Philadelphia cop is arrested after body-cam footage ‘showed him punching a man he had put in handcuffs’
- Jason Reid, 42, was arrested on Wednesday after ‘punching a man in his custody’
- Sergeant alleged to have punched Ronald Wallace in the face in the back of a car
- Reid then claimed Wallace’s injures result of him hitting own head on car door
Jason Reid, 42, was arrested on Wednesday in relation to incident which took place in June
A police officer in Philadelphia has been arrested after body-cam footage allegedly captured him punching a man he had placed in handcuffs.
Sergeant Jason Reid, 42, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with assault, tampering with public records, false reports and obstructing the administration of law, a statement by the District Attorney’s Office revealed.
The arrest relates to an incident in June, in which Reid is alleged to have punched Ronald Wallace in the face while he was sitting in the back of a police car in handcuffs, Fox News reported.
The alleged attack, which was captured on body-cam footage, caused injuries to Wallace which Reid later claimed were the result of the man hitting his own head against the car window.
Wallace was then arrested for threatening an officer and resisting arrest, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
An Internal Affairs investigation was launched by the Philadelphia Police Department after the incident, which found that Reid’s statements ‘on which charges were filed against the civilian were not accurate’, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Municipal Court Judge Karen Simmons said the body-cam footage showed Reid – who has been with the police force for 16 years – had committed ‘outrageous government conduct’.
‘So outrageous that it prevents Mr. Wallace, or any defendant, from having a fair trial under the color of law’, she added.
‘It is disheartening any time an officer entrusted with enormous power over the public’s liberty and lives misuses that power’, said District Attorney Larry Krasner
It was reported by the Philly Voice on Wednesday that Philadelphia Police Commissioner Christine Coulter had suspended Reid for 30 days with the intent to dismiss him.
‘It is disheartening any time an officer entrusted with enormous power over the public’s liberty and lives misuses that power. The actions Sergeant Jason Reid is alleged by his colleagues in the Philadelphia Police Department to have taken against an innocent member of our community are exactly the sort of actions that undermine trust in law enforcement and make us all less safe,’ District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
‘I am grateful to the Internal Affairs Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department for honoring their oath by holding one of their own accountable. No one is above the law.’