Police officers pepper-sprayed and handcuffed a black man who was giving CPR to a woman who had collapsed at Riverside Park. It turned out it was an emergency room physician who was jogging in the morning. When he saw the woman collapse, he quickly jumped to help her.
At that time, a woman called 911 as she thought he was attacking the woman. She did not ask him if he needed any help but assumed the worst.
The police officers responded to the report and rushed to detain the man. The man, identified as Dr. Adrian Foster, told the officer, “She’s having a heart attack. I’m a doctor. I’m giving her CPR. I’m not hurting her.”
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The officers did not believe the man and proceeded to pepper-spray his eyes. He screamed, “My eyes!” The officers mocked him, “It’s always your kind committing these crimes.” Another one added sarcastically, “Yeah, right, a doctor.” They also threatened him with a long prison sentence.
After a while, the paramedic arrived to treat the woman. Later, they also confirmed that the man police detained was a board-certified emergency room physician. They also noted that the CPR helped in saving the woman’s life.
They asked the officers to let the doctor go and helped flush his eyes with water. His eyes were still burning from the pepper spray. Despite that, he asked if the woman was doing alright. After the incident, Foster filed a $1.1 million federal lawsuit for assault by police officers and violation of his civil rights.
The police department also conducted an investigation and terminated officer Greg Lawson four weeks after the incident. Another officer, Daniel Cruz, was placed on probation for one year.
The bodycam video of the incident went viral, garnering thousands of views on social media, according to public records. Netizens slammed the officers as well as the woman who called 911 on the man who was trying to help.
One user posted, “These cops should spend the rest of their miserable lives in prison!” Another one chimed in, “And another thing, any cop that pulls a gun on an unarmed person should be in jail.” “Racism is destroying American society into shreds, and I don’t think we’ll ever be integrated willingly,” posted one more.
A viewer pointed out the lack of training, “This training should have been done before policemen were put on patrol. A cop should always assess before acting.”
Disclaimer: Inquisitr individually could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available within the public video record.
