upper waypoint

Video of SFPD Officer Trying to Push Disabled Man Off Curb Prompts Investigation

Save ArticleSave Article
Failed to save article

Please try again

Screen shot from video posted on The Free Thought Project.

The Internet is giving semi-viral treatment to two videos of a San Francisco police officer attempting to shove a man in a wheelchair off a sidewalk curb.

The incident occurred last Sunday in the city's Visitacion Valley neighborhood. One video shows the man in a wheelchair crossing the street to where a group of police are detaining two other men. The disabled man is then seen interacting with several officers, one of whom swivels the man's chair until it hits a sign pole. The officer then gives the chair a shove, and the man tips over toward the street but doesn't fall out of his chair. An argument ensues, and the police officer is heard saying, "You f**** ran my foot over." Later, he says, 'You don't run my foot over," and the disabled man says, "f*** your foot, you don't do a handicapped person like that."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534&v=6mxFNtcmEAA#action=share

The second video, from a different angle, shows the officer rotating the wheelchair then tipping it over.

The videos were posted on The Free Thought Project, a website that monitors police activity. The post said they were uploaded by the cousin of both the man in the wheelchair and one of the men being detained on the sidewalk. You can read that account of what happened here.

Sponsored

CBS SF Bay Area on Wednesday talked to the man in the wheelchair, DeVaughn Frierson, who told reporter Joe Vasquez he wanted the officer who pushed him to be fired. The station said Frierson is paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal cord injury. Frierson said on camera that he intervened to "be a witness because my cousin was getting beat up by the police." He also told CBS he has hired a lawyer.

On Wednesday, SFPD Public Information Officer Grace Gatpandan issued the following statement in response to media requests:

In regards to the incident involving a SFPD Officer and a wheelchair-bound citizen: On 1/18/2015 at approximately 4:01pm, Officers were on regular patrol in the area of Sunnydale and Hahn in the Ingleside district. While in the area, officers on-viewed citizens engaged in a heated verbal altercation. Officers then went over to investigate the nature of the situation. A total of 4 citizens were cited and released from the scene.

The incident is being investigated by SFPD Internal Affairs Division and the Office of Citizen Complaints. As this is an employee investigation, we cannot discuss the details of this incident.

lower waypoint
next waypoint
California Law Letting Property Owners Split Lots to Build New Homes Is 'Unconstitutional,' Judge RulesAlameda: The Island That Almost Wasn’tJust Days Left to Apply for California Program That Helps Pay for Your First HouseIn Fresno’s Chinatown, High-Speed Rail Sparks Hope and Debate Within ResidentsFresno's Chinatown Neighborhood To See Big Changes From High Speed RailRainn Wilson from ‘The Office’ on Why We Need a Spiritual RevolutionWill Less Homework Stress Make California Students Happier?Is California Headed For Another Tax Revolt?State Prisons Offset New Inmate Wage Hikes by Cutting Hours for Some WorkersWorried About Data Brokers in California? Here’s How to Protect Yourself Online