RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina police department has released body-camera video of a traffic stop that prompted a use-of-force investigation.
Raleigh police released video on Friday that showed two officers grabbing, punching and kneeing a man who was shown ignoring their orders, The News & Observer reported. Footage shot by a passenger in the car was widely shared online earlier in the week.
Police previously said the suspect, Braily Andres Batista-Concepcion, 22, was arrested Tuesday as officers stopped him in connection with three hit-and-run crashes earlier that day. One 911 caller noted that a driver hit her car, then backed up and attempted to hit her again, according to calls obtained by news outlets. Another caller reported being hit by a similar car hit twice before taking off. The suspect was also accused of hitting a pole.
An officer pulled over a car matching the description and driving erratically, a police news release said. The driver, Batista, appeared to be impaired while transporting three passengers, police noted.
He was charged with several misdemeanors, including hit and run, possession of marijuana and resisting arrest.
“They hit me so bad I forgot everything,” he told the newspaper earlier in the week.
The president of the Raleigh chapter of the NAACP said the suspect’s choices contributed to the confrontation but that all parties involved should have behaved differently, TV station WTVD reported.
“When given a direction by an officer, please follow it,” Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown said at a news conference. “Compliance and cooperation is so important during these types of situations.”