Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, have opened an investigation into an officer caught on video using a stun gun on a suspect who does not appear to be resisting.
“He did not try to run or nothing," an eyewitness told Fox 5 of the suspect. "That was wrong."
A short clip posted on Facebook by Romario Hercules Lara shows the officer giving instructions to a man the Fairfax County Police Department said was suspected of theft.
What the officer and suspect say to each other as the video begins cannot be heard.
The suspect turns his back to the cop and puts his hands on the hood of the patrol car, as is common for someone about to be frisked. However, the officer then appears to shock the suspect with a stun gun, and the suspect falls to the ground.
At that point, the officer can be heard yelling "get on the ground" and ordering the suspect to "roll over."
It's not clear if the officer had ordered the man to the ground before using his weapon, but the person who recorded the footage told Fox 5 he didn't see any reason for the officer to use the stun gun.
"As soon as he has his back turned toward him, he Tasers him," the witness, who was not named, told the station. "He didn’t see it coming."
WUSA reports that the suspect refused treatment and was charged with larceny. Neither he nor the officer have been publicly named.
On Sunday, the department released a statement on Facebook saying it had opened an internal affairs investigation into the incident. The department is asking anyone who has information to call (703) 246-2793.
“Realizing that the video is going to get a lot of attention... folks are working over the weekend to find out what happened and inform the community,” Fairfax police spokesman Capt. Ed O’Carroll told the Washington Post.
The incident comes weeks after prosecutors announced they would not press charges in the death of a mentally ill woman who was repeatedly shocked with a stun gun while being held in the county jail.
(h/t Raw Story)
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