A news video showing a suspected horse thief being beaten by police in San Bernardino County, California, has drawn attention from law enforcement officials and the public.
The video was shot from an NBC Los Angeles helicopter and shows a sheriff’s helicopter landing next to the alleged thief, who falls off the horse and is stun gunned by a deputy, who punches and knees the man before being joined by others.
Francis Jared Pusok, 30, is being treated at a hospital, NBC said. His injuries weren’t disclosed.
The incident began when deputies were serving a search warrant related to an identity theft investigation. Pusok allegedly fled in a vehicle before stealing a horse in San Bernardino National Park.
One deputy was injured when the horse kicked him and two others were treated for dehydration, a sheriff’s spokeswoman told NBC News.
"The video surrounding this incident is disturbing and I have ordered an internal investigation be conducted immediately,"
Sheriff John McMahon said in a statement.
A criminal investigation also is underway.
Ten deputies involved in the incident were placed on
paid administrative leave, the New York Daily News reported.
Pusok’s attorney Jim Terrell called the incident
“far worse than Rodney King,” CBS Los Angeles reported.
“What I saw on the television was thugs beating up my client. That’s what I saw,” Terrell said.
"To me, it was like a joyride for the cops to do this to him. (It was) brutality,” Pusok’s mother, Anne Clemenson, said, according to NBC Los Angeles. He didn't deserve something like that," Clemenson said, "To Tase him, the beatings that I see them doing to him — it's uncalled for. You see him laying down, and they continue to kick him, hitting him and punching him. Why?"
The story sparked outrage on Twitter.
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