A MIAMI POLICE officer has been suspended after a video of him punching and climbing on top of a handcuffed man went viral.

Shenitria Blocker told The Associated Press that she filmed the incident yesterday afternoon with her cellphone in Miami’s Liberty City neighbourhood because she heard a commotion. She said she heard the young man asking the police officer why he was being arrested.

“The cop told him he didn’t have to tell him why he was being arrested, and the officer jumped in the car, got on him and hit the man a couple of times,” Blocker said.

After that, another officer came up to me and told me to stop recording, that I can’t record.

She said that the officer slapped at her hand as they talked and that her mother took the phone and hid it.

Blocker’s friend uploaded the video to Facebook, where it had been viewed over 80,000 times in hours, before it was removed.

Police Major Delrish Moss said in a statement that the officer’s gun and badge had been taken from him, but they had not named him and will investigate the incident.

We have launched a full internal affairs investigation into the matter. We take that responsibility very seriously.

The incident also caught the attention of police union president Javier Ortiz, who posted the video on his Facebook page and released a statement, defending the officer.

“While the video may seem concerning to some, the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) is confident that when everything is analysed within the totality of the circumstances, it will be concluded that the police officer was doing what he is supposed to be doing: Protecting our community,” Ortiz said.

With Associated Press reporting

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