Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN/@ISAZULETA
This is the moment a cop with a wooden stick hits a suspect wielding a machete sending him crashing to the ground.
The incident took place in the municipality of Ituango, in the northwestern Colombian department of Antioquia after police were called to the scene where a topless man with a machete was reportedly threatening a man.
In the video, the man with the machete can be seen in the middle of a street when a cop wearing a motorcycle helmet walks up behind him
The machete man turns away and the cop then smacks him with the wooden stick, sending the suspect crashing to the ground as he yelps in pain.
Two other cops then rush in, with one of them hitting the suspect with a stick as the other grabs the blade from the ground.
The video was posted onto social media and some netizens were quick to criticise the officers’ behaviour, such as ‘Caricio-Perez’ who said: “What it is seen is terrible. I think this deserves an explanation which should be given by the management of the national police”.
Esteban Espinal Chavarria, Secretary of the Government of the city told local media: “what happened is under investigation by the authorities and police. There is a person who has reportedly been injured.”
The Commander of the police of Antioquia, Giovanny Buitrago, told local media that the case has forced him to open an internal investigation and police statements and witness statement have been collected.
He said: “The person who was injured was attacking an elderly man with a machete, that is why the police arrived. One of our men tried to take out the machete with a stick and the man was injured in the head. The elderly man who was being attacked reported the case to the police and we are investigating.”
The injured man was taken to hospital but it is unclear if he was arrested.
The investigation is ongoing and it is unclear if any arrests have been made. There are no updates on the condition of the injured man.
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