A police sergeant in Sunrise, Florida, is being investigated and was demoted after bodycam footage captured him grabbing a female officer by the throat.
The footage, obtained by NBC News, shows Sgt. Christopher Pullease, 46, grabbing the officer's throat and pushing her against a cop car. The 28-year-old female officer attempted to pull Pullease away from a suspect they were arresting.
The incident took place on Nov. 19 when officers responded to a man attacking people outside a convenience store. The video was released last week.
The suspect was being “verbally and physically resistive” and was facing a violent felony, according to a statement from Sunrise Police Chief Anthony W. Rosa.
Rosa also noted that the female officer responded correctly by de-escalating “an emotionally charged situation.”
“This officer intervening and stopping a situation from getting any worse is a direct reflection of the training that we do do with the police department, and I think that it’s important to note that the behavior is very unacceptable by the sergeant, but the behavior of the officer that intervened is exactly what society’s asking their police officers to do right now,” Rosa said in an interview with WSVN, a Fox affiliate in Miami.
It was not the first time Pullease has been cited for excessive force. He had two other allegations against him from about 20 years ago. He was cleared of facing any consequences, according to WSVN.
