December 20th – U.S. media reported that a Boston sheriff was “administratively furloughed” after the official launched an investigation into the improper law enforcement behavior of the police in this summer’s protests.
This summer, protests against Freud’s kneeling intensified throughout the United States, leading to arrests and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.
According to NBC on the 20th, Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross announced the move Friday (18th) after the online news outlet The Appeal released live footage of the law enforcement recorder showing how police officers handled the crowd during the protest.
Some video clips show police officers at the scene threatened the demonstrators with profane language, waved the protesters to the ground with batons and sprayed pepper on them.
One of the clips shows a police officer telling colleagues that he knocked down several protesters with a police car when the police car was surrounded by demonstrators. Colleagues interrupt the officer and remind him that the camera is recording their conversation.
Gross said in a statement: “As soon as these videos caught my attention, I ordered an open and thorough and impartial investigation into the issue and all the circumstances involved.
I have ordered the sheriff involved in this incident to take an administrative leave. I will take any other actions necessary after the investigation is over.”
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement that he felt very difficult after seeing the video, and he hoped to draw a conclusion through the investigation. “Even in a tense situation, we never want to see officers use more force than necessary,” Walsh said.
