Cops across America have been caught on camera violently attacking and threatening peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets deman...
Cops across America have been caught on camera violently attacking and threatening peaceful protesters who have taken to the streets demanding justice for George Floyd and calling for an end to police brutality and racism.
Shocking footage has been circulated on social media of multiple incidents involving law enforcement in Los Angeles - almost 30 years on from the 1992 riots when the city erupted after LAPD cops savagely beat up African-American man Rodney King.
But mayors across the country have said police officers won't be immediately fired, despite the shocking videos.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Police Chief Danielle Outlaw brushed off the aggression as 'a last resort'.
And Fort Lauderdale mayor Dean Trantalis said he had no power to fire officers, insisting the power lay with the city manager. City Manager Chris Lagerbloom told USA Today that he could not fire any officer until after an investigation.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall has also declined to fire officers, saying: 'I have faith in the systems we have that the right outcomes will happen'.
LA: Group of cops surround a woman lying on the ground and repeatedly taser her as onlookers beg them to stop
In Los Angeles, where outrage over police brutality sparked the 1992 riots, shocking footage emerged of at least eight LAPD officers surrounding a woman lying on the ground of a Hollywood street and repeatedly tasering her as onlookers beg them to stop.
The video, taken by someone out of a window across the street, shows the group of officers around the woman as the sound of a taser is heard multiple times.
Several officers have her pinned to the ground while a number of others are stood casually around watching the scene.
LA: At least eight LAPD officers surrounding a woman lying on the ground of a Hollywood street and repeatedly tasering her as onlookers beg them to stop
LA: The video, taken by someone out of a window across the street, shows the group of officers around the woman as the sound of a taser is heard multiple times
'Oh my god, they're all on her - they're all tasering her,' one of the onlookers is heard saying behind the camera as the taser goes off.
Voices of a man and woman from behind the camera catching the aerial footage then start screaming at the cops to 'stop' and say 'we're watching you'.
Screams are also heard coming from other onlookers to 'stop' and saying 'we see you'.
The taser is heard again being used on the woman as she lies on the ground.
LA: Cop opens fire with rubber bullets on unarmed teenagers as they walk down a neighborhood street
Other shocking footage shows a cop lean out of a car to open fire with rubber bullets on a group of unarmed teenagers.
The cop cruiser is seen driving slowly along a neighborhood toward a group of teenagers who are strolling along the street.
The vehicle manoeuvres so that the passenger side of the car is facing the group as an officer leans his arm out the window and points a gun directly at the teens.
LA: Shocking footage shows a cop lean out of a car to open fire with rubber bullets on a group of unarmed teenagers
LA: The vehicle manoeuvres so that the passenger side of the car is facing the group as an officer leans his arm out the window and points a gun directly at the teens and opens fire, with the teens running for cover down the street
The terrified group turn and start running back down the street as the cop opens fire, shooting them with rubber bullets as they flee.
The cruiser then turns and heads in the direction of chasing them.
According to an eyewitness account on social media, the group were 'unarmed law abiding teenagers in Hollywood' and one of the teens was hit by a bullet in the back of the leg.
The incident reportedly took place on Monday at 7:35p.m. on Mansfield and Higman Avenue between Fountain and Delongpre - before any curfew in the area.
LA: A man was held at gunpoint and arrested as he walked home from work after curfew
A man was held at gunpoint and left begging cops not to shoot as he was arrested walking home from work after curfew.
During the arrest, streamed on Facebook Live, a police radio can be heard in the background instructing cops to just 'take someone into custody'.
The man, wearing a face mask, is livestreaming footage captioned 'After curfew - trying to get home' as he walks down Hollywood Boulevard, reportedly on his way home from work.
'Keep walking coz the cops are coming... We want to be away from here so they don't attack us,' the man says to the camera, before he points across the street and says 'there's the looting'.
LA: The man, wearing a face mask, is livestreaming footage captioned 'After curfew - trying to get home' as he walks down Hollywood Boulevard, reportedly on his way home from work
LA: He then cowers to the ground and the tip of a gun barrel is seen in the image pointing toward him
As cops pull in and sirens are heard, the man is heard telling officers: 'We're going home.'
He then cowers to the ground and the tip of a gun barrel is seen in the image pointing toward him.
The man starts screaming fearfully: 'Stop I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. I'm sorry I swear.'
As the man begs the cops holding him at gunpoint to stop an officer is heard telling him to 'Shut the f*** up' and 'Hands behind your back' as they arrest him.
In the background a police radio can be heard instructing officers to arrest anyone they see.
'[inaudible] riding past anyone, stop where you are and take someone into custody,' the voice over the radio is heard saying.
LA: Black man lying face down on the ground is punched and kneed by cops in Compton
Horrific footage showed a black man lying face down on the ground during an arrest being violently punched and kneed by cops in Compton.
In the video, released by KTLA, the man later identified as Dalvin Price is lying on the ground with two cops pinning him down.
The cops start shoving him aggressively as Price shouts 'I'm on the ground'.
