A video of a man being body-slammed by a Chicago police officer has gone viral on social media. The graphic and violent video shows an officer grabbing a man by his torso, lifting him up off of the ground, and throwing him to the ground, where his head slams on a curb. The man, identified by the Chicago Tribune as Bernard Kersh, was treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center for his injuries.
Now Kersh is facing charges. Chicago police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told BuzzFeed News that police were trying to arrest Kersh for allegedly drinking in public, and that the man was thrown to the ground after allegedly spitting in and licking an officer’s face. Now the 29-year-old faces a felony count of aggravated battery of an officer and three misdemeanors of resisting arrest, simple assault, and drinking alcohol in public.
A bystander who recorded the video, Jovonna Jamison, spoke to the Chicago Tribune about the incident. “I was nervous. I was scared. I was hoping this young man was okay,” she told the paper. She said she was at a red light when she saw an officer approach the man and take his beer. She also noted that he was on the phone when the officer body-slammed him.
Keshia Johnson, the man’s mother, says she was on the phone with him when the officers first approached him. Johnson says her son has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. “I’m looking at this video and I see my son laying on the ground lifeless,” Johnson told Chicago television station WGN. “And I didn’t know if he was alive or not.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the video “very disturbing.”
The officer shown in the video hah ns reportedly been “relieved of police powers” pending the investigation. Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability tweeted that it’s seeking all potential witnesses.