Authorities in Columbus, Ohio are distancing themselves from a cop accused of brutality. Video shows an officer, identified as Zachary Rosen, running up and kicking a handcuffed Demarko Anderson in the head.
“Are you serious?” Anderson says in the video. “I’ve got cuffs on, sir.”
Two people, apparently the individuals who recorded incident, said the officer shouldn’t have done it.
The police department says Rosen’s actions “were inconsistent with department training and values,” according to an ABC 6 article on the Saturday incident. Now the officer has been reassigned to non-patrol duty indefinitely. Even Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther got in on this. He called what he saw in the video “unacceptable and inconsistent with our values as a community. It erodes the trust the residents of this city place in law enforcement.”
Anderson was arrested for allegedly shooting a nearby house, so homeowner John Martinay has no sympathy for that kick to the head.
“I believe it was totally justified,” he told the outlet.
One woman, who says she recorded the video, disagrees. The incident happened on Roiesha Peterford’s lawn, and she said that kick was one step too far.
“He was right to be arrested,” she said, “But as far as the extra force, that’s brutality.”
This is not the first time Rosen faced a misconduct allegation, though the previous claim didn’t stick. A grand jury recently declined to indict him and another officer for the 2016 shooting death of Henry Green. Authorities said Green opened fire on the police. Witnesses, including his mother, claim the cops failed to identify themselves.
[Screengrab via Roiesha Peterford]
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