to mention that 23-year Benjamin was placed in handcuffs, it did give excuses about the duo “driving slowly in a high crime area” and a potential cracked windshield as reasons for the stop — all charges the ACLU call bogus, reports the Colorado Springs Gazette.
As reported by the Inquisitr, six Baltimore police officers were charged with the death of Freddie Gray after Gray was stopped on his bicycle and arrested and assaulted for carrying a closed knife, something that was later discovered wasn’t illegal.
[Image via YouTube]
