The Allentown Police Department released nearly nine minutes of surveillance footage Monday night showing officers subduing a man outside a local hospital.
The group, Black Lives Matter to Lehigh Valley, and Ben Crump, the attorney representing George Floyd’s family, shared a video over the weekend that they claim showed the same incident.
They claimed that an officer could be seen in that video holding his knee on a man’s neck outside the Sacred Heart Campus of St. Luke’s Hospital. The video recorded before 7 p.m. from a passer-by’s vehicle made comparisons to the infamous viral video showing Floyd before his death in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25 that sparked a nationwide trial against racial injustice and police brutality.
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In a press release Monday, Pennsylvania city police described what is seen in the video of approximately nine minutes from a strategic point across the street.
Allentown police said the first four minutes show someone who appears to be having a “medical, mental health or drug and alcohol crisis.” The individual drops his cell phone and appears to vomit multiple times before appearing to have trouble walking and standing, the department said.
Two Allentown police officers, who were in the hospital for an unrelated matter, are in the video “communicating and interacting with the distressed person in an effort to direct him to the entrance to the emergency room.”
“The central part of the video shows a physical interaction between the individual, the police and the hospital staff,” according to the press release. “Approximately 23 seconds of the middle part of the video is reflected in what has been observed on social networks.
“During physical interaction, a breathable saliva mask is placed over the individual’s head. The mask is used to protect hospital personnel, officers and others from coming into contact with bodily fluids such as vomit and saliva, ”police said. “The final part of the video shows the hospital staff and the police escorting the person to the hospital. The individual received treatment and was then released. “
The department is interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence related to the incident, according to the press release. The Lehigh Valley District Attorney is also conducting an investigation and is expected to release a statement once it is completed later in the week.
The local Black Lives Matter chapter organized a protest Monday night at the base of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Seventh and Hamilton Street.
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Announcing the second protest on its Facebook page on Monday, Black Lives Matter to Lehigh Valley said: “We are asking that all law enforcement officers NOT attend a police protest of brutality and culture to which they have contributed.”
Protesters who attended the rally chanted “F *** The Police” and held signs that read “Blue Klux Klan,” “Shut It Down,” and “Respect Exence or Expect Resistance,” according to Lehigh Valley Live. Speakers also demanded that officials disclose the name of the officer involved, fire him, and file criminal charges against him.
Black Lives Matter for Lehigh Valley said on Facebook that the nearly nine-minute video posted by the Allentown Police Department showed: “This is a man who needed help not to be arrested.”
Describing the longest video, the local Black Lives Matter chapter argued that, “I see a man who needs medical attention! The man appears to beg the officers when they approach him. He was not violent. Watch the sweep of the leg to drop it to the ground. There was no real resistance and it certainly wasn’t enough to warrant a KNEE around the neck. ”
Black Lives Matter to Lehigh Valley said it plans to submit a resolution to the Allentown City Council on Wednesday to remove exceptions from the police department’s use of force policy, ban no-touch orders, make the use of body cameras and adopting the Obama The 8 recommendations of the administration on the use of force cannot wait, among other demands.
Allentown police released their use of force policy earlier this month, five weeks after Floyd’s death. The policy prohibits neck restraints and bottlenecks. He says officers should only use the amount of force necessary to control the situation.
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The first protest in response to the Allentown incident occurred before midnight Saturday in front of the city police headquarters.
Mayor Ray O’Connell and Allentown Chief Glenn Granitz Jr. answered questions early Sunday morning. O’Connell said the clip was “disturbing,” but added: “I think we need to gather all the facts and information before moving forward.”
