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| Kfir Askapa (photo via Channel 2 News) |
(Scroll down for video) An Israeli police officer is under fire after spraying pepper spray on a handcuffed suspect, according to video uploaded to the internet by Channel 2 News.
Just a few days after Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino pulled all Taser guns from the police force, a new video showing excessive force has emerged.
The incident took place last weekend, when Kfir Askapa, 28, along with his friends, were driving home from a club. Askapa was stopped by police on suspicion of drunken driving.
"As soon as I saw the police I stopped. The officer approached me with a breathalyzer testing device," Askapa said. "I did the test once and the officer said it was not good, so I did it a second and third time. The police officer said I was not blowing strong enough into the device, and accused me of intentionally trying to rig the test," he said.
Police claim that Askapa tried to rig the alcohol test on purpose, and accused him of disobeying a police officer. Askapa was then asked to move his vehicle off the road, but when he refused, he was arrested. "He threw me on the floor, handcuffed me and punched me in the face," Askapa said.
That is when one of the officers approached the suspect and sprayed him with pepper spray, Askapa’s attorney claims.
"We filed a complaint and requested that criminal charges be filed against the police officers at the scene, as an innocent man was pepper sprayed. Pictures speak for themselves," Attorney Tamir Nissan said.
"The suspect spat at police officers several times and bit one officer, who drew blood from him for an alcohol test. That is when the police officer sprayed the suspect with pepper spray. The suspect was charged with assaulting a police officer, making threats against a public official and with insulting a public official,” a police spokesperson said.