Police violence is unfortunately a common occurrence in the news, especially during this administration. Sometimes police will simply threaten someone with being thrown in jail, while other times the threats can be far more serious, even involving bodily harm. For one unfortunate man from Savannah, Georgia, this threat became terrifyingly real when he was threatened with being shot by police officers. In a video that quickly went viral on Reddit, two police officers from Savannah can be seen holding a suspect down on the ground.
The man did not appear to be struggling excessively, yet he clearly seemed to be in pain. The officers commanded him to place his hands behind his back, but when the man tried to twist his body so he could face them, one of the officers quickly drew his gun and pointed it at the man’s head, threatening to shoot if he continued resisting. The cameraman observing from the sidelines expressed obvious shock at the police’s actions.
As the officers continued attempting to restrain him, the suspect repeatedly pleaded, saying “no” and “please” as the Savannah police pressed his hands to his back with force. As they began trying to handcuff him, the cameraman shouted at the officer who had pointed the gun, demanding that he remove his knees from the man’s face. In reality, the officer’s knees were resting heavily on the man’s neck, and the cameraman pointed out the obvious: how could the suspect possibly comply with police orders when the full weight of the Savannah police officers was pressing down on him?
The man continued crying out for help, but the police ignored him entirely. Another passerby, a woman who remained off-camera, expressed her own disapproval of the police and their aggressive tactics. Together with the cameraman, she called on the Savannah police to ease up and stop being so forceful, but the two officers did not respond and continued their arrest, trying to force the man to stand up against their restraint.
At one point, the suspect attempted to break free and walk away, but the two Savannah police officers maintained a tight grip on him. During the ensuing struggle, the police officer who had threatened to shoot the man accidentally dropped his gun. After quickly retrieving the fallen weapon, the officers walked toward their police vehicle, and the video abruptly ended. Internet users reacted strongly, many criticizing the extreme aggression demonstrated by the Savannah police.
Many felt that such a level of force was entirely unnecessary. One user wrote, “Yeah, so not-so-unpopular opinion here: if an ‘officer of the law’ breaks the law, like threatening to assassinate someone, they should face the longest, heaviest possible sentence they could legally get. This manlet needs to be put in prison for a looooong time.”
