[jwplatform IJZ5wNgr]
There has been a series of videos posted to Facebook that show what seems to appear as police use of excessive force. Because the majority of these videos are coming from bystanders armed with smartphones to record the encounter, usually only the officers’ violent actions are recorded. The recent case of of teen Emilio Mayfield, who was beaten by a cop for jaywalking, is an example.
The latest video of use of excessive force took place on Sept. 18 on board a MBTA bus near Boston, Mssachusetts. In the video, an officer is seen confronting a woman who was allegedly accused of petty theft. At some point, the officer repeatedly strikes the unarmed Black woman with his police baton. The woman does not yield to the blows and grabs the officer’s baton. It is then that the officer pulls his weapon and points it at the woman. The crowd of mostly Black passengers plead with the officer to put his gun away and for the woman to calm down. The unruly passenger then jumps on seats trying to get away from the officer and the beating. Backup soon arrives and she is taken into custody.
The question for many is when to obey a police order or risk being beaten by police, often times with excessive force. If it were not for the pleading of the crowd and eyewitness video, the situation could have turned into another shooting of a Black person by police.
