A uniformed officer assaulted a young woman for recording her during a police procedure – credit Colprensa
A video went viral on social media in which a police officer patrolling the Rincón CAI (Center for the Protection of Children and Adolescents) in the town of Suba physically assaulted a man who was trying to record a video in which she appeared. The incident occurred in a park in the nation’s capital during a search.
While the officer and her partner were following the police procedure, one of the young men decided to take his cell phone out of his pocket to record the authorities, which apparently angered the officer.
Controversy over abuse by a female police officer in Bogotá, who hit a young man on the head with a baton because he was taking photos of her: “Go ahead and take it with your mother.”
The uniformed woman repeatedly hit the man on the head for no apparent reason and tried to prevent her from being recorded while conducting a search.
A video went viral on social media in which a police officer patrolling the Rincón CAI (Center for the Protection of Children and Adolescents) in the town of Suba physically assaulted a man who was trying to record a video in which she appeared. The incident occurred in a park in the nation’s capital during a search.
While the officer and her partner were following the police procedure, one of the young men decided to take his cell phone out of his pocket to record the authorities, which apparently angered the officer.
In fact, the man’s actions didn’t go down well with the officer conducting the inspection, who in a snarky tone asked the young man not to film her. “Look over there, don’t be taking pictures of me,” she said.
In response to the man’s refusal, the officer began hitting him several times on the head with her service baton as a reprimand for not following her orders. After the blows, the victim claimed he wasn’t photographing her, but rather recording the search.
The young man’s words intensified the officer’s fury, and she tried to intimidate him. She repeatedly threatened to hit him again if he didn’t comply with her directive to put away his phone and stop recording.
“Don’t record me, don’t take photos of me, or anything like that. Don’t photograph me (…) Go and take photos with your mother, not with me,” the officer insistently told the young man.
Incidentally, the officer requested identification to check the criminal record of the man and his companions. Thus, the young man, approximately 20 years old, did not hand over his identification and ignored the warnings, as he did not stop the video.
He even claimed that the police officers’ actions were abusive and against the law: “Don’t touch me, not like that, this isn’t right, that’s for social media,” he said as he tried to get away from the officers.
To document the assault he suffered, the young man recorded the faces of the two police officers, accusing them of violating the law. The officer immediately responded, “I don’t give a damn, give me your ID,” before cutting the video short by taking his cell phone away.
After the incident became known, videos were shared on social media in which the young man who was attacked showed the appearance of his face after being beaten by the woman. In the video, the victim’s cheekbone is seen swollen due to the attack.
The abuse by the Bogotá Metropolitan Police officer sparked a wave of divided opinions. Thousands of internet users expressed their outrage over the situation, arguing that several rules were violated, since it is legal to record the procedure.
“Every public servant can be recorded; the police are anything but good; Oh no, that’s abuse… call it a prosecutor’s office… the police must be respected, but they must also respect… ; “People find it hard to accept that 90 percent of police officers have an attitude like this woman’s—if she can even be called a woman—because someone who uses a public office knowing that the procedure can be recorded is considered to be outside the law,” are some of the comments from users.
Meanwhile, other internet users took advantage of the situation to laugh at the officer’s misconduct, stating that she would be fired or disciplined for hitting the young man.
“I already see a disciplinary case with a ruling included; she convicted herself, hahaha; “Poor uniformed woman, I think she could lose her job”; “One more unemployed person.”
Regarding the events witnessed in the nation’s capital, neither the city’s mayor, Carlos Fernando Galán, the National Police, nor the District Security Secretariat have commented on the incidents.
