MESA, AZ (KPHO/KTVK/CNN) – An Arizona police chief is investigating after video captured several officers becoming violent with a man, allegedly because he wouldn’t sit down when they told him to.
Chief Ramon Batista with the Mesa Police Department says he is “disappointed” in the officers’ behavior and that the department is demanding answers from everyone involved.
Three officers and a sergeant have been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.
Surveillance video from the May 23 incident shows 33-year-old Robert "Junior" Johnson standing next to an elevator while on his phone at a Mesa, AZ, apartment complex.
Several police officers surround him.
After a short exchange of words, the officers can be seen punching and kneeing Johnson repeatedly, as he falls to the floor.
"The things that he said and him leaning against the wall made the officers feel as though they needed to have him sit down. When he didn't sit down, they applied force to have him sit down,” Batista said.
But some say nothing Johnson could have said to police warrants the force they used on him.
Batista says he’s making changes to department policy in response to the incident.
"There's going to be a special directive that says that we will not strike someone in the face or head unless they are showing us active aggression,” he said.
Johnson was charged with disorderly conduct. His attorney wants police to accept responsibility.
Before the officers who punched Johnson arrived, another officer had already patted him down for weapons. He was at the building with a friend, who was allegedly trying to enter his ex-girlfriend’s apartment, prompting the woman to call 911.
Copyright 2018 KPHO, KTVK, Mesa Police Department via CNN. All rights reserved.
