VIDEO: Police tase man in Pope security zone
They dragged him from his car and pinned him down
This is the moment a black man was dragged from his car and apparently tased by police providing security for the Pope’s visit.
In a clip passed to The Tab in Philadelphia at 10pm last night, four police officers are seen attempting to remove the man from his car, before pinning him to the ground.
The crackling of tasers can be heard at the start, before the man repeatedly yells “I know my rights, give me a warrant”.
A police statement says the man drove through the barricade on 38th and Chestnut, near the no-vehicle zone secured for the Pope’s weekend visit to Philadelphia.
Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush told the Daily Pennsylvanian the use of a taser was “what appeared to be an appropriate use of force at the time.”
She also claimed officers had to dive out of the way as the car drove through the barriers, and that the driver grabbed an officer’s by the uniform during the altercation.
Rush added the man was taken to hospital and will be charged for reckless endangerment of another person and resisting arrest.
Bystanders said the car did breach the security zone, but it was stationary and pulled over when the exchange began.
While the full circumstances are unclear, the video seems to show the nervousness of police providing security for Pope Francis’ visit, which has left much of the city in lockdown. Observers noticed officers from three police forces at the scene, including university cops.
One bystander suggested the police had been heavy-handed. He told The Tab: “He was just sitting there. They should have taken it slow.”
In a longer version of the video covering the minute before, an officer standing next to the car can be heard saying: “We are going to tase you if you don’t get out.”
By the time he was taken away as many as 10 police vehicles had arrived at the scene, and a number of people were recording the incident.
On the last stop of his visit to the US, the Pope used his speech at Independence Mall to encourage “peace, tolerance and respect for the dignity and rights of others”, highlighting the importance of principles passed down from the Founding Fathers like “compassion for those in need.”