July 02, 2016
TheInfluence.org/Screenshot
This screenshot is of a video showing a SEPTA police officer throwing a man to the ground after the man refused to sit down. Details regarding the incident are still unknown, and SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel said the outcome of an investigation into the incident is expected by the end of the week.
The SEPTA police officer who was seen on video throwing a man to the ground after a verbal altercation has been disciplined but will keep his job, according to reports.
The video of the incident emerged in June. The footage shows a transit officer telling a man in handcuffs to sit down. The man appears to refuse, asking the officer why he is being detained.
The officer tells the man to calm down and sit, but the man continues to ask why he is being handcuffed, claiming the officer put his hands on him for no reason. Then, the officer tackles the man to the ground, telling him to relax before helping him back up.
You can watch video of the incident below (Disclaimer: video contains explicit language):
According to 6ABC, the incident happened at the Frankford Transportation Center on June 4. Matthew Sinkiewicz is the officer seen in the video, and he was arresting Anthony Barlow for disorderly conduct, the news station reports.
SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel called the incident "unnaceptable" at a Friday news conference, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Sinkiewicz did not respond to the incident appropriately and violated the department’s body camera policy because he only recorded his contact with Barlow and not the man's behavior before the incident occurred, Nestel said.
Sinkiewicz will remain on the force but has been disciplined. The details of his punishment were not disclosed because of department policy, the Inquirer reports.
