A Chicago police officer has been relieved of his duties after video apparently showing him stomping on a man’s head during an attempted arrest surfaced on social media, authorities said Tuesday.
The officer, who has not been named, was stripped of his police powers while the Independent Police Review Authority investigates the incident, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. “After careful consideration and reviewing the video footage, Superintendent (Eddie) Johnson has decided to relieve one of the officers involved in the incident,” Guglielmi said. “Since his appointment, the Superintendent has stated that accountability begins with him, down to the last police officer, and that he will tirelessly work to rebuild public trust in the Chicago Police Department.”
The video went viral after it was posted on Facebook soon after the incident on Monday, according to the Chicago Tribune. Footage shows a plainclothes officer on top of a man in the middle of the street. A second officer appears to stop on the man’s head after the man appears to get his hand on the first officer’s throat, the Tribune reports.
It’s unclear what caused the initial struggle with the man.
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