Footage of an Austin police officer appearing to pepper-spray a handcuffed man in the back of a police vehicle has spawned an internal investigation, the Austin Police Department confirmed over the weekend. The footage, first uploaded by the Peaceful Streets Project on Friday, was reportedly captured during the South by Southwest Festival early Thursday morning.
"What did I tell you about kicking the door?" the officer is heard saying to the restrained man. Then, as shown in the video above at the 3:39 mark, the officer proceeds to pepper-spray the unidentified man at close range. Peaceful Streets later identified the officer as Cameron Caldwell, according to the Huffington Post. As noted in the department's code, says the Post, officers shouldn't use pepper spray in situations when the "subject is under physical restraint unless the subject is still aggressively resisting and lesser means of controlling the subject have failed."
"The Austin Police Department is aware of the incident captured on video and has launched an internal investigation," the department said in a statement to KVUE, urging anyone with additional information on the disturbing footage to contact them directly. "We see these cops violating policy and committing crimes all the time, but usually there is some gray area that they like to dance (in)," Peaceful Streets founder Antonio Buehler tells the Free Thought Project. "This was just crystal clear, there is no way by law or policy that what this guy did was acceptable. There is zero gray area."
Sadly, Buehler tells the Austin American-Statesman, this was far from the only incident of its kind during SXSW. "They’re treating pepper spray like a grand marshal treats candy at a parade," Buehler says of police behavior during the festival. The Peaceful Streets Project had increased their efforts surrounding the festival, with as many as 10 different people filming police downtown each night.
