New Jersey authorities are investigating an officer who was caught on video punching a man in the head 12 times after stopping him on the street.
Edward Minguela, 32, was walking near the Fairview Liquor store in Camden, New Jersey, on Thursday around 8pm when he was stopped by five officers, according to NJ.com.
Minguela told investigators that he heard police yelling for him to put his hands in the air, to which he obliged.
Edward Minguela (pictured with his hands up) said he was walking near a liquor store Thursday night when the officers yelled for him to put his hands in the air
The shocking video that was released this week shows the moment, one of the Camden County officers grabbed Minguela from behind and slammed him on the ground
That same officer (left), who has not been identified, then repeatedly struck Minguela in the head as other officers held him down, according to the surveillance video that was obtained from the liquor store
The shocking video that was released this week shows the moment, one of the Camden County officers grabbed Minguela from behind and slammed him on the ground.
That same officer, who has not been identified, then repeatedly struck Minguela in the head as other officers held him down, according to the surveillance video that was obtained from the liquor store.
‘It’s traumatizing,’ Minguela told NJ.com. ‘I just don’t know what was going through their minds.
‘They shouldn’t be working if that’s how they treat the people they’re supposed to be protecting.’
Minguela, a father-of-three, said he wasn’t sure how many times he was hit until he saw the video, because he felt like he was losing consciousness.
Dan Keashen, a spokesman for the Camden County Police Department, told the news site that the video is very troubling and the department immediately provided it to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office for investigation.
Minguela (pictured with his son), a father-of-three, said he wasn’t sure how many times he was hit until he saw the video, because he felt like he was losing consciousness
Dan Keashen, a spokesman for the Camden County Police Department, said the video is very troubling and the department immediately provided it to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office for investigation. The cops are seen holding Minguela down as he’s struck in the head
According to Keashen, the officers were responding to a report of a man with a gun, and Minguela matched the description given by the caller
‘It is not consistent with our policy, training and standards,’ Keashen said of the video.
According to Keashen, the officers were responding to a report of a man with a gun, and Minguela matched the description given by the caller.
Keashen told the news site that all three officers involved in the shocking incident have been placed on administrative leave as the investigation continues.
Minguela said he filed an internal affairs complaint last week and the prosecutor’s officer did confirm that they were made aware of the video on Monday.
In an interview with NJ.com, Minguela recalled the night of the incident when the cops shouted for him to put his hands up.
‘When I turned around, all I see is like a bright light and a cop pointing a gun at me,’ he said.
Minguela (pictured) said the officers took him to the emergency room in their cruiser. While at the hospital, the cops reportedly told him that they had approached him because they believed he had a gun
On Thursday, Minguela will appear in court to answer to the charges of resisting arrest and obstruction. Pictured is the area where the incident occurred
Once the officer slammed him to the ground, Minguela said the cop was screaming, ‘Stop resisting! Stop resisting!’
Minguela said he ‘wasn’t even resisting. You can see my hand is in front of my head, I was trying to block it’.
He said the officers took him to the emergency room in their cruiser. While at the hospital, the cops reportedly told him that they had approached him because they believed he had a gun.
‘I was like, “Alright, you all could have just searched me, you didn’t have to beat me,”‘ he said.
Minguela said he suffered painful lumps on the back of his head, a sore neck and a wrist injury when he tried to block the blows.
On Thursday, Minguela will appear in court to answer to the charges of resisting arrest and obstruction.