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There is public outrage in Ohio after local police were spotted blasting a double amputee with pepper spray during a protest and then allegedly trying to take away his prosthetic legs.
READ MORE: Police use tear gas, rubber bullets on Compton protesters
According to TMZ, on Sunday, witnesses say an unarmed young man who wasn’t aggressive was attacked by Columbus police officers during a peaceful demonstration. They first pepper-sprayed him and then callously disconnected his legs.
Stunned protesters then rushed the cops and demanded they return the man’s legs as he reportedly crawled around, distraught, on his hands seeking medical attention. Even though the protesters were also maced, a video shows them successfully retrieving his prosthetics.
CPD just hit and maced a double amputee. Bravo, you heroes. Unarmed, no legged, they dgaf from r/Columbus
Earlier in the week, Mayor Andrew Ginther released a statement assuring the public that there had been a ban on using pepper spray against non-violent protestors, an assertion that the City Council also stood behind.
“Those on the other side who are truly peaceful, who are truly non-violent, who are truly non-aggressive need to have the space and deserve to have the space to exercise their First Amendment rights, and we should embrace that,” said Ginther.
Additional video shows that not only was this ban violated, officers also used their bikes as battering rams to attack the crowd.
READ MORE: Injuries at protests draw scrutiny to use of police weaponry
NOW: Things have taken a turn here. Police came to intersection and tried to push crowd out with bikes. This happened. @nbc4i pic.twitter.com/HnHxYWkR0l
— Eric Halperin (@EricHalperinTV) June 21, 2020
And even more video shows Columbus police also pepper-spraying a crowd of protestors in seeming defiance of the mayor’s mandate.
4-up of 5️⃣8️⃣9️⃣ in Columbus OHhttps://t.co/Vzm1UKOlaD
— T. Greg Doucette (@greg_doucette) June 22, 2020
Demonstrations have been taking place around the country since Memorial Day in the wake of George Floyd’s death during an arrest by the Minneapolis police. Since then, protests have happened in all 50 states, and corporations and sports leagues including NASCAR, the NFL, Google, Amazon, Cadillac, Condé Nast and others have shown open and vocal support of Black Lives Matter.
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