Video shows white police officer choking black man in prom attire

A North Carolina police department has launched an investigation after a white officer was filmed choking and then slamming a black man to the ground shortly after he went to his sister’s prom.

A video posted May 8 shows the man, identified by The News & Observer as 22-year-old Anthony Wall, with his hands in the air, telling to officer to “get your hands off of me.”

“Get your supervisor out here and get your hands off of me,” Wall then yelled, as the officer pinned him to the ground.

“Put your hand behind your back,” the officer said.

{mosads}

The incident took place outside a Waffle House in Warsaw, N.C., where Wall went after attending his sister’s prom.

Another video also shows Wall yelling at the staff of the restaurant before the office arrived, according to ABC11. He said that he is responsible for his actions at the Waffle House, but the officer’s actions weren’t justified.

Wall was arrested for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

“I was pretty much trying to scream for air and trying to breathe because he was holding my throat and that’s when I got aggressive with him because you are choking me,” Wall told ABC11.

“We are aware of the video and currently working on an investigation, following up based on the video posted, doing interviews, gathering video evidence,” Warsaw Police Chief Eric Southerland told The News & Observer.

“It’s not what you’re trained to do in incidents like this but when you’re dealing with someone fighting and resisting against an officer, you try to use proper tactics and go for one move, but that might not work because that person is moving or the officer is moving,” Southerland added. 

“We are looking into the incident that occurred at our Warsaw, NC, restaurant to gather all the facts,” a Waffle House spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. “Initial reports say the customer became agitated, and the police were called.”