Disturbing video recorded by a bystander shows a white Alabama police officer repeatedly stomping on a mentally ill black man who was stru...
Disturbing video recorded by a bystander shows a white Alabama police officer repeatedly stomping on a mentally ill black man who was struggling with another officer during an arrest.
Suspect Kemontae Hobbs suffers from schizophrenia, according to his mother, and at least one local group believes police were previously aware of his mental illness.
The shocking video comes at a time when the Huntsville Police Department is already under scrutiny, with calls for a review underway after this latest incident.
The one-and-a-half minute video, which was broadcast through Facebook Live on Sunday night, begins with Hobbs face down and a uniformed officer on the floor of a MapCo gas station store in Huntsville.
The officer appears to be attempting to get the man to roll over so he can be handcuffed.
Disturbing video recorded by a bystander shows a white Alabama police officer repeatedly stomping on a mentally ill black man who was struggling with another officer during an arrest
Another officer then comes and begins stomping on the leg of Kemontae Hobbs, 22
A woman can be heard screaming for help when two other officers come into focus. One of the officers that rushes in stomps on Hobbs' right leg five times, yelling, 'Stop resisting!' with each blow.
Other officers enter the scene and the man eventually is shown handcuffed and walking with five officers visible under his own power.
All of the officers who appear in the video are white. Body camera video from the scene has not been released.
The man who recorded the video, local barber Bruce Turner, told News 19 that a store clerk claimed Hobbs was harassing women in the store. He began recording after seeing multiple cops enter the store.
Hobbs, 22, was booked into the Madison County Jail soon after on charges of resisting arrest and obstructing government operations. He was released on Monday afternoon, records show.
The Huntsville Bail Fund, a community organization that provides assistance for cash bail, posted about the incident via Facebook on Monday, claiming Hobbs was 'brutalized' by the police.
'Police were called because Kemontae was panhandling outside a gas station, leading to the viral video of an officer attempting to break his leg,' the Huntsville Bail Fund posted.
The officer appears to stomp on Hobbs five times and shouts at Hobbs to 'stop resisting'
All of the Huntsville police officers who appear in the video are white
Hobbs' mother, Kimberlyn Hayes, said her son suffers from schizophrenia, AL.com reported. A cashier at the store called police after he asked someone for a dollar, she said.
'It didn't take all those officers when he was already down,' Hayes said. 'How was he resisting when he was already on the ground and you are stomping on him like a dog? That's not how you handle things.'
'The police just think they can do what they want and beat on people. That’s not right,' Hayes added.
Hayes is considering hiring an attorney to look deeper into what took place at the gas station.
Capt. Michael Johnson, a police spokesman, said in a statement that the department was aware of the video and investigating
Other officers enter the scene and the man eventually is shown handcuffed and walking with five officers visible under his own power
The Huntsville Bail Fund also made mention of Hobbs' history of mental illness, claiming police were aware of it.
'Kemontae has had several run-ins with the cops. They are aware that he has schizophrenia, and is sometimes known to wander when he isn’t able to access treatment,' their post reads.
'After his arrest and brutalization, Huntsville Police called to tell his mother that they had her son, and knew he was mentally ill. They treated him like this anyway.'
Capt. Michael Johnson, a police spokesman, said in a statement that the department was aware of the video and investigating.
He did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information.
Kemontae Kentarieus Hobbs, 22, was booked into the Madison County Jail soon after on charges of resisting arrest and obstructing government operations. He was released on Monday afternoon
The Huntsville Bail Fund posted about the incident via Facebook on Monday, claiming Hobbs was 'brutalized' by the police
The man who recorded the video, local barber Bruce Turner, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Additionally, a call on Sunday night to MapCo was answered by a woman who said, 'I don't know anything about it, don’t call back, thank you.'
On Facebook, city councilman Devyn Keith commented, saying, 'My issue and why I am baffled is at the fact he storms in at the top and automatically goes to stomping. The other officer(s) start to restrain and state (communicate). The original officer still in what seems to be body control…. never throws a punch… the Stomping Officer never aides (sic) in control.'
Keith later told WAFF in a statement that he is calling for a departmental review of the incident.
Hobbs pleaded guilty in October to a charge of obstructing government operations, WHNT-TV reported.
The man resisted officers who were responding to a call about a domestic disturbance and was subdued with a stun gun, court records show.
He is appealing that ruling and has a trial date in the case set for later this month.
The stomping video was viewed thousands of times on social media at a time when Huntsville police are already under scrutiny after an officer, William Darby, was convicted of murder in a 2018 shooting.
The mayor and police chief have publicly defended Darby. The officer is on leave but city officials have started personnel procedures that could result in his firing.
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