A CNN investigation has found a shocking new element to the story of the violent clashes between police and protesters after the 2016 presidential election in the United States: unnecessary force in detention.
In a report published Tuesday, CNN examined videos taken on the night of November 12, 2016 in D.C. and Denver, which show three different police officers using — at least — unnecessary force while detaining protesters. The most jarring footage, documented in the video embedded above, reveals the moment a protester, armed with a water bottle, trying to raise his voice against a Trump supporter who tried to grab him. When he hits the ground, he is punched repeatedly by a police officer while handcuffed. CNN’s video focuses on a fourth-floor balcony where a number of other police were filmed beating a man with canes, fists and batons. CNN reports that one officer, engaged in “excessive force,” said that it was because the protester had cursed at the officer, not because he was resisting arrest.
The new footage has refocused attention on the nationwide protest movement against the incoming Trump administration and its controversial policies, which led to a painful chain of events that included the president-elect refusing to release his tax returns, a report that he would pardon his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and overall troubling ethics scandals surrounding his administration.
Read the full story at CNN.
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