On Thursday afternoon, members of the San Bernardino Police Department were caught beating a suspect after stopping him with a Taser during a chase in the desert hills of San Bernardino County. A video shot from a helicopter captured the image of police officers using force on the suspect after he was already face down on the floor. The San Bernardino County Sherriff issued an internal investigation on Thursday after he saw the footage.
The video was shot by NBC Los Angeles NewsChopper4 and revealed eleven deputies surrounding the suspect. The suspect, 30-year-old Francis Jared Pusok of Apple Valley, ran away from officials on Thursday when they came with a search warrant for a possible identity theft. Pusok tried to escape officers in a vehicle, which he later abandoned. After abandoning his vehicle Pusok stole a horse and rode it on off-road terrain when officers caught up to him and Tazed him.
Afterwards, some deputies began hitting Pusok after he was already on the ground and had his hands behind his back. The video illustrates a total of 17 kicks and 37 punches, with thirteen hits to Pusok's head. Three officers were injured during the pursuit. Two of them were dehydrated and another was kicked by the horse during Pusok's attempted escape.
The video appears to show the police using excessive force, hitting Pusok after he had surrendered. John McMahon, the San Bernardino County Sherriff, further commented on the situation.
"I'm not sure if there was a struggle with the suspect. It appears there was in the early parts of the video. What happens afterwards, I'm not sure of, but we will investigate it thoroughly," he said.
"I can certainly understand the concerns in the community based on what they saw on the video. I'm disturbed by what I see in the video. But I don't need to jump to conclusions at this point, until we do a complete and thorough investigation. If our deputy sheriff's did something wrong, they'll be put off work and they'll be dealt with appropriately, all in accordance with the law as well as our department policy," said the Sherriff.
Pusok and the three injured officers were sent to the hospital after the chase.
