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Viral Video Shows LAPD Officer Violently Punching a Man Arrested for Trespassing

HeadlineMay 07, 2020

Cellphone footage has emerged of a Los Angeles Police Department officer repeatedly punching a man being arrested in the neighborhood of Boyle Heights in late April. The video shows the man with his back toward the officers, standing near a fence with his hands behind his back, when one of the officers begins punching him behind the head and body, hitting him over a dozen times while yelling profanities. The man then tries to take a few steps away from the officer as the officer walks toward him again, punching him several more times. The man doesn’t fight back. The police officer has since been ordered to stay home pending an internal investigation. He has been identified as a 20-year LAPD veteran named Frank Hernandez. The Los Angeles Times reports Hernandez has been involved in three on-duty shootings during his career. In 2010, Hernandez shot dead a 37-year-old Guatemalan immigrant named Manuel Jamines, sparking protests.

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