LAPD cop is suspended after he was filmed PUNCHING suspect strapped to a gurney who shouted the word 'B*tch' at officers
A Los Angeles cop has been suspended after a video of him punching a suspect strapped to a gurney went viral on Twitter.
In the video, which had over 870,000 views on Twitter as of Tuesday, emergency medical services workers could be seen loading a man on a gurney into an ambulance, when he turns his head towards a line of police officers and yells the word 'bitch.'
At that point, one of the officers comes into view running up to the suspect and appears to punch him in the face as someone seems to warn him against his actions, saying 'No, no, no.'
The cop, who has not been publicly named, then tells the suspect, still handcuffed to a gurney: 'Don't do that s*** again to any officer.
One of the EMS workers then tries to push the cop away as he and his crew continue trying to lift the gurney into the ambulance, until eventually another one of the officers pulls him back and seemed to try to calm him down.
The EMS worker then tells others to 'grab a statement.'
In a video of the incident, posted to Twitter, the officer could be seen running up to the suspect on a gurney and punching him in the face
An EMS worker tried to push him back until eventually another officer pulled him away
An LAPD KKKop was suspended, probably still getting paid, for punching an already restrained ¿suspect¿ sitting on an ambulance stretcher.
— Radical Veteran (@LuckyTecolote) August 16, 2021
He called the KKKop, a ¿Bitch¿ then spit in his direction, to which the unmasked (no CV19 precaution) LAPD Officer punched him in the face. pic.twitter.com/sk0EFKggDJ
An LAPD KKKop was suspended, probably still getting paid, for punching an already restrained ¿suspect¿ sitting on an ambulance stretcher.
He called the KKKop, a ¿Bitch¿ then spit in his direction, to which the unmasked (no CV19 precaution) LAPD Officer punched him in the face. pic.twitter.com/sk0EFKggDJ
The incident occurred after officers arrested two carjacking suspects in the Mission area of San Fernando Valley on Saturday, the LAPD said in a statement.
It 'learned of the video clip' the following day, the department said, and 'immediately initiated a complaint investigation.'
The unnamed officer was 'assigned home and his peace officer powers suspended pending the results of the investigation.'
'The images in the video are deeply disturbing,' Police Chief Michael Moore said in a statement, 'and while we must wait for the investigation to be completed, the department will act swiftly in any instance of excessive force.'
According to the Los Angeles Times, the suspect was put in the ambulance with a spit bag over his head.
It is unknown what injuries the suspect was being treated for, and whether the officer was suspended with or without pay.
It is also unclear what had happened in the moments before the suspect hurled the slur at the cops.
The video was shared online by Anti-Fascist Abolitionist AWK, who wrote: 'LAPD officer winds up and punches someone on a stretcher being put into an ambulance. Must've posed a major threat.'
Soon, others started reacting to the shocking video, with some pointing out that many of the other officers at the scene did not seem to do anything after the one officer struck the suspect, and others calling the punch an overreaction.
'There's no job where you can walk up from five-plus feet away and punch someone with a gurney without getting fired ... unless your job is to "serve and protect the people I guess,' wrote Derrick T.
Jon Green added: 'Just pause for a moment and consider the outcome if you did this to someone who called you a name,' while @notsophiacoppola said, 'I had a guy call me a bitch and throw his drink at me when I was 16 working at Starbucks, and I was like "Ok bro, have a good day." Why are cops such babies?'
Another twitter user, though, said the 'real problem is that there are three LEOs watching who do nothing until someone else steps in,' and Larry G. Jr. pointed out: 'With the exception of one other valiant officer and the EMT worker, nobody flinched a this clear case of first-degree assault.'