An Ohio police officer has been fired after shocking footage of him brutally kicking a kneeling black man in the chest

Authorities in Canton, Ohio, announced the firing of a veteran police officer who was caught on video kicking a suspect while he was kneeling on the ground along with his hands in the air.

Brandon Momirov was fired on Monday, almost a month after a video showing the unprovoked attack on 21-year-old Jaemiir McElroy went viral. Video recorded by a witness shows Momirow running toward McElroy and kicking him in the chest, despite the fact that the suspect complied.

“I don’t understand why the cop ran up and kicked him in the face, but it was inappropriate because he didn’t actually do anything” – witness Amari Reese he said Guangzhou TV station.

McElroy was hospitalized with a concussion, his lawyer Bob DiCello said. He was charged with obstructing official business and resisting arrest, and these allegations are usually not supported by the body camera footage. Police were responding to reports of an argument involving 10 to fifteen people.

“I have said many times that we can do better, but I am tired of saying that. It’s about action,” Canton Mayor William V. Sherer II said in a statement. “This behavior is unacceptable.”

Sherer offered his support to Police Chief John Gabbard, calling the taped beating an “isolated incident.” Gabbard initially defended Momirov, saying, “Our officers often face stressful, dangerous situations and confrontations with armed suspects.”

DiCello praised Momirov’s firing, but noted that it likely wouldn’t have happened without the video.

“In the end, they saw the same thing we saw,” he said. in line with News 5 Cleveland. “The officer who inexcusably knocked Jaemiir McElroy, my client, to the ground. It wasn’t a defensive move, it was an offensive attack.

According to police, McElroy, Terrence Backie and one other unidentified person were arrested after police found two guns and a great amount of marijuana.

Canton police said that after they arrived, several people in the crowd had fled, including one man who “was carrying a weapon clearly visible to the pursuing officer,” in line with the Canton Repository.

Body camera footage from Momirov and one other officer shows them briefly chasing the gunman. The officer then sees McElroy and 4 other people in the parking zone and demands that they stop. He then calls for backup.

“I even have five at gunpoint in this parking zone, which is against the rules. I could use more units,” the officer says. However, body camera footage shows McElroy and the others kneeling in unison.

Seconds later, Momirov approaches the group, attacking McElroy.

– Why did you hit my brother like that, brother? asked one of the men on the ground, probably McElroy’s brother.

“Because he doesn’t comply,” Momirov replies.

Momirov is asked again why he kicked McElroy.

“How many times have I told you to get down?” Momirov replies.

“You don’t want to listen, that’s fine,” he tells the other officers. “So don’t be surprised if we lay hands on you.”

DiCello is involved in six other cases of alleged harassment by Canton police over the past two years. Half of the cases resulted in death, and all of the lawyer’s surviving clients suffered serious injuries.

“There is a group of law enforcement officers in Canton who treat ordinary civilians like enemy combatants,” DiCello said NBC News.

Relations between police officers and the community have been strained since New Year’s Eve 2022. Police killed a Black man named James Williams after ceremoniously firing a shot into the air. No charges were brought against the officer who took part in the incident.

In December 2023, 24-year-old Zachary J. Fornash, armed with a pellet gun, was shot and killed by police. Earlier this 12 months, a 53-year-old man died in police custody after committing multiple offenses he told the officers “I can’t breathe.” The coroner’s office ruled Frank Tyson’s death a homicide.

In May, one other incident occurred with the participation of a suspect who complied with the regulations. Canton Police Officer Nicholas Castro unleashed a German Shepherd K-9 on Kiev’s Conver, who was already lying face down on the ground, restrained by the officer. Conver was stopped for failure to signal.

Castro was fired in June.