A North Carolina police officer was beaten during a Facebook Live video while some onlookers laughed and cheered on the attacker.
“Let ’em whup his a–! Let ’em whup his a–!” one man is heard saying in a nearly 11-minute video of the attack.
“Don’t you let that man take you to f—in’ jail!” was also heard being yelled.
Some in the crowd urged bystanders to help the officer.
This is video from the attack on the officer in North Carolina that left him bloodied and beaten. People on the streets seem to find the situation humorous, and nobody attempts to help the officer. The video is hard to watch. https://t.co/2Tee0hI32d pic.twitter.com/XEVgCsKT6I
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) October 19, 2020
The incident unfolded Saturday when 27-year-old Michael Sale with the Rowland Police Department was trying to make an arrest. He was the only officer on duty at the time, and it took other police officials additional time to provide backup.
He was airlifted to a local hospital suffering a suspected broken bone around his eye.
“Today’s society, that’s just how they think and operate. This is something that we, as law enforcement, been telling the public for years. It’s not shocking to us because we been doing this for years,” Rowland Police Chief Hubert B. Graham said.
Jamel Alphonso Rogers was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intention to kill while inflicting serious injuries, kidnapping, and two counts of resisting a public officer.
He appeared before a judge on Monday, and his bond was set to $500,000.
“I don’t want you to hear about the assault on the Rowland Police Officer that occurred early this morning, I want you see it. This is the harsh reality that law enforcement in America is facing right now where some think it’s okay to Defund the Police, Assault the Police and actually laugh and video the event while it’s occurring while at the same time encouraging the suspect to continue to fight the officer even after the officer has lost his weapon and is obviously disabled,” Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said of the attack.
“A community won’t feel safe with their own law enforcement officers being attacked such as this,” Wilkins said. “In saying this, we will not stand by and allow the criminal element regardless of your race, creed, nationality and so on to wreak havoc in our county. We try so hard to bring our county’s reputation out of the gutter and a few people such as seen here can turn it upside down. Law Enforcement is here to protect and serve. We aren’t the enemy. But we will be seeking out the enemy in the days ahead.”
