Violent Video Shows Cop Kicking Man In The Head, Prompts Investigation

By Mae Rice in News on Jun 14, 2016 2:32PM

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has ordered and the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) to investigate a Facebook video in which a police officer kicks a man in the head until he falls unconscious. (Caution, the video is graphic.)

The officer most closely involved in the incident in Lawndale has been "relieve[d]... of his police powers while IPRA investigates," according to a police statement.

The video, posted to Facebook on Monday, begins with a uniformed police officer pinning a struggling man the ground. A second, plainclothes officer arrives on the scene, announces he's calling for backup, and then kicks the still pinned, still struggling man in the head.

"Get the fuck back!" the plainclothes officer yells at the crowd of horrified bystanders. "Get the fuck back!"

The man was reportedly kicked unconscious by the officer during the incident, which police say happened in the 3900 block of West Grenshaw. He was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was in "fair" condition Monday evening, NBC reports.

The two police officers with primary roles in the video also received medical attention, the Tribune reports. Both officers were treated for bite injuries, and one officer for choking injuries, at Rush University Medical Center.

Charges against the man are pending, police told Chicagoist.

A man identified as Terrance Hobson by NBC recorded the incident on video and posted it Facebook Monday; the Tribune reports he shared it under the name Terrance Hustlehard. The clip appears to have been removed since then, but it went viral at the time of posting, with hundreds of thousands of views by Monday evening. It has been re-posted by various outlets, and the Sun-Times' clip is above.

"The Chicago Police Department holds its members to the highest possible professional standards with a priority on treating all Chicagoans with respect," police said in a statement.

“He was running from police, they had him face down on the ground,” witness Dre Powell told NBC. “Started whopping him.”

Update, June 16: We removed the arrested man's name from this post because he wasn't charged with a crime.