Video Exposes Police Officer Pepper-Spraying Handcuffed Teens
The NAACP released a video this week of a police officer shooting pepper spray into the faces of two handcuffed teenagers sitting inside a holding cell. After receiving the video in the mail, the president of the Alton NAACP decided to share the video with the public. Although Alton Police Chief Jason Simmons knew about the abuse since March, he admitted that it took the officers involved two months before finally writing a report on the incident.
In the video dated January 26, 2015, two handcuffed teenagers are waiting in a holding area at the Alton Police Department in Illinois. The teens remain seated when the door opens and Officer Vince Warlick appears in the doorway holding a can of pepper spray. After briefly speaking to them, Warlick suddenly maces both of them in the face without provocation.
One of the teens writhes in agony for several minutes, while the other struggles to remain composed. Both are reportedly residents of the Catholic Childrens Home in Alton.
Its infuriating to me to see this officer coming in and spraying these kids who are handcuffed, said James Gray, President of the Alton NAACP.
After receiving the video in the mail, Gray decided to share it with the public by showing the video to local news station, KMOV. Gray has been critical of Alton Police Chief Jason Simmons methods and suspects further civil rights violations have taken place under his command.