- Comedian
Jay Pharoah has posted a video on Instagram showing security surveillance footage of him being detained by Los Angeles police. - The former "
Saturday Night Live " cast member said he was told he was detained because he fit the description of a suspect the police were looking for. - Pharoah said he was handcuffed and that one officer put a knee on his neck.
- "It wasn't as long as George Floyd, but I know how that feels," he said.
- The Los Angeles Police department spokesperson Drake Madison told Insider on Monday that, "The person in the Instagram post was detained as a possible suspect of a crime. It was determined to be the wrong suspect and he was let go. The incident is being investigated."
Former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Jay Pharoah posted a video on Instagram Friday saying that he was stopped by Los Angeles police in February and one officer kneeled on the comic's neck.
The Instagram post includes security surveillance footage that appears to show four officers approached Pharoah with guns drawn as he's jogging.
In the post, Pharoah said: "They tell me to get on the ground, spread my arms out. They put me in cuffs, the officer took his knee, put it on my neck. It wasn't as long as George Floyd, but I know how that feels."
Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes. An independent autopsy found that Floyd's cause of death was "asphyxia due to compression of the neck and back." Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. The three other Minneapolis police officers who had a role in the killing have been arrested and face criminal charges.
Pharoah said the officers told him that he "fit the description of a black man in this area with gray sweatpants on and a gray shirt." He said they apologized to him and went on their way after they had to head off to another call.
"I literally could've been George Floyd," Pharoah, who is was known for his impersonations including former President Barack Obama on "SNL," said. "We as a country can't breathe anymore, and we are tired. We are sick and we are tired of it."
The Los Angeles Police department spokesperson Drake Madison told Insider on Monday that, "The person in the Instagram post was detained as a possible suspect of a crime. It was determined to be the wrong suspect and he was let go. The incident is being investigated."
Madison told USA Today that the "
Insider reached out to Pharoah's team and have not heard back at the time of this post.