LA: Horrific footage showed a black man lying face down on the ground during an arrest being violently punched and kneed by cops in Compton
LA: In the video, the man later identified as Dalvin Price is lying on the ground with two cops pinning him down
A third officer then runs over and starts repeatedly kneeing Price in the side at least five times while one of the cops on top of Price lays at least one punch on him.
The video of the violent arrest has sparked outrage and an investigation has been launched into the use of force by the officers.
Compton Mayor Aja Brown slammed the 'vicious beating' and demanded the investigation be completed within two weeks.
'While the young man is on the ground, he is repeatedly heard saying, 'I'm on the ground,'' she said.
'Nonetheless, the vicious beating continues until they discover they are being observed by a young woman filming the incident.'
'We will not tolerate the willful violation of rights in our community by the hand of anyone, including law enforcement,' Brown said.
Houston: Cop uses his police horse to trample over a peaceful protester
In Houston, Texas - where Floyd grew up - horrifying footage has shown a peaceful protester being trampled in the street by a police horse.
The incident took place during a march for Floyd near police headquarters in the city Friday afternoon.
In the video, the woman walks into the road where protesters and other police horses are gathered.
She has both hands clutching a banner for the protest.
A mounted officer on a police horse then comes up behind her and plows directly into her knocking her to the ground and the horse trampling on the woman's body.
She manages to get to her feet with the help of other demonstrators as people scream and shout and start throwing things at the cops.
Houston police said they are investigating the incident and Mayor Sylvester Turner apologized to the woman involved on Twitter.
Houston: Horrifying footage has shown a peaceful protester being trampled in the street by a police horse
Houston: The woman was holding a banner while the mounted police plowed into her and trampled her
'What happened with mounted patrol should not have happened and for that please accept my apology,' he tweeted.
'We are taking a look on how we can better deploy our resources to keep that from happening again so you or anyone else can exercise your Constitutional right and we can maintain the peace.'
However, Houston Police Officers Union Vice President Doug Griffith defended the cop's actions and blamed the protester, saying the cop had blown his whistle before plowing into her.
'The whistle is to warms (sic) people,' Griffith wrote on Twitter.
'If you don't pay attention, then that's on your (sic)!'
Indianapolis: Investigation is launched after a group of cops were seen using batons and pepper balls at close range to detain a woman
Indianapolis police have launched an internal investigation after a group of cops were seen using batons and pepper balls at close range to violently detain a woman Sunday night.
The horrifying footage, widely shared on social media, shows two women being detained by officers.
One of the women, who is black, is seen trying to wriggle out of the grasp of a white cop - with one eyewitness writing on a Twitter post that the cop had been 'groping' her.
Indianapolis: Police have launched an internal investigation after a group a group of cops were seen using batons and pepper balls at close range to violently detain a woman Sunday night
Indianapolis: The woman stands still and does not put up a fight or struggle while the two cops keep beating her with their batons and then pin her to the ground by her head
As she tries to loosen the cop's hold on her, pepper balls are fired at her at close range by another officer and two cops start beating her with batons.
The woman stands still and does not put up a fight or struggle while the two cops keep beating her with their batons.
They scream at her to 'get on the ground' while she crouches down on the floor.
One cop then aggressively pushes her forward and pins her to the floor with a baton held into her head.
A second woman, who is white, was heard screaming 'Why her? Why her?' before she is also forcefully pushed to the ground and detained by cops.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said it has launched in investigation into the actions of officers in the video.
New York: Two Buffalo cops shove a 75-year-old man who cracked his head on the sidewalk and is in hospital in a serious condition
Fifty seven officers have resigned from their positions on Buffalo Police Emergency Response Team in 'disgust' over the treatment of two cops who were suspended without pay after they were filmed shoving a 75-year-old peace activist to the ground and causing him to crack open his head.
The two officers are under criminal investigation after footage captured them shoving the elderly man, identified as Martin Gugino, and leaving him with critical injuries in an incident in front of Buffalo's City Hall on Thursday night.
Gugino, a longtime peace activist from Amherst, is in a serious but stable condition at Erie County Medical Center following the altercation with the officers, which left him lying in a pool of his own blood on the sidewalk.
Earlier today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for criminal charges to be made against the officers.
In his daily press briefing Friday morning, Cuomo played the shocking footage which he said made him feel 'physically sick' in the same way the horrifying state death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has hit him over the last 90 days.
'I was sick to my stomach... it was the same feeling I had for 90 of the past nights when I got the death tolls for coronavirus. I was physically sick to my stomach,' he said.
The governor called for the city to fire and charge the two cops responsible for the attack on the elderly man and urged authorities to move quickly.
The shocking footage shows the elderly man approaching a line of officers in riot gear outside city hall after the city's 8pm curfew on Thursday.
As the man tries to speak to the officers, they begin shouting at him to move along, before one of them pushes him with a baton and a second cop shoves him with his hand.
The elderly man is then seen staggering before falling back and hitting his head on the sidewalk.
