This Officer Didn't Like How He Was Spoken To By a Bystander and You Won't Believe What He Did

  • by: Care2 Team
  • recipient: mayor and police commissioner of Baltimore

Perhaps Sgt. Ethan Newberg of Baltimore PD was having a bad day. Maybe his week wasn't going to plan or his month was a bit too much to handle. But that still does not excuse or explain what he did to an innocent bystander.

When Lee Dotson saw two BPD officers forcing a man to sit down on the rain-drenched ground, he decided to say something as he went on his way. "That ground wet, man," he said to the two cops. But Officer Ethan Newberg and his partner didn't like the sound of the "uppity" black man and decided to let him have it.

Newberg left the man he was harassing on the pavement and bolted into the street to grab Dotson. Within seconds, Dotson was on the ground screaming for help as the other officer handcuffed him.

This was illegal and brutal, so why hasn't Newberg been fired? 

Dotson, like the other bystanders, was shocked. "I didn't do nothing…!" He screamed. 

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison, the head cop of the city, agreed with Dotson. He denounced Newberg and his partner's behavior. Newberg initially said that he had arrested Dotson because he was combative. But after his own bodycam footage was released, the entire world saw the truth.

Newberg encroached on Dontson's rights.  He abused him and put him in a situation that could have quickly escalated, taking into account Baltimore's "horrible culture" of excessive force.

If there is a silver lining to this story, Newberg has been charged with second-degree assault, false imprisonment, and misconduct. He's also been put on unpaid leave by the force, but shockingly he hasn't been fired. 

Call on the mayor and police commissioner of Baltimore to take a stand against the excessive, violent behavior of their men in blue. Make an example of the two officers involved in this abuse and fire them both. Sign the petition.

 

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