UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) - Three Maryland police officers were suspended Tuesday after video emerged of an officer throwing a suspect to the ground and kicking him multiple times during an arrest.
The Prince George’s County police officer had witnessed an assault and was detaining a suspect at a gas station Monday night, the department said in a statement.
Video taken by a witness at the scene showed the officer grab the suspect as he rose from his knees. The officer was then captured throwing the man to the ground before another officer arrived in a patrol car, exited and began to assist in handcuffing the suspect. The first officer then kicked the suspect two times while he lay face down on the ground, according to the video, which was released by Chief Hank Stawinski.
An additional suspect had already been handcuffed, officials said. The two men were released when the victim in the alleged assault could not be found, according to the statement.
The two officers captured in the video and their immediate supervisor were suspended pending the outcome of the internal affairs investigation.
Stawinski said he shared the video “in the interest of transparency” and pledged the use of force would be “thoroughly investigated.”
“I am sorry and I am angry,” he added.
The police officers were not immediately identified.
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