A police sergeant in Boston has been put on administrative leave while officers investigate alleged misconduct after peaceful protests in response to the assassination of George Floyd, arresting and asking for a confrontation between protesters and law enforcement.
Boston Police Commissioner William G. Grass announced the move on Friday after the appeal was released after the online news outlet Body D camera footage showed how protesters managed to control the crowd. A total of 53 people were arrested in the June 1 incident, 18 were hospitalized and nine officers were treated for injuries, a Boston.com report said.
The Boston Police Department did not say why the sergeant’s name was not released and did not respond Saturday to a request for comment. A spokesman for the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association also declined to comment Saturday.
કેટલીક વિડિઓ ક્લિપ્સમાં અધિકારીઓ બતાવે છે કે પ્રદર્શનકારીઓને અપવિત્ર ભાષામાં ધમકાવી રહ્યા છે, વિરોધીઓને જમીન પર લટકાવી દેવામાં આવ્યા હતા અને તેમને મરી-છાંટવી છાંટવામાં આવ્યાં હતાં. In one of the clips, an officer shows a colleague being told that he hit several protesters with his police vehicle while he was surrounded. A colleague interrupts the officer and reminds him that the camera is recording their conversation.
The appeal spoke of obtaining footage from Attorney Carl Williams, who represented some of the protesters arrested on June 1. According to the appeal, Williams obtained body camera videos as part of a search file containing 44 videos and more than 66 hours of footage.
“As soon as these videos were brought to my attention, I immediately ordered the Bureau of Professional Standards to open and conduct a full and fair investigation into the matter and the completeness involved in these circumstances,” Gross said in a statement. “I have put a sergeant involved in the incident on administrative leave and I will take any additional action as required upon the conclusion of the investigation.”
According to a report by NABC Boston, District Attorney Rael Shell Rollins said in a statement that his office had also launched an investigation into the actions of the officers during the protest. “Many of the videos present more disturbing scenes that are appropriate for the next exam, which is what this office fee is doing,” the statement said.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement that the footage is difficult to see and he hopes to get answers through the investigation.
“We don’t want to see police officers using excessive force even when tensions are high,” he said.
Associated Press Contributed.
