Joe Bennett, a Black man who was filming police as they stopped another Black motorist in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, was ordered to stop filming by a cop.
When Bennett politely cited his right to keep filming, the cop told him he was involved in the incident. At that point, the cop approached Bennett and punched him, for apparently no reason.
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According to TMZ, Police Chief Richard Sanders said his department is conducting an internal affairs investigation into the incident and the unnamed officer involved is currently on administrative leave.
The chief of police would not comment on why the officer said on tape that Bennett was “involved” without clarifying what he was involved in. The chief added, “I don’t think he was involved [in bank fraud] but that’s what I’m trying to find out.”
TMZ reports that Bennett was driving home when he saw a number of police cruisers swarm a car. Doing his “due diligence as a citizen,” Bennett decided to live-stream the incident on Facebook. Bennett said on tape that he was making sure to give police their distance, and he stood at least 50 feet away. “I just wanted to observe, so I tried to give them distance,” he commented while filming.
Bennett narrates to his audience that it is probably “the most boring live video ever.” But at the 3-minute mark, a cop approaches Bennett and without justification, orders him to stop filming. The cop uses the the flimsy excuse that he wants Bennet to stop recording because it is a crime scene investigation.
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Bennett said that although officers cleared him of being involved in the check fraud scheme at the scene, he was cited for resisting arrest and menacing.
TMZ reached out to the police department, but there has been no word back.
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