Barstow Police Officer Beats Unarmed Black Man with Baton During Arrest

A Southern California police officer beat an unarmed Black man with a baton throughout an arrest — which has echoes of Rodney King … however cops say this man instigated it.

Try this video, obtained by TMZ, which exhibits an older gentleman retreating along with his fingers up whereas being pursued by a Barstow PD officer Friday afternoon within the desert group. The cop has his baton raised as he inches nearer, and finally swings on him.

You possibly can see the officer seem to present an order — which appears to be like like he would possibly’ve been saying get on the bottom — earlier than manhandling the older man and subduing him. Nevertheless, because the photog who took this famous, the cop begins to wail on the dude even after he is down.

He will get about 4 good swings on him earlier than different officers arrive to the scene and assist comprise the state of affairs. The person is then handcuffed and led over to EMTs, who briefly test him … and he is then led to a police cruiser and brought away. The person could be seen limping.

Barstow PD tells TMZ the person who took the beating is 43-year-old Gary Christian — whom they are saying was wished on an open felony warrant for a probation violation … and who this officer acknowledged on Essential Road. BPD says the officer tried to make contact and place Christian below arrest, however declare Christian assaulted the officer not as soon as … however twice.

BPD says the officer deployed his taser unsuccessfully, at which level … the baton got here out. They are saying Christian was handled at a hospital for minor contusions to his leg … and was then booked into the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept. Excessive Desert Detention Middle.

Barstow PD additionally says this … “The division has a duplicate of that video and would really like the group to know {that a} complete administrative investigation will likely be carried out into this incident to find out if the pressure utilized by the officer was inside Barstow Police Division coverage and present legislation.” In different phrases, they’re going to look into this internally.

After all, the comparability to the beating Rodney King acquired within the ’90s will undoubtedly be made. That incident led to damaging riots in and round Los Angeles — and in the end got here to have an effect on a lot of different LA-based occasions within the years that adopted.

The extra regarding half about this, although, is that Barstow PD had one other race-related police incident just a few years in the past … when their officers shot and killed an unarmed Black in a car parking zone as they felt an obvious risk. His identify was Diante Yarber, a 26-year-old.

His household stated the killing was unjustified … however after a evaluation by the authorities, they discovered the officers had an affordable perception that their lives had been at risk, and that lethal pressure was warranted. They fired round 30 bullets at his parked automobile, which was in a Walmart lot.

Contemplating the historical past in that city already, one thing tells us the group is not going to take this newest incident very effectively. Truth is, it definitely appears to be like to be extreme pressure on its face.