INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The video starts with the officer already
entangled with a tuxedo-wearing Anthony Wall, who is pushed against the plate-glass window of a North Carolina Waffle House, choked, then
slammed to the ground.It's unclear from the video what led up to this moment, but those 19 seconds of violence that Wall posted Tuesday in a
profanity-filled video on Facebook - pleading with people to repost - were enough to spark a police investigation and nationwide outrage
The incident comes just weeks after another controversial police use of force at one of the 24-hour restaurants.On Saturday, Wall, 22, had
just served as his 16-year-old sister's prom date, according to Raleigh, North Carolina, ABC affiliate WTVD
Afterward, they stopped at a Waffle House in Warsaw, 70 miles southeast of Raleigh.At some point, Wall and his younger sister got into a
shouting match with people at the restaurant
WTVD showed another video, apparently from a cellphone, that featured Wall's sister, in a prom dress, screaming and swearing at
employees.Someone at the restaurant then called police.The video picked up after that point
The officer, wearing a vest with the word "police" on the back, pushed Wall against the plate glass window
When Wall protested, the officer wrapped his hands around the younger man's neck, held him against the window and squeezed."Get your hands
off of me," Wall said, struggling to speak.Seconds later, the officer slammed Wall to the ground just in front of the gold Mercedes-Benz
where Wall and his sister had posed for pictures hours earlier.The officer told Wall to put his hands behind his back.Wall demanded that the
officer "get your supervisor out here and get your hands off me."Another video, apparently from a few minutes later, showed the same officer
- this time accompanied by a second officer - pulling a handcuffed Wall to a police vehicle."Get your hands off me," Wall screamed
You don't have to touch me."Wall did not immediately respond to messages from The Washington Post.But he told WTVD that he "was pretty much
trying to scream for air and trying to breathe because he was holding my throat, and that's when I got aggressive with him because you are
He added that he wasn't fighting the officer; his arms were in the air when the officer choked him.Warsaw Police Chief Eric Southerland did
not immediately return messages seeking comment
His department did not provide details on why the officer used that amount of force, or explain what happened in the moments before the
altercation.In a statement, Southerland told the Raleigh News Observer:"We are currently investigating the whole incident, interviewing
witnesses and gathering additional video
We have also reached out to the District Attorney's Office to make him aware of the investigation
Once the investigation is complete and the District Attorney has had a chance to review the case we will provide the public with an update
on the findings."It's unclear whether the officer, who has not been identified, remains on duty while police investigate his use of force
On Facebook, the video had been shared more than 25,000 times, and many commenters said the officer should be fired, charged with a crime,
or both.Another police slamming incident at a Waffle House in Alabama has sparked similar outrage.The Washington Post reported earlier,
officers in Saraland, Alabama, wrestled a black woman to the ground at a Waffle House, exposing her breasts in the process:"The video shows
Chikesia Clemons, 25, sitting on a chair at the diner as one of the officers grabs her neck and right wrist in an attempt to subdue her
Clemons describes a disagreement with a store employee that triggered the police response
She soon appears to realize that the tube top she is wearing is slipping, and she raises her arms to cover her bust line." 'You're not going
to grab on me like that, no,' Clemons tells the officer, who appears to speak to another officer off-camera."What happens next is unclear
The widely circulated video of the incident filmed by Clemons's friend Canita Adams suddenly jumps to the moment when Clemons and the two
officers go to the ground in a violent tumble
It is not clear from the video who initiated the struggle that forced Clemons and the officers to the tile floor." 'What are you doing'
Clemons asks during the struggle." 'I'll break your arm, that's what I'm about to do,' an officer says."The Alabama incident immediately
sparked comparisons to the arrest of two men at a Philadelphia Starbucks as they waited for a third man to arrive to talk about business
investment opportunities.Afterward, Starbucks closed all of its 8,000 U.S
stores to give employees implicit bias training.In North Carolina, Southerland, the Warsaw police chief, said people should not conflate the
narratives of different incidents in distant states
Instead, he said, people should reserve judgment until they hear the full story."I wish people would not blow things out of proportion and
not let one situation create any additional situations," Southerland said.(This story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and
is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
