Rochester, USA – Body camera video showing a Rochester police officer pepper spraying a mother holding a child late last month is “disturbing,” said the Cities Mayor.
A statement from the Rochester Police Department said that on February 22nd, officers responded to a shoplifting call for service with a female suspect “who was arguing with store employees and refusing to leave.”
Body camera video shows an officer talking to a woman with her child while she reveals the contents of her bag, pulling out a loose diaper and saying she didn’t steal anything from the store.
When the officer tells her he is going to check with the store, but she has to remain, she runs off with her child. In the video, police blurred the face of the youngster.
Watch the video here –
An officer chases her down, grounds her and attempts to handcuff her as she pleads, “I did not steal anything,” and the child cries in the background.
Pepper sprayed was utilized during the arrest, according to a police statement.
The child was not pepper sprayed or injured, police added. The woman was subsequently charged with trespassing.
Interim Rochester Police Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan said, “You’ll see where the mother and child are actually grasping each other.”
The chief indicated it’s her initial response that the use of force was in-policy.
“Some things to me aren’t as simple as to whether a policy was followed. Our indicators are that it was,” she said.
The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave while an internal investigation is underway.
Mayor Lovely Warren said, “When incidents like this occur, I am relieved that I ensured body-worn cameras are worn by our police, so we can see what occurs on our streets and hold officers accountable.”
Warren added, “Change will not come until we have the ability to fully hold our officers accountable when they violate the public’s trust.”
The incident comes shortly after one Rochester police officer was suspended and two were placed on administrative leave after a video was released showing authorities pepper spraying a nine-year old girl.
Watch that video here –
More Stories
To Defund the Police or not?
The moment Alec Baldwin finds out Halyna Hutchins died.
Johnny Depp describes finding fecal matter on his bed.