Buffalo Police Helping, Not Hurting Suspect in Viral Video

The video, posted last week to social media, shows a Buffalo police officer on top of a suspect with his hands on the suspect’s neck and face.

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The Buffalo News reported:

What is not clear in the video, Buffalo police sources say, is that the officer was attempting to prevent the man from choking on drugs he had swallowed.

… A third police source, familiar with procedures at arrest scenes, said that it did not appear that the officer used excessive force, adding that when defendants resist arrest, inherently “there is a struggle.”

“He swallowed 39 bags of crack cocaine and the officer is trying to keep him from choking on them,” an officer familiar with the arrest told The Buffalo News. “The suspect was taken to the hospital and voluntarily threw up the drugs.”

Watch the video below. Warning: The video contains offensive language.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWy8JaKSADc Keep Reading