A protest in Pennsylvania took a violent turn on Saturday. Footage appears to show a police officer striking a protester in the face.
The small group of protesters, who were marching against police brutality, walked for several miles before reaching Wilkinsburg, where officers told the group that it had to leave, declaring the gathering an “unlawful assembly,” according to a report.
Tensions appeared to escalate, with several protesters seen getting into an altercation with police. One of the demonstrators appears to get struck by police before falling to the ground, a YouTube video shows.
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“The footage being shared shows what we do not want to see or experience when our community is expressing its hurt over police sanctioned violence. I have been in touch with the police chief, and our officers’ body cameras were on, which will be used to investigate next steps,” Wilkinsburg Mayor Dontae Comans said in a statement.
The group of about 20 were marching for Jim Rogers, a black man who died after being shocked by police more than eight times. Five officers lost their jobs in connection to the incident, while three remain in their roles on the condition that they receive additional training, according to WDXI.
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The march was intended to demand “that the city and county officials act immediately in charging and firing all of the officers and EMS officials who were culpable in this horrible act of brutality and injustice,” according to a flier reported by the Pittsburgh City Paper.
The Wilkinsburg Police Department and Dontae Comans did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
