Current:Home > BackKenosha police arrested a Black man at Applebee’s. The actual suspects were in the bathroom-InfoLens
Kenosha police arrested a Black man at Applebee’s. The actual suspects were in the bathroom
View Date:2024-12-23 14:32:11
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, have launched an internal investigation after a video posted to social media appears to show an officer punching a Black man the officer mistakenly believed was involved in a hit-and-run crash.
The incident is another blemish for the southeastern Wisconsin city, which endured days of protests three years ago after a white police officer shot Jacob Blake, who is Black, during a domestic disturbance. A white Illinois teenager named Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people during a night of unrest, killing two of them, an incident that became a flashpoint in the national debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice.
The hit-and-run crash happened on July 20, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this week. Police said that witnesses told them they saw two Black men and a Black woman flee toward an Applebee’s restaurant. One witness said the woman was carrying a child, according to police.
An Applebee’s employee told officers that some “suspicious people” who may have been involved in the crash were in the restaurant and directed officers to two people, including a Black man holding a baby.
The officers tried to take the baby from the man and arrest him. The man yelled that he hadn’t done anything wrong and officers should let him go. The video shows that after the officers removed the baby from his arms, they threw him to the ground and an officer began punching him as he ordered the man to put his hands behind his back.
Officers then discovered the people responsible for the crash in the restaurant’s bathroom.
Police said the man who was punched wasn’t responsible for the crash but tried to leave in defiance of officers’ orders and resisted them.
Lt. Joseph Nosalik, a spokesperson for the Kenosha Police Department, didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press inquiring about the race of the officer who appeared to punch the man.
Kenosha found itself embroiled in a days-long protest in August 2020 after Officer Rusten Sheskey, who is white, shot Jacob Blake, who is Black, during a domestic disturbance. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, fatally shot two men and wounded another, saying he had been attacked and fired in self-defense. A jury acquitted him of homicide and endangerment charges in November 2021.
Leaders of Kenosha, a nonprofit that describes itself online as advocating for transformative and restorative justice, held a news conference Wednesday to call for charging the officers involved in the Applebee’s incident.
“It just doesn’t seem that anyone was a voice of reason that had a uniform on,” said Tanya McLean, executive director of Leaders of Kenosha.
She said officers acted out of fear, just as Sheskey did.
“We don’t want to stand here and have these conversations about people being harmed when they’re simply having a meal with their family,” she said.
veryGood! (47)
Related
- Cameron Brink set to make Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut
- The Daily Money: Are they really banning TikTok?
- Shades of Pemberley Bookstore in Alabama has a tailor-made book club for all ages
- McDonald’s system outages are reported around the world
- At age 44, Rich Hill's baseball odyssey continues - now with Team USA
- South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem faces lawsuit after viral endorsement of Texas dentists
- Russian media claims Houthis have hypersonic missiles to target U.S. ships in the Red Sea
- Michigan fires basketball coach, 'Fab Five' legend Juwan Howard after five seasons
- Lee Zeldin, Trump’s EPA Pick, Brings a Moderate Face to a Radical Game Plan
- Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond Denies Using Ozempic Amid Weight Loss Transformation
Ranking
- Joan says 'Yes!' to 'Golden Bachelorette' finale fantasy beach proposal. Who did she pick?
- Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Hovde promises to donate salary to charity
- Migrants lacking passports must now submit to facial recognition to board flights in US
- UnitedHealth cyberattack one of the most stressful things we've gone through, doctor says
- Early Black Friday Deals: 70% Off Apple, Dyson, Tarte, Barefoot Dreams, Le Creuset & More + Free Shipping
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, One Alarm (Freestyle)
- Home sellers are cutting list prices as spring buying season starts with higher mortgage rates
- Why Dr. Terry Dubrow Says He Will Definitely Give Ozempic Another Try
Recommendation
-
Quincy Jones' Cause of Death Revealed
-
Georgia Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson says he has pancreatic cancer
-
Outdoor Voices closing its stores. Activewear retailer reportedly plans online move
-
Hard-throwing teens draw scouts, scholarships. More and more, they may also need Tommy John surgery
-
Biden, Harris participate in Veterans Day ceremony | The Excerpt
-
Arizona Coyotes cleared to bid for tract of land in north Phoenix for new arena site
-
General Hospital Actress Robyn Bernard Found Dead in Open Field
-
James Crumbley, father of Oxford High School shooter, found guilty of involuntary manslaughter