HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Video recorded by a bystander shows an Alabama police officer repeatedly stomping on a man who was struggling with another officer during an arrest.
The video, which was broadcast through Facebook Live on Sunday night, begins with an unidentified man and a uniformed officer on the floor of a convenience store. The officer appears to be attempting to get the man to roll over so he can be handcuffed.
Another officer rushes in and stomps on the man’s right leg five times, yelling, “Stop resisting!” with each blow. Other officers enter the scene and the man eventually is shown handcuffed and walking with officers under his own power.
Kemontae Kentarieus Hobbs, 22, was booked into the Madison County Jail soon after on charges of resisting arrest and obstructing government operations. He was released on Monday afternoon, records show.
Hobbs’ mother, Kimberlyn Hayes, said her son suffers from schizophrenia, al.com reported. A cashier at the store called police after he asked someone for a dollar, she said.
“It didn’t take all those officers when he was already down,” Hayes said. “How was he resisting when he was already on the ground and you are stomping on him like a dog? That’s not how you handle things.”
Capt. Michael Johnson, a police spokesman, said in a statement that the department was aware of the video and investigating. He did not respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information.
The man who recorded the video did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Hobbs pleaded guilty in October to a charge of obstructing government operations, WHNT-TV reported. The man resisted officers who were responding to a call about a domestic disturbance and was subdued with a stun gun, court records show.
The stomping video was viewed thousands of times on social media at a time when Huntsville police are already under scrutiny after an officer, William Darby, was convicted of murder in a 2018 shooting. The mayor and police chief have publicly defended Darby. The officer is on leave but city officials have started personnel procedures that could result in his firing.
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