Last Thursday, 29-year-old Stanislav Petrov led police on a 38-minute car chase from San Leandro to San Francisco after bolting when officers approached him while he sat in a stolen car. Petrov reportedly rammed the deputies’ car before fleeing, finally crashing his vehicle in the Mission District and taking off on foot.
As seen in the video, when the two officers finally catch up to him, one tackles him to the ground and punches him, and then both pull their batons and beat him repeatedly while Petrov yells for help.
“He didn’t pose any threat at that point, and they are clearly using excessive force and trying to seriously hurt him when he was on the ground and subdued,” said San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who released the video of the assault, which he says shows excessive force. “I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t be handcuffed and taken into custody.”
A police spokesman said the deputies believed Petrov to be armed and on drugs, and a gun was later recovered. The two deputies were placed on paid administrative leave Sunday while an investigation is conducted. They were not identified.
