The dash cam video was released by the Dover Police Department on
Thursday after a federal judge ruled the images it contains are no
longer confidential.
The video was released three days after Dover Police Officer
Corporal Thomas Webster was arrested on a charge of felony assault
for kicking Lateef Dickerson as he kneeled to the ground during his
arrest near a Dover gas station, police said.
Dickerson suffered a broken jaw and was knocked unconscious, police
said in a statement.
Webster's indictment comes amid protests across the United State
over police treatment of minorities following the deaths of unarmed
black men by white police officers in several cities including
Baltimore, New York and North Charleston, South Carolina.
Webster encountered Dickerson during a call to break up a fight,
police said.
"Webster, along with another officer, had the subject at gun point,
giving him verbal commands to get on the ground to which the subject
eventually complied," the statement said.
"As the subject was in the process of getting on the ground he was
kicked in the head once by Webster rendering him unconscious," it
said.
A previous grand jury declined to indict Webster on criminal charges
and the U.S. Attorney's Office in 2014 found no violation of
Dickerson's civil rights.
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The American Civil Liberties Union sued Dover police on Dickerson's
behalf and lobbied for the release of the video.
Fred Calhoun, president of the Delaware's police union, the
Fraternal Order of Police, said the criminal charges against the
officer were politically motivated, the News Journal newspaper
reported on Thursday.
"It's not fair. This was done because of what is taking place in
society today," Calhoun said.
Webster's attorney said he will plead not guilty to the assault
charge. He is free on $5,000 bond, authorities said.
(Editing by Dominic Evans)
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