When Shenitria Blocker witnessed Miami officers arresting a man last week, she immediately whipped out her cellphone and began recording, mindful of rising tensions between blacks and police, reports the Associated Press.
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What she recorded was breathtaking, as evidenced by her reaction on a 47-minute recording that captured an officer handcuffing man, placing him in the back of a police cruiser and then punching him.
Blocker, who told AP that she does not have a Facebook account, turned to a friend, Marilyn Smith, who posted the video for her. The video went viral and prompted a police investigation.
But the page was later removed after Smith ended up in the crosshairs of the Fraternal Order of Police, according to the Washington Post. The group released a statement slamming social media for putting “a very negative tone on law enforcement nationwide” and said that the officer in question was “protecting our community,” the Post writes.
The rest of the statement condemned Smith, accusing her of “posting photos of herself with men who have handguns,” the report says.
“It seems that no one cares to address this,” Lt. Javier Ortiz, the union’s president, said in the statement. “Social media has focused so much on #blacklifematters/alllifematters campaigns, yet nobody targets the root of the problem our community faces today.”
The handcuffed man who was struck by police has been released. While police have yet to name the officer involved in the attack, he has forced to turn over his gun and badge during a probe of the incident.
Read more at the Associated Press and the Washington Post.
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