SAN DIEGO — People in the Gaslamp Quarter Saturday night said San Diego Police Department officers on bikes were overly aggressive toward people leaving clubs and bars, leading to several violent confrontations and multiple arrests.
In a video shared with CBS 8, you can hear officers yelling at the crowd to “get back” and “backup.” But even as people complied with the orders, officers were captured pushing them and using pepper spray.
In another part of the video, you see a man on the ground being hit twice in the face by an officer and then you hear another officer yelling “get your hands behind your back.”
Another video shared with CBS 8 shows a man with his hands in the air being tackled to the ground. He almost hit his head on the curb. “He wasn't violent toward the officer,” said the video’s photographer, Corey White.
“He didn't cause a threat toward nobody else," White said. He says it happened around 1:30 a.m. as the clubs were starting to let out. “Obviously we need police down here cause bad stuff does happen down here so we need them down here, but in certain instances - sometimes they just get a little harder than what is warranted and you can see it on everybody's reaction. Everyone is like - woah, woah, woah.”
White says there's no question a lot of the people involved with police were under the influence of alcohol, but he says lately the officers have been coming in overly aggressive from the start, making a bad situation worse.
“Maybe a different approach in those situations that are less violent would be better,” he said.
In another interaction caught on camera, a man spits toward officers after they shoot pepper spray at him. Several officers charge the man and take him to the ground. White believes the officers were extremely aggressive with their pepper spray Saturday night.
“Even last week when I was filming, I got sprayed and a lot of people around me - everyone's coughing and we didn't do anything,” he said.
SDPD response
San Diego Police sent CBS 8 a statement regarding what happened Saturday night,
The San Diego Police Department is dedicated to public safety, transparency and accountability. The video of this incident does not show the events in their entirety. The subjects in question were arrested for being involved in a fight and attempting to batter a Police Officer, after interfering in the course of the officer’s duties and for spitting at the officer. At least one officer sustained injury as a result of actions taken by the suspects. Public safety is a shared responsibility. Every person has a role to play in keeping our communities safe. SDPD welcomes those who intend to participate in the many activities the Gaslamp District has to offer. However, we expect compliance with the law. Over consumption of alcohol continues to be an issue within the Gaslamp District. SDPD will not tolerate unsafe or criminal behavior and those who do commit crimes should expect to be arrested.
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