NOVANEWS
- Concerned passer-by films violent Sacramento arrest on her cell phone
- 40-year-old suspect had stopped breathing by the time he was handcuffed
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
A horrifying video shows the moment a woman police officer beats a suspect repeatedly with a baton.
The man, who had allegedly threatened a Sacramento shop assistant, later died in police custody.
Officers had been called to the city’s Metro PCS store in Folsom Boulevard on Friday, after reports that a shop assistant was in danger.
Shocking: The police office can be seen beating the suspect with her baton outside a Sacramento store
As they tried to handcuff the suspect, who had tried to barricade himself inside the store, the man resisted and a violent struggle followed.
A shopper, who sent her footage to CBS13 under the condition of anonymity, filmed the moment the man was held to the ground as a police officer struck him repeatedly with her baton.
Officer Doug Morse called for more witnesses who may have filmed the incident to send in the footage to help the investigation.
By the time the suspect, a white man in his 40s, had been restrained and taken into custody, he had stopped breathing. He was rushed to hospital, but later died.
One of the police officers and off-duty district attorney investigator who had stopped to help, were also taken to hospital needing treatment, according to a police report.
Arrest: Sacramento police try to restrain the suspect, who later died, after a sales assistant called for help
Restrained: Witnesses filmed the officers as they struggled to subdue and handcuff the man
The coroner has not listed the official cause of death for the suspect, who has not been identified.
Witnesses say that shoppers had tried to come to the aid of the police, who had called for back up as they struggled to subdue the man.
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The arrest took place after a shop assistant called police at about 5.45pm, fearing that her life was in danger. She reported that a man had come into the shop and started talking incoherently.
He was outside when police arrived, but quickly went back in the store and tried to block the door.
Crime report: Sacramento Police Department announced the suspect’s death through its Twitter account
Crime scene: The suspect was beaten and arrested in Folsom Boulevard, Sacramento
During the fight between the suspect and officers, which started inside the store and lasted for several minutes, pepper spray was used, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Sacramento Police Department announced the death on its Twitter account on Friday.
In a tweet sent at 11.57pm it said: ‘SPD investigating an in custody death after officers physically struggle with a violent suspect.’
‘There will be a full review of the incident and everything that transpired here,’ Officer Morse told CBS Sacramento.
