New video appears to show Rock Hill Police Department officers beating a man outside of a grocery store, and now some are questioning the level of force they used.
Police told Channel 9′s Tina Terry they were called to the Public on Cherry Road because management reported a man trespassing on the property. The man’s attorney says the force police used to remove him from the property appeared excessive.
The video was recorded by a witness on Dec. 6 and you can hear the man pleading with a Rock Hill police officer. The officer is on top of him before pulling out a Taser and telling the man to roll over.
Attorney Josh Kindrick says he represents the man in the video, and he described the officer’s actions.
“I think we see use of force, we see him using his hands and then we see him using a Taser, and none of it seemed necessary to me because the gentleman is obviously not fighting him or trying to get away from him,” Kindrick told Terry.
Eventually, the video shows the officer hit the man, apparently drawing blood.
Rock Hill police didn’t want to talk on camera, but issued a statement saying, in part: “During the encounter, the officer decided to take the male into custody. This began a use of force incident between the officer and the male subject. After two additional officers arrived, the male was taken into custody. The male received lacerations during the incident and was transported to Piedmont Medical Center.”
Kindrick says his client was charged with resisting arrest and some drug charges.
“I think that video is pretty clear there wasn’t a necessary use of force. It wasn’t justified, but you know, we’re open to hearing the police department’s position on what led to what we see on the video,” Kindrick said.
Police said the use of force during the incident has led to an internal review and the primary officer involved is on administrative leave until that review ends.
Kindrick says he hopes to talk to police face to face next week, and he’ll decide how to move forward after that conversation.
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