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A surveillance video shows a Passaic, New Jersey, police officer beating a 49-year-old man, Ronnie Holloway, standing idly on a street corner.
Surveillance tape from Lawrence's Grill and Bar in Passaic on May 29 shows a police car pull up to Holloway, who is standing still on the curb outside the restaurant. After a few moments Holloway zips up his sweatshirt - because the female officer in the car instructed him to do so, Holloway told CNN.
At that point, the other officer in the vehicle, Joseph R. Rios III, exits the car, grabs Holloway and slams him onto the hood of the police car. He then pummels Holloway with his fist and baton.
Holloway said he had exchanged no words with the officer before he pounced on him.Holloway is schizophrenic, according to his mother, Betty, with whom he has lived for more than 20 years.
"I would like to say today what I did was proper," Officer Joseph Rio III said in a report in the Yeshiva World News.
"I did what I was trained to do under the existing circumstances at that time. I stand by my actions.''
Rios' attorney said what the video doesn't show is an earlier encounter between Officer Rios and Ronnie Holloway.
"There was comments made by Mr. Holloway concerning aggressive threats," said attorney Anthony Iacullo.
Rios' attorney won't elaborate on those comments.
Holloway said there was no earlier encounter. He said he was told to cover his exposed belly, which he did, and that he didn't deserve a beating.
"The video of this incident is extremely disconcerting, but I urge the community to withhold judgment until a complete investigation of the incident is concluded and reviewed by independent law enforcement officials," Mayor Alex Blanco told the Associated Press in a statement issued late Saturday.
— ANDY LAGOMARSINO, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
They should both be removed!
Its disgraceful and should Never be tolorated yet it is over and over again.
It doesn't seem like the same courtesy was afforded Holloway. The officer was the judge and jury.
If that was his training there is something wrong with the training. Too bad the Mayor doesn't do his job and help correct the situation, instead of trying to play it down...