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'SNL' alum Jay Pharoah shares disturbing footage of his detainment by LAPD
Photo by Leon Bennett/WireImage

'SNL' alum Jay Pharoah shares disturbing footage of his detainment by LAPD — complete with a knee on his neck

He must have been terrified

"Saturday Night Live" alum and actor Jay Pharoah shared details about a disturbing detainment that purportedly took place in April.

During the reported encounter, members of the LAPD apprehended Pharoah with their guns drawn and detained him because he matched the description of a suspect in a local crime.

What are the details?

On Friday, Pharaoh, 32, revealed the disturbing incident. He said he was exercising when at least four LAPD officers approached him with their "guns blazing" and demanded that he get on the ground.

He complied and said that one of the officers pinned his neck to the ground, similar to the manner in which former police officer Derek Chauvin pinned George Floyd's neck to the ground before killing him.

In a video, Pharoah said, "They put me in cuffs. The officer took his knee, put it on my neck. It wasn't as long as George Floyd, but I know how that feels."

The comedian said that the police detained him because he matched the description of a "black man" in the area who was wearing "gray sweatpants" and a "gray shirt."

Pharoah insisted that he was not the man they were seeking and that they Google his name.

Officers reportedly released him "a minute later" and issued an apology.

Explaining that he could have "easily been an Ahmaud Arbery or George Floyd," Pharoah said that it's time black men educate themselves on the law so that an encounter with law enforcement will not end in tragedy.

"We as a country can't breathe any more," he said. "We are tired, we are sick, and we are tired of it. I can't breathe."

What else?

Pharoah told Gayle King on Wednesday's "CBS This Morning" that he's never encountered police prior to this alleged incident and has never even had so much as a parking ticket.

"I don't have any run-ins with the law. I've never even had a ticket," he told King. "I've never had guns pointed at me, Gayle. I've never had handcuffs put on me."

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said the department is aware of the footage and is investigating the incident.

Comedian Jay Pharoah describes scary brush with LAPDwww.youtube.com

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