Madison Ruppert
There is no shortage of disturbing videos and stories dealing with disturbing episodes of police brutality and yet I still manage to be appalled by the actions of some out of control police officers.
Even with brutal assaults on 66-year-olds for no reason, highly suspicious deaths related to police violence, and even outright homicide (with no consequences, of course), this particular video is especially troubling.
In the below video at the bottom of this post, captured by Jordan Rojas, a friend of 17-year-old Andrew Rodriguez, we see an officer identified as “Officer Arnold” by the Dallas Observer (later identified by police as Officer Disraeli Arnold, a four and a half year veteran of the Hurts Police Department) sprinting towards Rodriguez and then slamming him in the back of the head with a flying knee.
After the brutal strike, Arnold screams, “Move, move, move and die! Move and fuckin’ die!”
“You wanna die here? Fuckin’ move again! Fuckin’ move again!” Arnold screamed.
Arnold then turns to the young man filming the incident and says, “Get up, get over here!”
Then, nonsensically, Arnold screams, “Stay down and shut the fuck up. Sit down and shut the fuck up! Don’t say nothing else!”
Moments later he screams at Rodrigquez, “Yeah faggot!”
The video has gone viral since it was posted on Nov. 23 with one posting receiving over 28,000 views and another on World Star Hip Hop receiving over 431,000 views and it was even picked up by local Dallas/Fort Worth news outlet WFAA.
While Rodriguez is clearly resisting to some degree at the beginning of the video, by the time Arnold sprints in with his brutal kick, Rodriguez seemed to have been subdued by the first officer.
Rodriguez was charged with resisting arrest and spent three days in jail after the incident which left his mother, Kelly Pope, quite unhappy.
“I was mad, I was hurt,” said Pope, according to WFAA. “This is supposed to be somebody to protect the city and our children.”
The City of Hurt and the Hurt Police Department released the following initial response to the video on their Hurt Police Department’s official Facebook page:
REGARDING THE VIDEO – Obviously, this is not behavior that the City of Hurst and the Hurst Police Department promotes or condones in any way. We strive to build a stronger, safer community through our work around the city and will continue to do so through appropriate action. The incident is being investigated internally.
A more complete picture of the incident was later published by another local news outlet, KTVT.
According to KTVT, Rodriguez was with two friends at Bellaire Park when they were questioned by police because they “looked suspicious.”
“Rojas said Rodriguez was told he was going to jail for an outstanding warrant, when Rodriguez began to call his mother,” KTVT reports.
According Pope, the ticket was some four years old and was issued for trespassing on school property after hours.
“The officer asked him to get off the phone and he continued to call his mom because he was already on it and then that’s when the officer tackled him,” Rojas said, according to KTVT. “That’s when I started recording.”
“I saw him dive on him and land his knee on the back of his neck and on the video you see Andrew’s head bop against the floor,” Rojas said. “It kind of shocked me.”
Police Chief Steve Moore claimed that Rodriguez began to walk away and ignore the officer, at which time the officer attempted to take Rodriguez into custody.
As the account from KTVT shows, it seems that the situation was mostly diffused by the time Arnold attacked Rodriguez.
The Hurst Police Department has now announced that they have suspended Arnold pending an investigation by internal affairs:
UPDATE REGARDING THE VIDEO OF OFFICER DISRAELI ARNOLD – As we stated previously, this is not behavior that the City of Hurst and the Hurst Police Department promotes or condones. Officer Arnold has been placed on administrative leave pending an ongoing internal affairs investigation.
At this point we cannot comment on the status of the investigation from either a civil or criminal standpoint due to legal, civil service, and internal procedural regulations. We are cooperating with the media within the scope of those regulations and any information we can release will be made public through those outlets. We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and continued civil discourse as the investigation is conducted.
Watch the video below:
This officer is a disgrace and needs to be fired!!
A pig is a pig.
Apparently this “officer” has done things like this before. The boy got into trouble 4 years before and this was how he was treated because of a trespass incident?
Inappropriate behavior by both officers.
Who authorizes these activities? There are more people in Texas who deserve being arrested than this boy. How about the meth labs in Rolling Oaks, Wills Point Texas? Crime is rampant in that neighborhood and nothing is done.
I want Arnold 654 dead. Yes I said that.
Authority is no replacement for morality.
Having a uniform is no excuse for being a bully especially when the boy is down and contained. This is police brutality. I certainly pray that Arnold is fired and treated appropriately.
There is no excuse for this.
I doubt anyone will read this comment. I need an editorial page.