A Louisiana police officer was caught on video putting an unarmed Black man in an illegal chokehold at a boudin festival, according to attorneys.
According to KADN, Anthony Wayne Babino Jr. was waiting for a friend to bring him money to get into the Scott Boudin Festival earlier this month when an officer put him in a carotid hold, civil rights attorneys Harry M. Daniels and Harry L. Daniels III said, citing video of the incident.
Officers are prohibited from using carotid holds, or restraints where the two main arteries that carry blood to the head and neck are restricted, in the state of Louisiana, unless authorities believe they or another person are at risk of harm.
According to the attorneys, Babino was in clear physical distress and on the verge of passing out while placed in the carotid hold. Attorneys identified the officer involved as Lt. Brun Lavergne.
Daniels suggested the incident reflects a pattern of excessive force by Louisiana police.
"The insult to injury to this is that this guy is a training officer," Daniels said in a statement. "He's a lieutenant, he's an officer, he's over the division, and he's responsible for the training of the officers. If he is in fact engaging in these matters - and this is not a one-off event - you can imagine how he's training the subordinates under him and what type of product is on the street in the city of Scott."
“If this is the kind of reckless brutality he’s teaching to the younger officers, then this problem goes a lot deeper,” the attorneys added, per Newsone.
Scott Police Chief Chad Leger declined to comment on the video but noted an investigation into the incident would launch on Monday (April 15).
Watch the video of the incident here.
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