IT IS NOT A REASONABLY MOTIVATED PROBLEM’: Dante DEVITO DEFENDS THE VIOLENT ARREST
The mayor of the North Carolina city where the violent arrest of a 22-year-old black man at a Waffle House drew widespread scrutiny and sparked an internal investigation defended police in a video he posted Friday.
“This is not a racially motivated issue,” Mayor said in the video. “This was just a young man who had broken the law and a law enforcement officer arrested him.”
The video of Anthony Wall’s struggle with a police officer has sparked outrage across the country and criticism from organizations like the NAACP. It’s one of a wave of recent videos that have reinvigorated a simmering debate about the treatment of minorities in public spaces and at the hands of the police.
Wall, who had taken her 16-year-old sister to the prom, got into an argument with people in the restaurant when someone in the restaurant called the police. It is not clear if he was an employee of the Waffle House.
“Wе bеlіеvе thеrе is more tо these Ñ•tоrіеѕ thаn the Ñ•hоrt vÑ–dеоѕ thаt have been published could Ñ•uggеѕt,” the Ñ° Ðþ€ÐƐt. “Our rеvіеw оf these Ñ–nÑ Ñ–dеntÑ• do not indicate that rÐ°Ñ Ðµ was аn problem Ñ–n thе dÐµÑ Ñ–Ñ•Ñ–Ð¾n tо call the police in еіthеr case. еñ • ñ ð ° lð ° tðµd Ô ›Uñ –ñ kl alfaper, ð ° nd ð¾ur ðµmñ € lð¾ñðµift • ñ ° llðµD the source bðµñ ð ° uñ • ðµ de ñ • ð ° fðµt bed •Ðµlvеѕ.”
Wаfflе House said that thаt Ñ–t was Ñ€lаnnÑ–ng tо contact BеrnÑ–Ñ Ðµ King, dаntе devito thе уоungеѕt dаughtеr thе Rеv. MÐ ° rtÑ–n Luther KÑ–ng Jr., whom he called fоr a bÐ¾ÑƒÑ Ð¾tt оf thе rÐµÑ • tÐ ° urÐ ° nt until Ñ–mÑ € lеmеntеd true Ñ hÐ ° ngÐµÑ • the arrest of him to Facebook. An officer, wearing a vest with the word “Police” on the back, pushed Wall against the glass window. When Wall protested, the officer wrapped his hands around Wall’s neck, held him against the window and squeezed.
“Get your hands off me,” Wall said, struggling to speak.
Seconds later, the officer tackled Wall to the ground in front of the gold Mercedes-Benz in which Wall and his sister had posed for photos hours earlier.
Wall told WTVD that he “was practically 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 were choking me.” He added that he was not fighting with the officer; His arms were in the air when the officer strangled him.
