Global Courant 2023-04-15 07:42:42
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has opened a “use of force” investigation following a viral video of an arrest of a young black man who said he had been racially profiled by deputies.
The video, which has been viewed 1.7 million times on TikTok as of Friday, shows two deputies arresting a man with their hands raised.
“Am I being arrested?” says the man. “What am I being held for? To walk?”
“We just walked to the store,” the filmer shouts to the deputies while warning his friends not to resist. “We just walk.”
According to fox 11, who first reported on the arrest, three students were on their way to a South LA store on Monday afternoon after taking classes at Los Angeles Trade Technical College when deputies got out of their cars and 19-year-old Jayvonte George was with his arms gripped.
George told the outlet that he didn’t know why he was being arrested and tried to show the deputies that he wasn’t a threat to them.
“I’ve seen a lot of things about police brutality, so I tried to raise my hands for my safety and theirs,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that the man they arrested matched the description of suspects in two separate incidents — a hit-and-run and a car theft — that had occurred earlier that morning.
“While attempting to detain the person and resolve the reasonable suspicions of the detained deputies, he was one of the open suspects involved in at least two separate crimes, but the person did not cooperate with the deputies,” said the sheriff’s office in a statement. “The incident escalated into violence.”
According to the statement, George was arrested for resisting an officer.
The service has opened an investigation into the use of force.
