Video shows Austin police tackling two unarmed men for jaywalking

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Jeremy Kingg, Lou Glen, Matt Wallace, and Rolando Ramiro were all walking home together on Friday when they were stopped by police for jaywalking.

“We were walking across the street, the sign said ‘do not walk,’ but lights were already turning yellow and streets were blocked off, so we kept walking,” Ramiro said. He also noted that the street was barricaded, so there was no danger, because cars could not drive down the street anyway.

“[Police] flashed their flashlights at us, asked us to show them our IDs. Matt and Jeremy said to f— off,” he continued.

The officers that had stopped them for jaywalking then attacked the men, and other police officers came running in to join the melee from their bicycles. The unarmed men were then punched, kicked, and kneed by police.

The video of the brutal attack went viral, and shortly after the video caused uproar, the APD released the following statement: “The Austin Police Department has been made aware of the incident that occurred Friday, Nov. 6 at 2:30 a.m. in the 600 block of E. Sixth Street. As is standard protocol, the Chain of Command will review the Response to Resistance and the incident to determine what led up to the events captured in the video and whether the officer’s actions were in compliance with APD policy.”

Despite their assurance of an investigation, the APD has a history of aggressive jaywalking arrests.

In 2014 when officers found themselves in hot water for manhandling a petite college student for jogging ‘against the light,’ APD chief Art Acevedo implied that the young woman was fortunate that his officers hadn’t also raped her.

“This person absolutely took something that was as simple as ‘Austin Police – Stop!’ and decided to do everything you see on that video,” Acevedo said at a press conference. “And quite frankly she wasn’t charged with resisting. She’s lucky I wasn’t the arresting officer, because I wouldn’t have been as generous. … In other cities there’s cops who are actually committing sexual assaults on duty, so I thank God that this is what passes for a controversy in Austin, Texas.”