SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A video circulating online has sparked controversy over San Diego Police Department officers' tactics during an arrest in the Southcrest neighborhood Saturday night, prompting a use-of-force complaint investigation.
The approximately 90-second video shows officers taking a man to the ground and punching him several times in the face and head. At one point, an officer's knee can be seen on the man's neck.
Police said they responded to a domestic violence disturbance call where the man was reportedly blocking and striking a car in a driveway with a person inside. Officers were told the man was armed with a sharp object.
"I believe that officers in this video used excessive force," said Tasha Williamson, a San Diego activist.
Community members, like Williamson, expressed outrage over what they witnessed in the footage.
"What we saw was not aggressive behavior from the person they were trying to detain; it was not assaultive behavior from the person they were trying to detain," Williamson said.
Paul Cappitelli, a retired captain from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department with over four decades of law enforcement experience, reviewed the video. He is an expert in police training who is often retained in police use-of-force cases across the state and country.
"I would just caution the public to not form an opinion or a judgment until they have all of the facts," Cappitelli said.
However, he noted that proper use of force protocols appeared to be followed in one respect.
"The definition of necessary force is that once the person has complied and once they're in custody, the force stops, and that's what I saw in this video," Cappitelli said.
In a statement, SDPD acknowledged that incidents like this create concern among the community, saying it's important to remember videos only capture part of an incident.
Cappitelli said that even as an expert, it's too soon to determine if the force used was justified, but he explained why officers may have responded as they did.
"We don't know the prior history of the person. We don't know if the person had a history of assaulting police officers. We don't know if they'd made any threats against the officers," Cappitelli said.
SDPD said the man was detained and cited for criminal threats, brandishing a weapon, and obstructing officers. Once in custody, he was taken to the hospital and released with no injuries.
"If an officer commits an offense of excessive force this egregious, he needs to be terminated," Williamson said.
ABC 10News asked San Diego police if the officer is on administrative leave, but so far, we have not heard back.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
