NEW YORK (VINnews) — Rochester, NY police aroused public outrage after they pushed a woman to the ground in front of her 3-year-old child and then pepper sprayed her as she held the child’s hand. Footage from police bodycams showed the woman, who was suspected of shoplifting, trying to evade police with her child. Police then caught her and pushed her to the ground before pepper spraying her despite the child’s presence. The child was not injured by the spray.
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The incident occurred in February, less than a month after police from the same city pepper sprayed a 9-year-old girl who refused to enter a vehicle with them after being apprehended. The girl, whose mother claimed had being making threats to harm herself and her mother, had pleaded with police not to pepper spray her and had asked for her father to accompany her, but police knocked her down and pepper sprayed her as well.
PEPPER SPRAY OUTRAGE: Police in Rochester, New York are under fire after disturbing video appears to show an officer, who has since been placed on administrative duty, pepper spraying a Black woman holding her 3-year-old daughter. @TrevorLAult reports. https://t.co/bWHumKosXV pic.twitter.com/MCPJ6hMByc
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) March 7, 2021
The previous incident garnered international attention, sparked local protests, and emboldened activists and community members to call for immediate police reform. In response, the department suspended one officer with pay and placed two others on administrative leave. The officer who sprayed the mother in front of her toddler has also been placed on administrative leave, although police sources say that he was following protocol.
The criminal uses her kid as a human shield but it’s the cop’s fault….
Maybe the title should be ‘woman shoplifts while holding her toddler’s hand’..
But they make out like she’s a innocent victim of police brutality..Clearly she didnt care too much about the child’s welfare..
yea, no blaming the shoplifter for running away from police or using the 3 year old kid as a shield from the police. We gatta just blame the police, not the criminal.
Beyond shocking behaviour from police who have sworn to protect the public first this could have been done with more calm and discretion police are on a power trip and I’ll be coming the bullies