The police commissioner ordered an investigation into the behavior of the officers.
A Boston police sergeant has been placed on administrative leave and an investigation is underway after CCTV footage of the body was released Friday showing officers violently clashing with protesters during a Black Lives Matter rally in May.
In one of the videos, an officer can be seen boasting about touching a protester with their vehicle.
The video was posted by news site The Appeal and showed agents using a mace on protesters commenting on attacking the protesters and attacking them during the May 31 event, shortly after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis.
In one of the videos, you can see an unknown officer talking to another about hitting a protester with his vehicle. When the officer finds out that they are being recorded on a body camera, they begin to change their story.
Attorney Carl Williams, who represents some of the protesters arrested that night, obtained the footage as part of a discovery in his case against the city and its agents and handed it over to The Appeal.
Boston Police Commissioner William Gross issued a statement on Friday in response to the videos, saying he had ordered the Bureau of Professional Standards to open an investigation.
“I have placed a sergeant involved in this incident on administrative leave and will take additional action at the end of the investigation if necessary. I want to encourage people to bring these matters to our attention so that we can deal with them appropriately. can investigate, ”Gross said in a statement.
The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the union that represents Boston police officers, has issued a statement Saturday and said the footage did not tell the full story, saying that “hundreds of” officers “were being treated for trauma and injuries” sustained from protesters.
“Reality-altering effort and insult aside, the fact remains that the violence and hatred against our officers and our city that night will forever remain in the minds of our officers,” the union said in a statement.
The BPPA accused Williams of editing the footage, and Williams responded arguing that he gave the unedited camera footage of the body. The appeal said Williams was given 44 videos and more than 66 hours of footage as part of a discovery file in his case.
“I didn’t sew pieces together,” Williams tweeted. “And why do you all hate anarchists so much? Do you just find it acceptable to have prejudices against specific political beliefs?”