New York: An elderly man was seen approaching Buffalo police officers in riot gear outside of City Hall on Thursday
New York: The man is shoved to the ground by cops and hits his head
The sound of a crack is heard and then blood is seen trickling from his head.
Most cops continue to walk past ignoring the man lying motionless on the ground.
The cop who pushed him with a baton pauses to lean over, before he is motioned away by another officer and then someone is hard calling for a medic.
The man was taken to the hospital where he was in a serious but stable condition, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said.
New York: The sound of a crack is heard on the video before blood is seen trickling out of the man's head
Buffalo Police initially released a statement saying a person 'was injured when he tripped & fell.'
The two cops are now under investigation.
Mayor Brown said he was 'deeply disturbed by the video.'
'Tonight, after a physical altercation between two separate groups of protesters participating in an illegal demonstration beyond the curfew, two Buffalo Police officers knocked down a 75-year-old man. The victim is in stable but serious condition at ECMC,' he said.
'After days of peaceful protests and several meetings between myself, police leadership and members of the community, tonight's event is disheartening.'
New York NYPD cops are heard on police scanner being urged to shoot and run over peaceful demonstrators
The NYPD is reviewing two incidents captured on police scanners across the city that appear to have officers sanctioning violence against demonstrators.
One message was about protesters who had marched to the77th Precinct in Brooklyn, surrounding the building. An officer is believed to have called in the report at around 5.20pm, Gothamist reports.
'There's a group headed the 77th Precinct there's a group, may be heading towards there please,' an officer reports.
Another voice quickly responds: 'Shoot those motherf*****s.'
'Don't put that over the air,' another officer can be heard responding.
Another incident, captured shortly before 7pm, has what sounds like an officer describing being surrounded in traffic near the intersection of Albany and Dean Street in Crown Heights.
'Central, we have a group of people blocking traffic on Albany and Dean street,' one officer states. 'They're refusing to... go eastbound on Dean Street and Albany, so we're stuck here.'
'Run them over,' a voice responds.
It is unclear whether they are actually NYPD officers making comments on the scanner.
Florida: Cops open fire on protesters after they ask 'why are you shooting at us?'
Cops in Tampa were caught on camera opening fire on a group of protesters right after they asked them 'why are you shooting at us?'
In social media footage, protesters are seen linking arms as they face a wall of cops in the distance.
Over a loudspeaker a man is heard saying 'why are you shooting at us?' while the rest of the crowd is heard chanting George Floyd's name.
Tampa: Cops in Tampa were caught on camera opening fire on a group of protesters right after they asked them 'why are you shooting at us?'
Tampa: Screams ring out and protesters are seen desperately running away from officers with their banners still held in their hands as cops open fire on their peaceful protest
Moments after they ask police about shooting them, shots are heard as cops open fire into the crowd - presumably with rubber bullets.
Screams ring out and protesters are seen desperately running away from officers with their banners still held in their hands.
Other shocking footage shows an officer move towards the crowd who are stood still to spray pepper gas directly into the faces of peaceful protesters.
In separate footage, a medic tells the camera that he was shot at while 'providing aid' despite the massive sign on his back reading 'Don't shoot EMS'.
Nebraska: Protesters sitting and kneeling in protest over Floyd's death are kicked and hit by bullets
Over in Nebraska, protesters were kicked by cops and struck by rubber bullets as they sat on the ground and took a knee in honor of Floyd.
The shocking video taken in Omaha reveals a group of protesters sat in a line, peacefully holding up signs as they are faced by a wall of cops in riot gear.
The cops move forward wielding their batons before kicking over some of the protesters and firing rubber bullets at them from close range.
The terrified protesters are left defending themselves with nothing but their homemade banners - with slogans calling for an end to police brutality.
Nebraska: A shocking video taken in Omaha reveals a group of protesters sat in a line, peacefully holding up signs as they are faced by a wall of cops in riot gear
Nebraska: The cops move forward wielding their batons before kicking over some of the protesters and firing rubber bullets at them from close range
Nebraska: The terrified protesters are left defending themselves with nothing but their homemade banners - with slogans calling for an end to police brutality
California: Cops use riot shields as battering rams to shove protesters sitting peacefully on the ground
In California, cops in full riot gear were caught on camera using their riot shields as battering rams to shove protesters sitting peacefully on the ground.
In the footage, shot through the window of a restaurant, the officers are seen running along the road to small group of around five protesters who are crouched on the ground with their arms around each other in a huddle.
The officers are seen approaching the group, before they use their shields to batter the protesters, pushing them down to the ground.
Denver: Protester has his chin shot off by a rubber bullet at a demonstration in Colorado
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
A graphic video posted on TikTok shows a black protester who had part of his chin shot off by a rubber bullet fired by cops at a demonstration in Colorado.
In the shocking video, the man's chin is seen dangling off his face and the front of his black jumper is soaked in his blood.
A person is heard asking 'are you ok bro?'
The man answers 'F** that s**' as the camera zooms in on the gaping hole left in his face.
According to the post on social media, the man was protesting peacefully when he was shot directly in the chin.
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