A jarring video of a recent arrest by Kingston police is making the rounds on social media.
The video, filmed on Monday on Compton Street in Kingston’s north end shows an officer punching and kneeing a man whose hands were handcuffed behind his back. As many as six police officers forced the handcuffed man inside the cruiser.
Later, police would remove the man’s shoes and pants, and can also be seen confiscating a syringe as well as a small container.
Destiny Gravelle filmed the altercation from inside her friend’s home. She said she first noticed the incident because the police cruisers were taking up space at the bus stop she planned to get off at to visit her friend. Once she arrived she started filming.
During the video, she can be heard expressing shock at what she saw.
“I thought it was just a normal routine stop like arrest, and then it turned very quickly and all of a sudden there was kneeling … and to me, it was a little excessive,” Gravelle said to Global News on Thursday.
The video also shows the officer shaking his hand as if it were in pain.
“I’m very disgusted. And it was sickening, and it just made me sick to my stomach,” Gravelle said.
Gravelle says she wasn’t around for the beginning of the altercation and doesn’t know what caused it.
Global News reached out to Kingston police for comment on the video, but none was provided before the deadline.