twitter keeps removing my post showing police brutality in philadelphia yesterday. officers spraying mace point blank in peaceful protesters faces while they sit still and comply. disgusting abuse. please share and retweet.#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/G7qfsqCqtZ
— linds (@d0wnrrrrr) June 2, 2020
Philadelphia SWAT officer Richard P. Nicoletti was filmed last month pulling masks off peacefully kneeling protestors and blasting them with pepper spray. He turned himself in today and will likely face charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment, official oppression, and possession of an instrument of crime.
From The Inquirer:
On June 1, as demonstrators gathered on the highway, Nicoletti could be seen on video dousing three of them with pepper spray as they knelt in the middle of the road.
Video showed Nicoletti pulling down the mask of the first woman he sprayed in the face, dousing a second woman at point blank range, then spraying a man in the face several times while also shoving him to the ground.
Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and Mayor Jim Kenney described Nicoletti's actions as unacceptable, and Outlaw said she was "disgusted."
John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, said that protesters had created a dangerous situation by entering the highway, and that the union would defend Nicoletti as the department's disciplinary process played out.
Image: Twitter
