Photo: Moment RF
A Philadelphia cop is facing backlash after he was caught on video shoving and tasing a Black man for standing in a crosswalk.
Video of the incident begins with the cop, identified as Christopher O’Donnell on social media, approaching the man who was standing in the crosswalk of the street.
"Get on the sidewalk," the officer said. "I don't care where you stand get out of my street."
The man appeared to be complying with the officer's orders and walking toward the sidewalk when the cop started shoving him in an apparent act of escalation.
“Don’t touch me!” the Black man told the cop. “Let me walk! Don’t touch me!”
The officer continued to push the Black man and eventually began Tasing him even after they were already on the sidewalk. The shoving continued, landing the confrontation back into the middle of traffic. More cops arrived at the scene and arrested the Black man while witnesses repeated, “He didn’t do nothing.”
“He just tased him for nothing,” a man recording the incident said.
The man, identified as Daron on social media, was initially charged with assault on a police officer, according to his girlfriend, who shared the video of the arrest on social media. He was reportedly released from custody the following the morning.
"@phillypolice — you need to hold Officer Christopher O’Donnell accountable," the caption of the video reads. "This man showed ZERO self-control, abused his power, and escalated a situation that never needed force."
"A Black man who wasn’t under investigation, posed no threat, and knew his rights — was tased, physically antagonized, and falsely accused of assault by an officer clearly on a power trip."
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