This article was originally published by Matt Agorist at The Free Thought Project.
On the day he was attacked by police, Jermaine Vaughn had harmed no one and committed no crime. Even the cops admit in their probable cause affidavit that Vaughn was simply “talking/yelling to no one in particular” in a park on Sept. 24, 2021, yet he was handcuffed and violently assaulted — with a boot, stomping on his face — as he lies helplessly on the ground.
Because Vaughn’s attack by police was captured on body camera and clearly showed a senseless beating, one of the officers involved — who stomped on Vaughn’s face as he was on the ground in handcuffs — was arrested.
Graphic body camera footage was released showing the incident that led to charges against Sergeant Eric Huxley. It is nothing short of a brutal attack on an innocent man for “talking.” This week, Huxley, 44, appeared before a judge on felony charges of official misconduct and battery.
“I would not tolerate this behavior from any community member; Sergeant Huxley is no exception,” Indianapolis Police Chief Randal Taylor said after the officer’s indictment. “As law enforcement officers, we must understand that this behavior violates the community’s trust.”
Last month, Vaughn sued the city of Indianapolis, Metro Police, Eric Huxley, and the other officers involved. The civil suit claims intentional battery, unlawful arrest, unlawful and excessive force, official misconduct, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
As the video shows, bike officer Matthew Shores is throwing Vaughn around like a ragdoll despite the fact that he’s in handcuffs. He then grabs the man by the neck before slamming him down to the ground for no apparent reason.
“We’re not gonna do this, right?” an officer is heard saying as Vaughn is slammed to the ground.
“Vaughn is on his backside on the ground, looking up at Ofc. Shores,” the probable cause statement reads, “with his hands cuffed behind his back. Sgt. Huxley then walks over to Vaughn, lifts his left leg, and drives his left foot down into Vaughn’s face. Within seconds, blood is visible in Vaughn’s mouth.”
“You’re done, you’re done, you’re done,” an officer says after Huxley stomped the innocent man’s face.
As the video shows, Vaughn is clearly not a threat to anyone when Huxley stomps on his face, leaving him semi-conscious and dazed.
The stomp was so egregious that the department couldn’t ignore it and the chief moved to fire Huxley immediately. He was then charged with felony battery and official misconduct.
According to the Indy Star, the officers who reported Huxley for the assault have faced retaliation for crossing the thin blue line.
The two Indianapolis officers who assisted in the arrest, Matthew Shores and Christopher Kibbey, filed a federal lawsuit last month claiming they experienced retaliation by the department after they reported Huxley’s use of force, “despite any wrongdoing on their part.”
Shores and Kibbey in court records said the duo faced “abusive ridicule, embarrassment and defamatory statements” by the chief and their superiors in the aftermath of reporting. The lawsuit argues the alleged backlash from the department will deter employees from alerting their superiors to unlawful acts by fellow officers in the future.
When Huxley was questioned, he told investigators that the stomp to Vaughn’s face was “an accident” and he was attempting to hold him down by the shoulder with his boot. This is clearly a lie as the video speaks for itself — and prosecutors agree.
“The video in this incident speaks for itself,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears told FOX59 News. “I think in a case like this it’s very helpful as it depicts the events, what led to the encounter between the two individuals, and you can really kind of see the events as they progress in real-time.”
Below is a video that shows what talking in a park looks like in a police state.