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Cop resigns after video featuring his alleged ‘degraded and demeaning’ beating of man goes viral
A Baltimore police officer has resigned from the force after a video featuring him repeatedly punching a man went viral. (Image source: Twitter video screenshot)

Cop resigns after video featuring his alleged ‘degraded and demeaning’ beating of man goes viral

A Baltimore police officer has resigned from the force after a video featuring him repeatedly punching a man went viral, the Baltimore Sun reported.

What's in the video?

The viral video, taken on Saturday, shows a police officer speaking to a man on a Baltimore city sidewalk while another officer speaks to two other men nearby.

What immediately led up to the scuffle is unclear in the video, but the man — later identified as 26-year-old Dashawn McGrier — can be heard shouting, "For what?" and shortly after, "Don't touch me!"

The officer can then be seen launching an attack on McGrier, punching him repeatedly.

The confrontation escalates, and the officer — after landing several blows to the McGrier's body, as well as his head — eventually ends up pinning McGrier to the ground.

McGrier cannot be seen returning any punches in the video.

The second officer on the scene does not appear to actively make an attempt to stop the first officer from pummeling McGrier. According to the department, the second officer has been placed on administrative duties and off patrol.

What did the department say about the incident?

The Baltimore Sun reported that police said the incident occurred after the two officers stopped McGrier for an undetermined reason but let him go. The officers reportedly approached McGrier a second time to give him a citizen contact sheet.

“When he was asked for his identification, the situation escalated when he refused,” the department said in a statement. “The police officer then struck the man several times.”

The officer resigned from his position after the video went viral.

Gary Tuggle, the Baltimore Police Department's interim commissioner, accepted the officer's resignation on Sunday. In a statement, Tuggle said that the incident left him "deeply disturbed."

In a Sunday tweet, the Baltimore Police wrote, "The officer involved in yesterday’s incident is no longer with the BPD. Interim Commissioner Tuggle has accepted his resignation. The second officer remains on administrative duties. This remains an active criminal investigation."

What have others said?

Warren Brown, an attorney for McGrier, told the Baltimore Sun, “It seems like this officer had just decided that Dashawn was going to be his punching bag. And this was a brutal attack that was degrading and demeaning to my client, to that community, and to the police department.”

Brown told the outlet that his client had a previous run-in with the same officer in June. The run-in resulted in McGrier being charged with assaulting the officer, as well as obstructing and hindering, and resisting arrest. Brown maintained that the officer reportedly targeted McGrier for no reason in the June incident as well as the Saturday incident.

The Sun reported that police said McGrier was not charged with any crimes in connection with Saturday's altercation. McGrier also plans to contest the June charges, according to KARK-TV, at an Aug. 22 hearing.

Brown told the Sun that his client was taken to a hospital and had X-rays taken of his ribs, nose, and jaw.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh also issued a statement on the viral video.

Pugh acknowledged the video, and, in her statement, "demanded answers and accountability."

"We are working day and night to bring about a new era of community-based, Constitutional policing and will not be deterred by this or any other instance that threatens our efforts to re-establish the trust of all citizens in the Baltimore Police Department," Pugh's statement read.

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