A disturbing video has been released showing police dismissing a high-speed chase to attack a Black bystander filming the scene on a public street in California.
On May 5, Richmond police followed a speeding driver who parked outside of a store so he and the car’s passenger could step out of the vehicle and surrender to authorities, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Kwesi Guss had filmed police-related incidents before as a bystander and was nearby when he heard sirens. So, he pulled out his phone and planned to record what was happening, but ended up in the throes of the mess himself. The Richmond police redirected their focus from the high-speed chase.
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In security footage from the store of the incident the Chronicle uploaded to YouTube, a police cruiser pulls up to the sidewalk next to a man—identified as Guss—holding a phone. An officer who was driving the cruiser, rather than running forward to the parked car from the chase, runs around the back of the cruiser and into Guss while approaching the other officers on the scene.
“Get out of the fucking way,” the officer directed to Guss, according to the Chronicle.
“Shut your bitch ass up,” Guss reportedly replied.
The officer circles back around towards Guss, tells him to repeat what he said, and shoves him five times, causing Guss to stumble, before a woman runs over to intervene.
An officer who was already at the location, runs from one of the other police cruisers towards the scuffle, but the original officer continues to push Guss. The assisting cop pulls Guss’ left arm back to aid the first officer in handcuffing him and kicks Guss in the ankle to make him kneel on the ground.
The video does not have audio.
“I felt the asphalt just cutting in my face,” Guss said, according to the Chronicle.
The news outlet reported that Guss endured cheek abrasion and bruised ribs and that the handcuffs were so tight that they were digging into his wrists. Guss said officers “manhandl[ed]” him because they claimed he was resisting. However, he said he “wasn’t moving.”
The Richmond Police Department did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment Thursday.
