Newly released police body camera footage from Springfield, Illinois, shows an officer punching a 19-year-old man nearly a dozen times.
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The footage released Monday stems from an altercation last month that led to 32-year-old officer Samuel A. Rosario facing misdemeanor battery and felony official misconduct charges. The video also shows Rosario taunting the man.
“I’m not even going to taze you, I’m not even going to mace you. I’m going to give you these hands and you’re still going to run your mouth,” Rosario can be heard telling the 19-year-old man. “You’re still scared.”
The State Journal-Register reports that the 19-year-old man isn’t charged.
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Body camera video from another officer, who was not involved in the the altercation, shows Rosario punch the man several times.
The second officer can be heard telling the 19-year-old to put his hands behind his back, before Rosario says, “He’s good don’t do it … don’t arrest him.”
The second officer reported the incident to his supervisor.
Rosario, who has been a Springfield officer since April 2015, has pleaded not guilty and is free on bond. The police department says Rosario’s police powers have been revoked and he is on unpaid administrative leave.
Rosario’s attorney, Daniel Fultz, said he was still viewing the video. Fultz says he hopes people “understand that being a police officer is a difficult job.”
— With files from Global News.
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