District officials released footage Wednesday from police body cameras during an arrest in a suspected drug transaction in Southeast Washington that led to three officers being suspended after one of the officers was captured on viral video punching a man in the face.
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The body-camera video does not provide much additional information about Kiman Johnson’s arrest earlier this month, but does show the demeanor and conduct of Ryan Sullivan — the officer whom city officials named in a Wednesday letter to D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) — in the moments after he repeatedly punched Johnson.
The footage shows three up-close angles of Johnson’s apprehension and subsequent footage of Sullivan chasing a second man who appeared to threaten police with a collapsible folding chair and a soda bottle before running down the block.
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Responding officers took the man into custody about a block away, the footage shows.
Prosecutors said in court that they would not pursue criminal charges against the two men arrested, including Johnson, and they were released from custody last week.
A bystander filmed the Aug. 8 incident that police said began when officers witnessed a suspected hand-to-hand drug transaction in the 1500 block of U Street SE. Police said that during the attempted arrest, they felt a handgun in Johnson’s clothing.
The bystander’s footage that went viral on social media last week shows three 7th District officers struggle to pin Johnson against a fence before Sullivan, who was standing in the middle of the group, punched Johnson at least three times in the face with his left hand and then punched him additional times using his right hand. The video also shows a second officer -punching Johnson at least once.
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City officials have not released the names of the other arresting officers. Sullivan has eight years of service with D.C. police and is on administrative leave, a spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, Johnson and his attorneys viewed the body-camera footage, which attorney Bakari Sellers described as “pure brutality.” Sellers said the conduct of the officer seen punching Johnson was “out of control.”
“That thing could have gotten worse quick, and we have seen incidents like that. My client has a broken face,” Sellers said. “If you’re going to be patrolling that area, you have to have some level of professionalism.”
Johnson’s relatives and lawyers have pushed back on police suspicions that Johnson may have been involved in a drug deal. The video footage shows that police found a handgun inside Johnson’s pants. Investigators identified the weapon as a .45-caliber handgun in a police report.
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The body-cam video shows arriving officers surrounded by a group of bystanders who scream and question why police hit the man they were taking into custody.
Three officers rush at two men on a sidewalk, the video shows, and police quickly try to subdue a man dressed in jeans and white tank top. Two officers each hold the man’s arms and appear to attempt to pull them behind his back as they corral him against a chain-link fence. A third officer stands between the two officers and holds the man’s left hand, which is clenched in a fist.
At least two officers warn Johnson to give up, including one officer who appears to threaten the man that he was “about to get dropped,” the footage shows. A second officer warns that the man could get hit with OC spray, an irritant used by police.
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The footage then shows a brief flurry of jostling bodies that move to and fro, as the officer in the middle appears to strike Johnson.
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The man had been spun around to face the fence but still had not been placed in handcuffs, the video shows.
Sullivan, the striking officer, then moves to his right and appears to strike repeated blows at Johnson’s head as an officer is heard yelling “Give up! Give up!”
The social media video led D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III to suspend three officers and refer the case to prosecutors for review of potential criminal charges.
Johnson was treated at George Washington University Hospital for his injuries, according to a medical document shared by one of his attorneys.
Sellers praised city officials for releasing body-camera footage, for condemning the tactics the officers used during the arrest and for suspending them. The attorney also called for Sullivan’s firing.