KENOSHA, Wis. (WSVN) — Members of a Wisconsin community were outraged after a video of a man being arrested with a baby in his arms has gone viral. Activists gathered on Wednesday in a meeting outside of the Kenosha Police Department to address the issue.
In attendance was the Executive Director of Leaders of Kenosha Tanya McLean, Monica Cummings, the President of Congregations United to Serve Humanity, and Alex Whitaker, Vice President of the Kenosha Coalition for Dismantling Racism. McLean, who has spoken with the family, believes this incident is another example of police brutality.
“I think they’re still in a state of disbelief, upset, angry, just shocked,” said Mclean as she described how the man’s family has felt during the entire situation. “It kind of knocked the air out of us.”
The video showed an incident that took place on July 20 inside a local Applebee’s where police officers were seen in a physical altercation with a man who was holding a baby. The man was believed to be involved in a hit-and-run and as authorities applied more force on the man to arrest him, an Applebee’s worker grabbed the baby.
While the innocent man was lying facedown on the ground, an officer repeatedly punched him. The person behind the crime was later found and arrested.
Many people at Wednesday’s meeting were shaken by the ordeal.
“Heartbroken that an innocent black man experienced the trauma of being forced to the ground by police while eating with his family,” expressed Cummings.
Other leaders of the community simply wanted answers.
“We also call for a third-party assessment of the current culture within the Kenosha Police Department,” demanded Whitaker.
McLean said people should not be afraid of the police, but their actions continue to call that sentiment into question.
“Are we safe here in Kenosha?” she asked the group. “As a Black person, is this a place where we can get in our cars and move around freely without worrying about being harmed or making it back home to our families?”
The man in the video, an Illinois resident, is now facing charges of obstruction and disorderly conduct.
“What we saw was not lawful,” continued McLean. “There should be no charges involved, the only people that should be getting charges are those officers.”
Officials are conducting an internal investigation into the incident.
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