The Prince George's County, Maryland, police chief has suspended an officer accused of knocking a man unconscious while working as a security guard outside a liquor store.
Video of a dispute outside the Langley Park store was reviewed by Prince George’s County police on Tuesday and the department launched an internal investigation, Chief Hank Stawinski said in a statement obtained by news outlets.
The officer was off-duty and working as a private security guard for the store at the time, the chief said, but he was wearing a Prince George’s County police uniform, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Officials did not identify the officer.
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Video obtained by Telemundo 44 and shared on social media showed a man appearing to confront the security guard in front of a line of people outside the liquor store on Sunday evening. The man was knocked to the ground by someone partially off-screen, who was later identified as the officer. People nearby were captured trying to shake the victim awake, but he appeared unconscious as the officer looked on.
“I am upset by what appears to be a lack of compassion for the involved citizen immediately following the physical confrontation," Stawinski said. “My expectation is that the involved officer would have immediately, personally checked on the involved citizen once it was apparent that he was unconscious.”
Officials were still looking for the man Wednesday to check on his condition, The Post quoted Christina Cotterman, a police spokeswoman, as saying.
