Investigations are underway after a Washington, D.C., police officer knelt on a black man’s neck during an arrest after a foot chase, which is a banned form of restraint in the Metropolitan Police Department.
Body camera footage of the chase and the restraint in June, which police said followed what appeared to be a “hand-to-hand drug transaction,” was released on Thursday. An internal affairs investigation determined that an officer “had his knee, and subsequently elbow, across the individual’s neck area.” The use of such a restraint is a violation of the district’s code and is considered a “serious use of force” by the MPD.
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Police said the incident has been referred to the U.S. attorney’s office for review, and it will be investigated by MPD’s force investigation team, according to NBC Washington. “All actions that are determined to be unjustified will be referred for disciplinary action,” police said in a statement.
The man, whose face was blurred out in the footage, was identified as 35-year-old Benjamin Johnson. He was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, tampering with physical evidence, resisting arrest, and assault on a police officer in connection with the incident, per the report. The officers involved in the arrest have not been identified.
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The use of a knee by police as a restraint drew intense scrutiny and backlash, particularly after George Floyd, a black man, was killed in 2020 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck during an arrest for nearly 10 minutes. Amid the ensuing protests and calls for an end to police brutality and allegations of racial bias in law enforcement, police departments around the country banned or limited the use of neck restraints.
