The DC Metro Transit Police has launched an internal investigation after an officer was captured on video shoving and Tasing a Black man during an altercation over the weekend.
Che’mere Jones recorded the incident and posted it to her Facebook.
In the video, an unidentified Black man could be seen questioning police, presumably about the detainment of two young Black boys who were being questioned by police.
The incident occurred at the U Street Metro station.
“I just want to make sure that y’all alright,” Jones could be heard telling another boy. “Because I see them looking at y’all and what I’m not about to do is have none of y’all get hurt.”
“What I don’t want is one of these colonizers trying to get on y’all about some sh-t because I’m going to have to go off and I ain’t got my nails done,” Jones continues.
At that moment, another officer with a K-9 vest walks into the frame and shoves the man away as Jones protests.
The man brushes the officer off and then spreads his arm wide in the universal “what the hell?” sign, and the officer is seen drawing his Taser, shoving the man again.
The officer deploys his Taser as Jones screams, “Not necessary!” and pleads with the man to get down.
Officers drag the man to the ground even as Jones continues to insist that the man is not resisting and the use of force is unnecessary.
The video has since rapidly spread across social media, prompting outrage, and thus, the Metro Police’s response.
“We take use-of-force matters seriously, and we are committed to fostering the public’s trust in us,” Metro Transit Police said in a statement posted on Twitter.
In the statement, the Metro Transit Police claimed that the man “began interfering with he police investigation and – according to an officer’s report – exhibited behavior consistent with preparing to fight the officer.”
“Based on concerns raised on social media regarding the officer’s handling of the interaction, as well as the appropriateness of the use of force, the Metro Transit Police Department has initiated an investigation into the matter,” the statement continued. “The investigation will review all available facts and evidence, including witness statements and videos posted on social media.”