Tough love or excessive force? Mississippi cop’s handling of suspect sparks debate
A debate has erupted online following a Mississippi officer’s aggressive treatment of a young black man.
The confrontation was caught on video and shows Jackson police officer Myron Smith, who is also black, gripping the young man by his neck. After surfacing on social media last week, the video has elicited strong, but varied, reactions from viewers.
Smith was placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation, Jackson Police Department public information officer Sam Brown told McClatchy News.
Brown said the video was immediately turned over to Police Chief James Davis, who then suspended the officer.
It’s not clear what sparked the altercation, or what happened before the camera started rolling.
A two-minute clip of the May 22 incident begins with Smith shouting at the young man while forcefully pinning his neck and head against his car. The officer is heard daring the man, to ”make me! I said make me!” though it’s not clear what he’s referring to.
Multiple times, the man is heard telling Smith he can’t breathe. When a woman bystander attempts to intervene, the officer says, “Ma’am, do you see my hands? I’m not even choking him. Look where my hands are,” before shooing her away.
With his hands still around the young man’s neck, the officer yells at him, “I’m not the one to piss off.”
The Mississippi incident comes as the nation watches a deadly police encounter unfold in Minneapolis, where George Floyd, who is black, died after an white officer pinned a knee to his neck for several minutes, according to recently released court filings cited by the New York Post. That officer, Derek Chauvin, wasfired and on Friday was arrested, charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Video of the Jackson incident has drawn comparisons and angry reactions from some. But others saw Smith’s conduct as just a little “rough love.”
“What was the sole purpose of holding him by his neck?? Is that what they are trained to do?? Place people in a choke hold with your hands? I’m confused?? Looks like excessive force to me!” a Facebook user commented under the video.
“As you can see it doesn’t matter what color the officer is. They still feel like they’re entitled to do what they want to do how they want to do it,” someone else agreed, with others calling for the officer’s firing.
“Yal tripping,” one viewer countered. “The cop was doing to that young man what his father should’ve done. Hopefully he just saved his life.”
“Exactly what’s needed a little rough love, tough love, discipline whatever you want to call it,” another chimed in, adding: Some youngsters really need it.”
One viewer argued that Smith treated the young man “like a son instead of a criminal” by not calling for backup.
The man seen in the video was ultimately let go and no charges were filed, Brown told McClatchy News. Brown did not know the young man’s age.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Tough love or excessive force? Mississippi cop’s handling of suspect sparks debate."