Los Angeles County Attorney’s Office has charged a city police officer with assaulting an unarmed homeless man more than ten times, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“This is an outrageous case of illegal use of force by a police officer”, – said District Attorney Jackie Lacey. – “In this case, we believe that the use of force was not justified or necessary in terms of the law”, – she added.
The incident in question took place on 27 April. According to the newspaper, police officer Frank Hernández and his partner went to a call about violations of private property. Upon arriving at the scene of the incident, police met a homeless man who had set up a tent in the area adjacent to the local church. A video shot by an eyewitness shows Hernández hitting a homeless man several times on his body and head. The suspect, as noted by the newspaper, appears to have neither been armed nor resisted.
When the video of the incident was made public, Hernández was suspended from duty. On Tuesday afternoon, he was apprehended and, less than an hour later, released on his own recognizance. He is expected to be brought to trial on Thursday.
According to media reports, charges against the policeman were filed almost a week after the U.S. embarked on mass protests over the death of African-American George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. One policeman, who was knee-deep in Floyd’s neck for several minutes, is charged with murder and three others with complicity in the murder.