A Boston police sergeant was placed on leave during an investigation into law enforcement conduct during protests against racial injustice and the death of George Floyd.
The move comes after The Appeal published images of officers’ behavior during the summer protests.
The images reportedly show agents threatening protesters and using excessive force, NBC News reported.
Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said in a statement on Friday that he ordered the Bureau of Professional Standards to conduct “a thorough and fair investigation into this matter and all of the circumstances involved.”
“I have placed a sergeant involved in this incident on administrative leave and will take additional action as needed at the end of the investigation,” said Gross. “I want to encourage people to bring these matters to our attention so that we can investigate them appropriately.”
Gross did not identify the sergeant placed on leave.
The Appeal, “an impartial, mission-driven media organization” dealing with economics, politics and policy, released camera footage of the protests that took place from May 31 to June 1, obtained from a lawyer representing some of the protesters.
The videos reportedly showed agents allegedly targeting nonviolent protesters for possible arrests, discussing the use of cars as weapons and the use of chemicals.
In a statement shared with The Hill, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh (D) said, “This footage is hard to view and begs answers to many questions that I expect will be answered through an internal affairs inquiry.”
“We never want police officers to use more force than necessary, even when tensions are high,” he added.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, accused the attorney of “piecing together several contextually flawed video clips”
Aside from the reality-altering effort and insult, the fact remains that the violence and hatred against our agents and our city that night will linger forever in the minds and memories of our agents and their families due to the damage the agent did . -Hate anarchists and agitators who showed up for a peaceful protest armed for violence and looking for a fight, ”Calderone said in a statement on Twitter.
BPPA releases statement regarding deceptive media accounts falsely accusing #BPD Officers of police misconduct on May 31, 2020. pic.twitter.com/fUlhgxj9j3
– Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association (BPPA) (@BostonPatrolmen) December 19, 2020
The footage comes from police action handling protests against police violence last summer.
The New York City Police Department published one 111 page report On Friday, they determined that local authorities had used excessive force during protests in the city.
In late May this year, nationwide protests erupted after images of bystanders taken in Minneapolis showed former office Derek Chauvin for several minutes with his knee in Floyd’s neck during his arrest. Eventually, Floyd became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead.