A Detroit police officer has been suspended from the force after a video surfaced Wednesday that appeared to show him beating a woman as officers tried to restrain her at Detroit Receiving Hospital, according to multiple reports.
Police Chief James Craig told The Detroit News the incident happened Wednesday night after police were called to deal with a naked, mentally ill woman who was "very agitated and aggressive" at the hospital.
Video of the incident obtained by WJBK showed officers attempting to restrain the naked woman as she cursed and yelled at them. She spat at police before one of the officers started raining down punches on her head, back and face, WJBK reported.
>> See the video from WJBK (Warning: The video contains violence. Viewer discretion is advised.)
"He was wrong. I know that, and I think he needs his badge taken," the woman who recorded the video, who was not identified, told WJBK. She said she recorded the encounter from a waiting room while she was waiting to visit a relative at the hospital.
Detroit police spokeswoman Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood told WJBK that the officer involved has been suspended and an internal investigation launched to determine whether the incident was an appropriate use of force.
"That's the are we're looking into: Was the force he used excessive?" Craig told the News. "From the video I looked at, it appears very disturbing, but it's important that we do a thorough investigation before making any definitive conclusions."
The officer has not been identified.
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