Protests against ICE officers have intensified countrywide, and citizens are being hurt in the crossfire. In a newly surfaced video, a man was seen being trampled and manhandled by LAPD officers during a protest in California.
A viral video on Reddit captured the brutal moment an unidentified male protester was surrounded by at least seven LAPD officers on horses.
The man, dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, was pushed to the ground and repeatedly flogged with batons. Some of the officers went as far as using their horses to trample upon the protester while he used his hands as a shield.
Even when the horses seemed hesitant to trample the protester, the cops riding yanked on the bridle ropes to elicit a reactions.
At some point, the man managed to get back on his feet. However, he was immediately shoved back to the ground and pinned down by an officer on foot, who continued to beat him.
Citizens on social media have expressed outrage at the incident, calling the actions of the law enforcement officers “disgusting” and “vile.” One user commented, “Using excessive horse. Sorry, it was right there. That’s f*cked up for real though.” Another pointed out that even the horses showed more humanity than the officers who attacked the man. “Looks like the LAPD are worse than rabid animals. Even the horses refuse to walk over the guy.”
“Even the horses have more humanity than the police and military and don’t want to step on him no matter how much the rider orders them to,” a user remarked. “Yo. This sh*t wild. They are attacking him with a 1/2 ton animal,” another added.
One user chimed in: “To protect and serve…up a beating when we feel like it,” and another commented, “I would firmly suspect that getting trampled by a horse is a lot easier to defend in a potential lawsuit, as well. You could easily play dumb and say it was an accident.”
Unfortunately, stories of more bizarre incidents have surfaced from the Los Angeles ICE protests. An Australian news reporter was shot with a rubber bullet by the LAPD while covering the protest.
The journalist, identified as Lauren Tomasi of Tomasi, was captured speaking to the camera and reporting that LAPD officers were using rubber bullets on protesters. Shortly after, an officer who was standing behind her aimed at her back and shot a rubber bullet, which hit her leg and caused her to cry out in pain.
Luckily, the reporter confirmed she didn’t sustain major injuries despite the terrifying encounter.
