The Baltimore Police Department said it is investigating a video that surfaced on social media Saturday of an arrest that police said occurred before 2016, during which an officer can be seen kneeling on a man and briefly drawing his gun to the man’s head as the officer is confronted by bystanders.
The video shows a Baltimore police officer kneeling on a man lying on his side on the ground, as the officer and a second officer attempt to handcuff the man. As the first officer kneels on the man’s back, pulling the man’s left arm behind, the second officer beside him attempts to the pull the man’s right arm to the man’s back. The officer kneeling on the man can be heard telling him to put his hands behind his back.
Several people are seen standing nearby in the video, yelling at the officers. The officer seen kneeling on the man then withdraws his gun from his holster and holds it down by his side, over the man’s head, and the officer tells the bystanders “I strongly suggest you back the [expletive] up.”
A woman from the group, which appears to be standing several feet away from the officer in the street, immediately called out “why would you do that? Why would you pull a [expletive] gun out.” The officer then returns the gun to his holster.
Another officer then walks between the first officer and the crowd and tells them to back up.
The video is 45 seconds long and posted to the Instagram account murder_ink_bmore.
“Due to the nature of this incident it is currently under review by our Public Integrity Bureau,” the department said in a brief statement Saturday.
Police did not identify the officer in the video or provide his status with the department Saturday. The Baltimore Sun could not identify the man who was being arrested or witnesses from the incident. It is unclear why police were arresting the man.
The police department said the incident occurred prior to 2016 but did not say where the incident occurred or a provide a specific date.
The department did not immediately say whether other video footage has surfaced from the incident as part of the investigation. The department launched its body camera program in early 2016 when 500 officers were issued cameras, with the full force not being fully equipped until early 2018.