Los Angeles – A district attorney’s investigation has cleared police of wrongdoing in a videotaped incident in which a transient in handcuffs apparently was pepper-sprayed in a squad car, police Chief William Bratton said Tuesday.
The February 2005 incident came to light this week when the video, shot by a citizen, was released by the man’s attorney.
The tape of Benjamin Barker’s arrest surfaced on the heels of an 18-second video showing a Los Angeles officer repeatedly punching another suspect in the face while another officer tried to handcuff the man during a struggle Aug. 11.
At a news conference, Bratton cited a Nov. 15, 2005, decision by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office in which prosecutors declined to file charges against officers in the arrest of Barker, who had been in a scuffle with a merchant.
“Examination of the videotape clearly shows (the officers) did not use excessive force on Benjamin Barker, nor did they assault him under color of authority,” Bratton said, quoting the decision.
The Los Angeles Times said Tuesday that the tape shows an officer taking pepper spray out of a holster and raising it toward Barker’s face, but the actual spraying is obscured by shadows.
Barker’s attorney, John Raphling, told the Times that Barker was whining and crying on the tape, “but he is not being aggressive or threatening.”
