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Baltimore cop resigns after video shows him repeatedly pummeling a man in the head

The 30-second video shows the cop, a black man, repeatedly punching another black man in the head.

A Baltimore police officer has resigned following the release of a video that showed him repeatedly beating and punching a man who doesn’t appear to be fighting back.

The 30-second video shows the cop, a black man, begin punching another black man in the head. The man attempts to move away from the officer, who continues attacking him, the video shows. The office then pins the man on the ground and appears to weigh him down by locking his elbow to the man’s neck.

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Initially, the Baltimore police department suspended the officer and placed another officer in the video — who appears to do little to stop the attack — on administrative duties. The department also said the situation remains an “active criminal investigation.”

One of the police officers was familiar with the man in the video, according to the Baltimore police department. The “situation escalated” after one cops asked the man for identification, and he refused.

“On a day that we graduated future Baltimore police officers, I am deeply concerned by the conduct I witnessed today,” Interim Baltimore Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle said in a statement after the incident. “While I have an expectation that officers are out of their cars, on foot, and engaging citizens, I expect that it will be done professionally and constitutionally. I have zero tolerance for behavior like I witnessed on the video today. Officers have a responsibility and duty to control their emotions in the most stressful of situations.”

In 2016, 25-year-old Freddie Gray went into a coma in a Baltimore police van and later died from injuries he suffered from a broken neck. Outrage over Gray’s death sparked protests across Baltimore. State prosecutors charged six officers in connection to Gray’s death, but Baltimore officials ultimately settled with Gray’s family out of court.

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to bring any federal charges against the officers in Gray’s case.

Cover image: Screenshot from video