Black Man’s Face Smashed Into Squad-Car Windshield

Dash-cam footage shows an Ohio officer slamming a handcuffed Black man’s face into the windshield of a police cruiser.

A newly released dash-cam video shows a Lorain police officer using excessive force in the arrest of a Black man in the state of Ohio. In the video, Officer Zachary Ferenec is seen slamming the handcuffed Pele Smith on a squad car, an action which results in Smith smashing the windshield with his face.

Smith was taken into custody after the police investigated drug complaints in his neighborhood. He was handcuffed by officer Ferenec and walked to the squad car. However, instead of placing him in the backseat of the car, the officer threw Smith against the windshield using so much force that the victim’s face shattered the glass. Smith was later taken to Mercy Regional Center to treat the facial injuries he incurred during the incident.

Despite the fact that the officer used excessive force on Smith and subsequently harmed him, Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera defended Ferenec’s actions. In a statement released on Wednesday, Rivera said Smith tried to destroy drug evidence by ingesting it and during an attempt to recover the evidence from Smith’s mouth, he “physically resisted the officers.”

Smith, 32, was charged with obstructing official business, tampering with evidence and resisting arrest. He pleaded guilty and got probation, after reaching a deal with prosecutors.

Furthermore, Smith filed a civil rights lawsuit against the four officers involved in the incident, citing excessive force. The suit mentioned Ferenec, who slammed the Black man’s head into the windshield, and another officer, Michael Gidich, who sat in the backseat of the squad car with the bleeding Smith, while he was being transported to the hospital for treatment. The suit stated that Gidich “taunted and insulted him.”

Rivera has since moved to defend the officers, stating that the video could easily be taken out of context by the public and the department refuted all allegations in the lawsuit.

“I would caution observers to not rush to judgment relative to the actions of the police officers on scene. Although it is not easy to watch, police officers explain all of their actions in their police reports,” Rivera said. The Black community doesn’t seem to agree with him.

How much rage does it take to smash a windshield with someone’s head? …….and they wonder why there is so much… https://t.co/UCme9M1Arz

— Michael A Van Allen (@DrMAVA) September 30, 2016

Police officers do not care about the well-being of whoever they try to take into custody, as long as the person is Black,  he or she is nothing more than an animal to them. They just do whatever they like, bearing in mind that there won’t be consequences for their despicable deeds. Police violence has to be taken seriously and this goal should be set as first and foremost, as the elimination of the abuse starts with the punishment of the abusers.

Source: The Free Thought Project