A Seattle cop is under investigation after video shows him rolling his bike over a protester's head

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A Seattle cop is under investigation after video shows him rolling his bike over a protester's head
FILE PHOTO: Seattle police hold batons as they form a line in front of the department's headquarters downtown during a protest calling for a 50% defunding of the Seattle Police Department and investment in community based solutions in Seattle, Washington, U.S. June 3, 2020.REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson
  • An officer from the Seattle Police Department is facing a criminal investigation after rolling his bicycle over a protester's head.
  • The officer, who has not been named, has been placed on administrative leave, according to a statement from the Seattle Police Department.
  • The incident took place a day after a grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, declined to charge an officer with the killing of Breonna Taylor.
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A Seattle police officer is under investigation after a watchdog group reviewed a viral video on Twitter showing him riding over an injured protester's head with his bicycle, according to a statement from the city's police department.

The protester was lying in the street when a group of officers on bicycles wheeled through, video of the incident shows.

The officer in the video did not circumvent the protester or appear to check if the person was okay. Neither the officer nor the protester has been identified.

After the video went viral on Twitter, the Seattle Police Department announced on Thursday that the officer involved had been placed on administrative leave.

The incident happened a day after a grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, declined to charge two officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor. One officer, Brett Hankison, was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, but not for killing Taylor.

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Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was killed when police shot her multiple times in her Louisville home on March 13. The officers, pursing a narcotics bust, used a "no-knock" warrant, which did not require the officers to identify themselves before entering her home.

Outrage over Taylor's death spread nationwide, with high-profile figures like Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, calling for a federal investigation, and with demonstrators calling for police reform and an end to police brutality.

The Seattle Office of Police Accountability, an independent group that reviews police misconduct claims, requested a criminal investigation into the incident involving the officer and the protester, saying in a statement that the video showed "potential violations of SPD policy, as well as potential criminal conduct."

The office received more than 30 complaints in response to the video, according to the statement.

In a news release, the Seattle Police Department said that over the course of the night of protests on Thursday, its officers had made "more than a dozen arrests."

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"The SPD is fully committed to the oversight and transparency systems the City has in place," the law enforcement group said. "The SPD calls on the community to encourage peaceful protests and conversation, and bring an end to continued destruction and violence."

The unrest in Seattle comes amid a battle over a potential huge cutback to the city's police budget. The Seattle City Council has pushed for a significant reduction to the police department's budget by about 50%, a move Democratic Mayor Jenny Durkan has indicated she opposes.

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