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A Los Angeles police officer has been suspended after he was caught on video slugging a motorist while the man’s hands appeared to be cuffed behind his back, sparking widespread outrage when the footage went viral.
Alexander Donta Mitchell, who is Black, was pulled over July 28 in “a simple traffic stop,” according to civil rights activist and Mitchell family spokesman Najee Ali.
“It resulted with him being punched in the face in an unprovoked assault by this officer,” Ali told The Independent. “The community was pretty shocked, to be honest.”
Mitchell, in restraints, can be seen asking the officers, “What did I do?” when one of two cops slugs the 30-year-old, connecting hard with the right side of his chin.
Several bystanders witnessed the attack, which occurred in the city’s Watts section — where the city’s Watts Riots took place in 1965, following a fraught interaction between a Black motorist and a California Highway Patrol officer — and was captured from various angles in their cellphones, according to Ali.
In a statement, the LAPD said, “The incident is under investigation and the officer involved has been removed from field duties.”
The officer has not been publicly identified, but Ali said he and his organization, Project Islamic Hope, are working to get the cop’s name as Mitchell prepares to sue. Ali said he is also trying “to ascertain if he has any other assault victims that have filed complaints” against the officer.
“I’m confident, just based on the video, [that] this officer will definitely be criminally prosecuted, brought to justice, and relieved of duty,” Ali went on. “He does not deserve to have a badge or a gun, he deserves to be handcuffed and sitting in a jail cell for what he did.”
The events leading up to the shocking incident remain unknown. However, a friend of Mitchell’s who was there but did not want to be identified told KTLA that the police “just opened the door and snatched him out. There wasn’t no reason. He was just sitting in the car.”
The LAPD has long battled a reputation for brutality. The department made global headlines in 1991 when four white officers savagely beat 25-year-old motorist Rodney King after he was pulled over for speeding. In January 2023, three people died while being arrested by LAPD officers.
“This is a pattern and practice of brutality and terrorism by police officers in every department in Los Angeles and across this country,” Cliff Smith of the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police said at the time.
Ali told The Independent that a press conference with the Mitchell family and other local activists was planned for Tuesday morning outside LAPD headquarters.
