Witnesses say San Francisco cops detained a man with a prosthetic limb after mistaking his crutches for weapons.
Chaédria LaBouvier, a journalist who filmed the incident, says earlier this month she saw at least 14 officers participate in the takedown.
LaBouvier says the incident lasted at least 30 minutes and claims witnesses told her the officers were responding to call about someone waving sticks downtown. However, those sticks that were initially believed to be weapons turned out to be crutches.
The man, who appeared homeless, lay on the ground half-naked and struggled with cops, while repeatedly asking, “What are you doing this for?”
“These are my crutches. I use these to walk,” the man explains in the video, right before several officers wrestle him to the ground.
LaBouvier also reports that the excessive amount of police in attendance built a human wall around the man in an attempt to block witnesses’ views of the incident. At one point, an officer is seen kneeling on the man’s prosthetic leg to further retrain him.