Police on Leave After Beating Caught on Video

Newly released video footage appears to add police in Mesa, Arizona to the ranks of law enforcement using undue force on an unarmed individual. The video opens with a Mesa officer exiting an elevator onto the deck area of an apartment complex. A Mesa-area resident, Robert Johnson, is seen on the video leaning on a railing and checking his phone. Footage showed Johnson being surrounded by police while he continued to check his phone. The officers appear to talk to him for a few moments, they then grabbed Johnson and began a physical assault which did not end until the victim slumped to the ground. The 20 minute video clip even includes an officer shoving Johnson’s head into the elevator door. It is important to note that Robert Johnson was not under investigation at the time of the incident.

This brutal incident actually resulted in the Mesa Police Department making a change to its use-of-force policy so that striking the head or face is only allowed when a suspect becomes physically violent.