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Florida cop grabbed his female colleague by the throat after she pulled him away from a Black male suspect. - The
Sunrise Police Chief said that Sergeant Christopher Pullease's behaviour was "disgusting."
Body-cam footage shows a Florida police officer grabbing his female colleague by the throat after she tried to de-escalate the arrest of a Black man.
The newly released footage shows Sunrise police sergeant Christopher Pullease leaning into a patrol car and hovering over a handcuffed Black male suspect while holding pepper spray.
The 28-year-old female officer, who has not been identified, approaches Pullease and pulls him away by tugging on the back of his belt.
Pullease responds by turning around and grabbing his colleague by the throat, and pushing her up against another police car.
He then briefly returns to the suspect in the police car, then points a finger at the female officer and walks away.
The body-cam footage, which shows the incident from Pullease's perspective and from another officer, has no audio and all faces aside from Pullease's have been blurred.
The 46-year-old Pullease, who is a 21-year veteran of the force, has been assigned to desk duty while the department investigates the incident, according to local outlet WSVN 7News Miami.
The incident took place on November 19, when police responded to an emergency call about a man attacking people outside of a convenience store, Vice News reported, citing a press release from the Sunrise Police Department.
Sunrise Police Chief Anthony Rosa told the 7News that Pullease's behavior was "disgusting" and that "the video speaks for itself."
Rosa commended the female officer for intervening and told the outlet that Pullease had escalated the situation by behaving in an "inappropriate and unprofessional" way.
"I'm very proud of this police officer. She took some definitive action. I can only imagine what she must be feeling. She's a newer officer, and he's a very senior sergeant," Rosa told the outlet.
New state law requires police departments to train officers on their "duty to intervene" if they see another officer using excessive force.
Rosa told the outlet that an internal affairs investigation.
"So there's some details of the investigation that I've not disclosed, that I'm unable to disclose right now, and if any of the information that comes up during the investigation rises to a level of criminal behavior or criminal conduct, then we'll address it appropriately," Rosa told the outlet.
Pullease had been cleared of two previous allegations of excessive use of force, 7News said.