Police Respond to Viral Video of Officer Punching Suspect
On Thursday, Mediatakeout.com posted this video to its website and Facebook page:
DISTURBING VIDEO: Philly Police Officers PUNCH A Handcuffed Man TWICE In The Face . . . While Calling Him a P*SSY!! (They Don’t Even CARE . . . That They Are Being VIDEO’D)
Posted by Mediatakeout on Thursday, July 23, 2015
It appears to show a Philly police officer punching a cuffed suspect in the face while shouting a sexist slur at the man, then taunting the person taking the video. The video went viral — as of Friday morning, it had been shared 68,000 times from the Facebook page.
Only one problem? It’s old. A copy of the video was published on YouTube in 2010 — five years ago. Still, the quick spread of the video compelled Philly police to respond on Thursday evening:
Many citizens have sent our department inquires about the attached video (screenshot below), and we do appreciate the…
Posted by Philadelphia Police Department on Thursday, July 23, 2015
It’s tough to say what that explanation will mean for the story, which is still spreading. On the one hand, the story is relatively old, so it might not sustain fresh outrage. On the other hand, no one was punished even though video captured a police officer hitting a cuffed suspect in the face. In this #BlackLivesMatter moment, that may be sufficient to give the story new legs.
Mediatakeout.com did not respond to inquiries about how they obtained the video and how they plan to use it.
