Officer cruelly tases peaceful Black Lives Matter protester

Trigger Warning: This report contains details of violence against African-Americans and racism that readers may find disturbing

In a sickening turn of events, an officer from the New York Police Department was filmed tasing a peaceful Black Lives Matter protestor in Brooklyn. A pro-police rally was interrupted by anti-racism demonstrators. In a video clip recorded by fellow protesters, a Black man is seen caught in a confrontation with one police officer when another rushes to his side and tackles him. When the man does not fall to the ground, the second officer pulls out his taser and electrocutes him, causing him to hit the floor. The incident has caused deep outrage, Newsweek reports.

In the recording, the protester shouts to the crowd surrounding him, "Y'all see this?" He then falls to the ground and writhes in pain before pulling the stun gun's wires off of his body himself. He continues to yell, "Get off of me," as another officer attempts to tackle him. He states he was tased though he didn't do anything. Several other cops then hold him against a car as he screams, "You're breaking my arm!" An onlooker off-screen can be heard stating that he wasn't resisting as he is arrested. The incident took place during a "Back the Blue" rally as it marched towards the 68th Precinct in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, on Sunday.

One protester who tried to stop the confrontation from escalating (which is what the police officers should have tried to do), spoke to Newsweek on the condition of anonymity. "I got in the middle of that and police pushed me back and that guy hit me in the face," they stated. "Why are they pushing me back when people like him are the ones exerting violence on everyone else? This happened today, tonight, here, a block down, right in front of their precinct." He claimed was also attacked by police after witnessing the man begin shot with the stun gun.

Meanwhile, folks online have been outraged after the clip went viral. Some pointed out the double standards that NYPD officers have for White protesters in comparison to Black protesters. One user posted on Twitter, "I see White people yell in cops faces all the time and they don’t get this reaction!" Another user argued that the officers had not attended the "Back the Blue" rally to maintain order but to incite violence. "The police are not at these protests to 'keep the peace,'" they wrote. "But as violent counter-protesters." At present, it is unknown how many arrests were made and for what reasons. Nonetheless, this incident proves exactly why the police need to be defunded.