A shocking video filmed Sunday night in Detroit shows a police SUV plowing through a group of peaceful protesters, sending people flying from the vehicle’s hood.
The footage, posted to Twitter by demonstrator Ethan Ketner, shows a protest group surrounding the vehicle before it speeds off. The SUV hits multiple people and some demonstrators, who had climbed onto the cop car, are sent spinning as the driver accelerates. Onlookers can be heard screaming and telling the officer to stop.
Ketner wrote: “Detroit Police Department just ran straight through a bunch of our protesters... Myself and 10-12 others were struck by this reckless driver who somehow has a badge.” The demonstrator wrote that “multiple people” were hurt but there’s no official word on the number of people who have been injured.
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Another one of the protesters was Jae Bass, 24, who told the Detroit Free Press: “He just floored it... He went super fast. Me and a couple of other organizers that were with me, just went flinging off. We went flying off. He ran over a couple people's arms, feet.”
Bass claimed that police were trying to block the marchers from returning to Patton Park, where a rally had been held earlier in the day. As the demonstrators approached the SUV, they surrounded the vehicle and chanted “No justice! No peace!” at the cop. Bass said some demonstrators climbed onto the hood of the car in an attempt to stop it from moving and hurting the group.
In a statement to the Detroit News, the Detroit police department said that the driver, who hasn’t been identified, was attempting to leave the scene after the rear window of the vehicle was “busted out.” The department said: “The officer tried to escape.”
Detroit Police spokeswoman Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood confirmed to the Free Press late Sunday that the department is investigating the actions of both the protesters and the officer who was behind the wheel.
Earlier Sunday, demonstrators gathered peacefully in Patton park to rally against systemic racism and police brutality.
